Bergen and the Fjords

The row of gabled wooden buildings along the harbour's eastern side was the base of the German Hanseatic merchants who controlled the stockfish trade for about four hundred years. Rebuilt many times after fires, most recently in the early eighteenth century on the medieval plan, it's a warren of narrow passages, leaning walls and workshops. Bryggens Museum, nearby, shows what archaeologists found beneath it.

TipWalk the back alleys early in the morning, before the cruise passengers and tour groups arrive.

Bergen's fish market has stood at the head of the harbour, Vågen, since the Middle Ages. Today it's part outdoor stalls and part indoor hall, selling shellfish, smoked salmon, whale and fish cakes, and many stalls cook to order. It's touristy and not cheap, but a good place to try the local seafood.

The Fløibanen funicular climbs from the city centre to the top of Mount Fløyen, about 320 metres up, in a few minutes. The view over the harbour, the islands and the sea is the classic image of Bergen. From the top, easy trails lead through forest to lakes, and you can walk back down through the old wooden houses.

KODE is one of the largest art museums in Scandinavia, spread across several buildings along the lake Lille Lungegårdsvann in the city centre. The highlights include a fine collection of works by Edvard Munch, Norwegian landscapes by J.C. Dahl and the vivid paintings of Nikolai Astrup, as well as design, silver and contemporary art.

At about 640 metres, Ulriken is the highest of Bergen's seven mountains, reached by the Ulriksbanen cable car. The open, treeless summit gives wide views over the city, fjords and mountains. Fit walkers can hike the Vidden trail across the plateau between Ulriken and Fløyen, a full day in good weather.

TipThe weather can change quickly on the plateau. Take waterproofs, warm layers and a map even in summer.

The composer Edvard Grieg lived in this painted wooden villa on a lake south of the city for the last twenty-two years of his life. You can see his home, the small hut where he composed, and the tomb where he and his wife Nina are buried in the cliff above the water. Concerts are held in the Troldsalen hall, with a window looking out over the lake.

Norway's second longest fjord is gentler than the Sognefjord, lined with orchards, small villages and glaciers on the skyline. In May the apple, cherry and plum trees blossom along its shores, and farms sell juice and cider made from the fruit. Villages such as Utne, Lofthus and Eidfjord make peaceful bases.

The "troll's tongue", a slab of rock jutting out some 700 metres above the lake Ringedalsvatnet near Odda, is one of Norway's most famous hikes. It's long and demanding: from the parking area at Skjeggedal it's about 27 kilometres return and 8 to 12 hours, and from Mågelitopp, which must be booked, about 20 kilometres and 7 to 10 hours.

TipBetween October and May, go only with a guide. Snow, fog and short days make the route dangerous.

One of Norway's best-known waterfalls plunges around 180 metres into the Måbødalen gorge on the edge of the Hardangervidda plateau, above Eidfjord. Viewing platforms near the old Fossli Hotel and a stair bridge across the gorge give dizzying views straight down into the spray.

This arm of the Sognefjord is about 19 kilometres long and in places only 250 metres wide, between mountains rising to around 1,800 metres and laced with waterfalls. It's part of the West Norwegian Fjords World Heritage Site. Quiet electric boats sail between Gudvangen, at its head, and Flåm, and you can also paddle it by kayak.

A small village at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, set in a deep green valley. It's the terminus of the Flåm Railway and a stop on the Norway in a Nutshell route, so it can be very busy in summer, but it has a railway museum, a brewery and walks up the valley.

The Flåm Railway, or Flåmsbana, runs for 20 kilometres between Flåm, near sea level, and Myrdal, about 867 metres up on the Bergen Line, in roughly an hour. Most of the route is at a gradient of 5.5 per cent, making it one of the steepest standard railways in the world. The train stops for about five minutes at the Kjosfossen waterfall, which can be reached only by train.

TipFor the best views going down from Myrdal, sit on the left side of the train.

A wooden viewing platform that juts out from the mountainside some 650 metres above the Aurlandsfjord, on the road climbing from Aurland. The view of the fjord curving away below is one of the finest in Norway. The road is narrow and winding, and buses and tours run up from Flåm in summer.

Built in the twelfth century, Urnes is the oldest of Norway's stave churches and a World Heritage Site in its own right, famous for its intricate woodcarvings of intertwined animals. It stands above the Lustrafjord, an inner arm of the Sognefjord, and is reached by a short ferry from Solvorn. It's open with guided tours in the summer season.

The Sognefjord runs for more than 200 kilometres inland, and is over 1,300 metres deep in places. Balestrand, on its northern shore, has been a resort since the nineteenth century, when artists and the German Kaiser came to paint and holiday here. Its wooden villas, historic hotel and small stave-style church make it a calm stop between the inner fjords and Bergen.

Further north, in the Sunnmøre region, the Geirangerfjord is the other half of the World Heritage Site: a narrow, winding fjord with the Seven Sisters and Suitor waterfalls facing each other across the water, abandoned farms clinging to ledges, and hairpin roads climbing to viewpoints. It's a long day's travel from Bergen, so plan to stay at least one night.