OLD BERGEN'S HARBORSIDE WAREHOUSES — THE BRYGGEN
 

BERGEN OFFERS history, scenery, culture, art, and
a saltwater harbor with great mountain views. NORWAY'S SECOND CITY PROVIDES A walkable
WORLD HERITAGE city center AND a CONVENIENT
 touring base for visiting the FJORDS AND
 MOUNTAINS OF NORWAY'S rugged WEST COAST.

Attractions in and around Bergen: Bergen's Bryggen warehouses date from the medieval Hanseatic League. Today, the colorful row of wooden dockside buildings houses shops, restaurants, and outdoor cafés and is a recognized UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bryggen is Bergen's centerpiece, but it is only part of the attraction of the city's Vågen harbor and walkable old town. Other attractions include the Fløyen mountain overlook, Gamle Bergen open-air museum and other museums — especially the Hanseatic Museum. Day-trips outside of Bergen include the historic Fantoft Stave Church and the

 

BERGEN AT SUNSET FROM FLØYEN OVERLOOK.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST
 

full-day "Norway in a Nutshell" scenic rail/bus/

steamer journey. Bergen's cafés stay open

late in the slowly fading summer twilight, and invite relaxed people-watching when the weather is dry. However, the weather is not always dry: Bergen — on the North Sea at a latitude north of Scotland — is Western Europe's rainiest city.

Cafés along Bergen's historic
Bryggen remain busy and open
late on pleasant summer evenings.
This photo was taken at 9:10PM
on an early August evening.
Photo © HOME AT FIRST

Lodgings: Home At First guests stay in ideally located hotels in/near old Bergen, close to the town's World Heritage Site harbor and its many attractions, and within walking distance of the the funicular up Fløyen mountain overlooking the city.

ONE OF HOME AT FIRST'S BERGEN INNS
(SHOWN BELOW, LEFT) IS ON THIS CHARMING
STREET IN OLD TOWN BERGEN (RIGHT).
Photos © HOME AT FIRST

Getting around Bergen: Central Bergen is small enough to be very walkable, but hilly enough that some visitors will want to use its buses or use their rental cars. Visitors can tour parts of the region by rail, bus, and boat, but because scheduled services are relatively infrequent these are best for specific sightseeing trips only—like the famous "Norway in a Nutshell" day tour. Otherwise, use of a rental car permits far greater flexibility and independence for touring the wondrous mountains and fjordlands surrounding Bergen — especially for those wanting to stop and enjoy the scenery, and explore small, out-of-the-way places.

 

Bergen's Vågen harbor fills with colorful pleasure craft
adding to the party atmosphere of summer evenings in the
old city. Passenger boats depart Bergen daily for cruises
in the nearby archipelago and inland on the Sognefjord.
Photos © HOME AT FIRST
 

Getting to/from the Bergen Region: Bergen can be reached most conveniently by rental car from Home At First lodgings in the Hardanger Plateau, along the Hardanger Fjord and the Sogne Fjord, via the wonderfully-scenic Norwegian Rail from Oslo, by inter-Scandinavian flights to/from Bergen Airport (about 45 minutes from downtown Bergen by bus), and high-speed Ferry from Stavanger, Norway.



 

WINDOW-SHOPPING FOR
NORWEGIAN CRAFTS IS
EASILY DONE IN VERY
WALKABLE BERGEN
Photo © HOME AT FIRST

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