The Best Way to Spend One Day in Bergen, Norway
The city of Bergen is the second largest in all of Norway (behind Oslo), though it really does not give the same city feel at all! Built out instead of up, Bergen is filled with colorful buildings, houses, and campuses built right into the country’s fjord filled landscape. It is definitely a destination in Norway you will not want to miss! A complete itinerary for what to do in Bergen on your first visit to the city is provided below – happy traveling!
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1. Breakfast at the Godt Brød Festplassen
All good travel days start with a trip to a bakery, in my humble opinion. For our first stop in Bergen we sat for coffee and breakfast at the Godt Brød located by the Music Pavilion in the heart of Bergen.
Godt Brød is a popular bakery chain that was founded in Bergen and is now spread throughout the country of Norway, most known for its organic bread! Their menu features coffees, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries to start off your morning!
This location of Godt Brød is located at Christies Gate, 105016, Bergen, but there are others scattered throughout the city if they work better based on the location of your accommodation!
After breakfast, we stopped for photos outside of the Music Pavilion – one of the perks of where we stopped for breakfast. This iconic gazebo is one of Bergen’s most picturesque landmarks, and a popular place to get photos!
2. Shop Along the Wharf
After breakfast I recommend heading over to the wharf to stop into Bergen’s iconic colorful shops. From here you can grab souvenirs for yourself, or great gifts for those back at home!
You will find a lot of wool, as well as a lot of gnomes! Both seem like pretty great options to me 🙂
3. Lunch at the Bergen Fish Market
Right around the bend from the shopping area in the wharf, the Bergen Fish Market is a great place to stop for lunch midday! This is the most visited outdoor market in Norway – offering a variety of seafood, fruit, and vegetables for the taking.
This is a great place to get a taste of the fresh seafood Norway is so well known for! The market is free to walk through and located near the water at Torget 5 in Bergen.
4. Half Day Cruise to Monstraumen Fjord
One of the more popular things to do in Bergen is to take a half day sight seeing cruise out to Monstraumen Fjord on the water! The boat pick up is located centrally at one of the pier’s in the main harbor, then within a few hours you will get to enjoy an out and back cruise through the fiord!
5. Take the Fløibanen Cable Car Up Mount Fløyen
A stop you cannot miss while in Bergen is taking the Fløibanen cable car up to the top of Mount Fløyen. From here, you can explore various hiking paths atop the mountain, overlooking the city of Bergen below you.
One of my favorite trails was the Trollskogen (Troll Forest), an area of the forest that was filled with troll statues to keep you company on your walk! There are also often goats wandering on top of the mountain for you to greet and take photos with as well!
6. Sunset & Dinner on Mount Fløyen
To end your day, we recommend staying on the mountain through sunset! There is a popular restaurant right on Mount Fløyen that offers stunning views while you dine called Fløirestauranten – but you will definitely need to make reservations for this one in advance if you would like a table at this time of day!
Otherwise, there is also a smaller cafe with ample outdoor seating to enjoy a drink at called Fløistuen Kafé that is right next door to the other restaurant and offers more casual, walk-in opportunities.
Where to Stay in Bergen
If you’re wondering where you should stay during your visit to Bergen, we recommend checking out the following based on your travel style!
- Budget: The Scandic Neptun Hotel
- Popular: The Radisson Blu Royal Hotel
- Luxury: The Charmante Skostredet Hotel
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Oh, I want one of those sandwiches. 🙂 I don’t remember being in Bergen but we used to road trip in Norway every summer when I was a kid. Couple years ago I drove to Alta and to Arctic Ocean with my kids from Finland, and it was amazing.
I visited Bergen many years ago as part of a cruise! So many beautiful memories! Thank you for such a useful post!