Bergen in 3 days

Morning

• Bryggen Wharf1h

  Begin on the Bryggen wharf early, before the cruise ships disgorge, walking the coloured facades and then the hidden wooden passages behind them. The morning light and the empty alleys are the best of it.

  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

  Visit the Hanseatic Museum and Bryggens Museum to understand the German merchants and the medieval wharf beneath. Check the opening hours first, as the historic trading house has closed for restoration in the past.

  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

  Have lunch at the harbourside Fish Market, a visitor splurge of fish soup or salmon rather than a bargain. Ask the price per portion first, as buying by weight is where the big bills come from.

  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

  Ride the Floibanen funicular up Mount Floyen for the view over the seven mountains, buying the return at the station to skip the queue. Go in the afternoon once the crowds thin, and you can walk the free path back down in about 45 minutes.

  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

  Track down fresh seafood and fishcakes for dinner from a deli or a harbour spot. Restaurants are dear here, so a supermarket picnic is the local way to keep the evening cheap.

  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

  Take a slow stroll along the floodlit harbour and Bryggen front once the day trippers have left. Keep the waterproof on you, as a shower can arrive in any month.

Morning

• KODE Art Museums2h

  Work through the KODE art museums along the city lake, from Norwegian painting to the room of Edvard Munch. The single ticket covers all four houses over two days, handy shelter if the rain comes in; check which 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

  Grab a warm skillingsbolle, the Bergen cinnamon bun, from a bakery as you move on, a cheap treat that is the city's own sweet.

  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 to the Nordnes peninsula and the Bergen Aquarium, a reliable wet-weather stop with penguins, seals and cold-water tanks. In summer the little harbour ferry from the Fish Market makes a cheap way across.

  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

  Amble back through the quiet white wooden lanes of Nordnes, past the sea baths and the harbour. It is a calm, local counterpoint to the crowds around Bryggen.

Evening

• Norwegian Seafood and Skillingsboller1h30

  Eat seafood again near the harbour for the last centre night, choosing carefully as prices climb fast. Treat one restaurant meal as the trip's splurge and picnic the rest.

  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.

• 30 min

  Turn in early if you are taking a fjord cruise or the Norway in a Nutshell loop tomorrow, as both leave from Bergen station first thing. Have your booking and the departure time ready.

Morning

• Fjord Cruise and Norway in a Nutshell4h

  Take the day out to the fjords: a cruise into the narrow UNESCO Naeroyfjord, often paired with the steep Flam railway on the Norway in a Nutshell loop from Bergen station. Book online well ahead in summer, as boats and trains sell out, and expect it to fill the whole day.

  TipThe headline day trip is a cruise into the narrow UNESCO Naeroyfjord, often combined with the steep Flam railway as the Norway in a Nutshell route out and back from Bergen in a long day. Book the fjord cruise or the Nutshell package online well ahead in summer, as boats and trains sell out; the classic loop leaves early from Bergen station and returns in the evening, so it eats a whole day and costs a fair amount, but it is the reason many people come.

• Mount Ulriken Cable Car3h

  Alternatively, ride the Ulriken cable car up the highest of the seven mountains for the biggest view, and start the Vidden ridge walk across toward Floyen if the weather holds. Take the shuttle bus from the Fish Market, and check the wind, as the cable car closes in strong gusts.

  TipThe Ulriken cable car rises to the highest of the seven mountains at 643m, a bigger, wilder view than Floyen and the start of the classic ridge hike across to it. It sits a few kilometres from the centre, so take the local bus or the seasonal shuttle bus that runs from the Fish Market with a combined ticket; check the wind, as the cable car closes in strong gusts, and allow four to five hours if you plan to walk the Vidden ridge to Floyen.

Afternoon

• Gamle Bergen (Old Bergen)2h

  If you stayed in town, spend the afternoon at Gamle Bergen in Sandviken, an open-air museum of old wooden houses laid out as period streets with costumed guides. It only opens in summer, and you see the interiors on a guided tour, so check the season and go on a dry day.

  TipGamle Bergen is an open-air museum in Sandviken made of around 50 old wooden Bergen houses moved here and laid out as period streets, with costumed guides in summer. It only opens for the summer season, roughly mid-May to early September, and you see the interiors on a guided tour included with the ticket; take the bus north from the centre or walk the harbour, and go on a dry day as it is all outdoors.

• Floyen Forest and Trails1h30

  Otherwise, if the fjord trip returns early, walk the free forest, lake and troll trail at the top of Floyen. Bring proper footwear, as the paths turn muddy fast after the frequent rain, and walk back down to the centre instead of riding twice.

  TipAt the top of the funicular, Mount Floyen opens into free forest, a small lake and a network of marked walking trails, plus wooden trolls hidden along a children's path in the woods. Bring proper footwear and a waterproof, as the paths turn muddy fast after the frequent rain; the loop around the lake takes under an hour, and you can walk all the way back down to the centre rather than riding the funicular twice.

Evening

• Norwegian Seafood and Skillingsboller1h30

  Round off the trip with a final seafood dinner or a picnic of fishcakes by the harbour, watching the boats and the light. Norway is expensive, so keeping one meal a splurge and the rest self-catered is the way to end without a shock.

  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.

• 30 min

  If tomorrow is an early flight, remember Flesland airport is about 12km south: the Bybanen light rail from Byparken takes about 45 minutes for around 40 NOK, or the Flybussen coach about 30 minutes.