Bergen in 2 days

Morning

• Bryggen Wharf1h

  Start early on the Bryggen wharf while it is quiet, walking the coloured house fronts and then slipping into the narrow wooden passages behind them before the cruise crowds arrive. The alleys are the real find and the light is best now for photos.

  TipThe UNESCO Hanseatic wharf of leaning coloured wooden houses is free and always open, and the real find is the warren of narrow wooden passages behind the harbour facade, easy to miss from the front. Walk it early, before the mid-morning cruise crowds arrive, both for photos and to have the creaking alleys to yourself; the timber is a fire and weather survivor rebuilt many times, so tread gently and mind the uneven boards.

• Hanseatic Museum and Bryggens Museum1h30

  Duck into the Hanseatic Museum and Bryggens Museum to fill in the story of the German merchants and the medieval wharf beneath your feet. Check the hours first, as the historic trading house has had restoration closures, and an hour each is plenty.

  TipThese two museums tell the Bryggen story: the Hanseatic Museum is a preserved German merchants' trading house of dim wooden rooms, while Bryggens Museum sits over the medieval foundations dug up after a fire. Check the opening hours before you go, as the historic Hanseatic house has had spells closed for restoration and sometimes shows in temporary quarters; a combined ticket covers both, and an hour each is plenty.

Afternoon

• The Fish Market (Torget)1h

  Cross the harbour to the Fish Market for lunch of fish soup or salmon, treating it as a visitor splurge rather than a bargain. Ask the price per portion before ordering, as the big totals come from buying by weight.

  TipThe harbourside Fish Market, or Torget, sells seafood, fish soup, salmon and the odd whale or reindeer sample from a row of stalls, with an indoor hall alongside for wet-weather days. It is squarely aimed at visitors and prices are steep even by Bergen standards, so treat it as a lunch splurge rather than a bargain; ask the price per portion before you order, as the eye-watering totals come from buying by weight.

• Floibanen Funicular and Mount Floyen2h

  Take the Floibanen funicular up Mount Floyen for the panorama over the seven mountains and the fjords. Buy the return at the station or online to skip the queue, and go now in the afternoon once the cruise crowds have thinned.

  TipThe Floibanen funicular climbs from a station a couple of minutes behind the Fish Market up Mount Floyen in about eight minutes for the panorama over the seven mountains, plus trails and a children's troll forest at the top. Buy a return online or at the lower station to skip the peak-hour queue, and go late in the afternoon when the cruise crowds have thinned; walking back down the marked path is free and takes about 45 minutes.

Evening

• Norwegian Seafood and Skillingsboller1h30

  Come back down for an evening of Bergen food, seeking out fresh seafood and fishcakes from a deli or a harbour restaurant. Eating out is genuinely expensive here, so a picnic bought from a supermarket is how locals keep it affordable.

  TipBergen's food to seek out is fresh seafood, fishcakes from the delis and the skillingsbolle, the big local cinnamon bun that is the city's own sweet. Buy fishcakes by weight at a fish shop or deli for a cheap lunch, and get a warm skillingsbolle from a bakery mid-afternoon; eating out at restaurants is genuinely expensive here, so self-catering a picnic from a supermarket is how locals keep the cost down.

• 45 min

  Round off the night with a stroll along the lit harbour and the Bryggen front, quiet and atmospheric once the day trippers have gone. Bring the waterproof, as a shower is never far away whatever the month.

Morning

• KODE Art Museums2h

  Spend the morning at the KODE art museums strung along the city lake, taking in Norwegian art and the strong room of Edvard Munch. One ticket covers all four houses for two days, so it is an easy place to shelter if the rain sets in; check which buildings are open today.

  TipKODE spreads Norwegian art, design and a strong showing of Edvard Munch across four buildings lined up along the city lake, Lille Lungegardsvann, a couple of minutes from the centre. One ticket covers all four houses for two days, so it is easy to dip in around the rain; check which buildings are open on the day, as they rotate, and do not miss the Grieg-linked composers' villas that KODE also runs outside town.

• Norwegian Seafood and Skillingsboller30 min

  Pick up a warm skillingsbolle, the local cinnamon bun, from a bakery as a mid-morning snack on the way west. It is Bergen's own sweet and a cheap treat in a pricey city.

  TipBergen's food to seek out is fresh seafood, fishcakes from the delis and the skillingsbolle, the big local cinnamon bun that is the city's own sweet. Buy fishcakes by weight at a fish shop or deli for a cheap lunch, and get a warm skillingsbolle from a bakery mid-afternoon; eating out at restaurants is genuinely expensive here, so self-catering a picnic from a supermarket is how locals keep the cost down.

Afternoon

• Nordnes and the Aquarium2h

  Walk out along the harbour to the leafy Nordnes peninsula and the Bergen Aquarium at its tip, a solid wet-weather stop with penguins, seals and cold-water tanks. In summer you can take the little harbour ferry across from the Fish Market instead for a cheap mini-cruise.

  TipThe leafy Nordnes peninsula ends in a park with open-air sea baths and the Bergen Aquarium, one of the better wet-weather options with penguins, seals and cold-water tanks. Walk out along the harbour from the centre in about 15 minutes, or take the little harbour ferry across from the Fish Market in summer for a cheap mini-cruise; the aquarium charges a full entry fee, so it is best value with children or on a washout day.

• 1h

  Wander back through the quiet white wooden streets of Nordnes, past the sea baths and the small parks, at an easy pace. It is a calm, local corner a world away from the cruise crowds at Bryggen.

Evening

• The Fish Market (Torget)1h30

  Head back toward the centre for a last seafood dinner near the harbour, the indoor Fish Market hall a good bet if the weather has turned. Order carefully, as prices climb fast, and treat it as the trip's splurge.

  TipThe harbourside Fish Market, or Torget, sells seafood, fish soup, salmon and the odd whale or reindeer sample from a row of stalls, with an indoor hall alongside for wet-weather days. It is squarely aimed at visitors and prices are steep even by Bergen standards, so treat it as a lunch splurge rather than a bargain; ask the price per portion before you order, as the eye-watering totals come from buying by weight.

• 45 min

  Finish with a short walk back along Bryggen, catching the wharf lit up after dark. If tomorrow is an early flight, remember the Bybanen light rail runs from Byparken out to Flesland airport in about 45 minutes for around 40 NOK.