Walking Tour in Bergen of the Past and Present
Description
Join authorised, local guides for an authentic, small-group experience around Bergen - both the city and off-the-beaten path. The first half of our tour focuses on Bergen's history. We wander the fortress complex, covering Bergen’s medieval history and short period as Norway's capital. After this crash course in Norwegian history, we make our way to Bryggen, Bergen’s UNESCO Site. Here, you learn about 1,000 years of trade history and the reason for Bergen’s founding and growth. The second half of our tour is about life in Bergen. We leave the ‘touristy’ part behind and wander into the neighbourhood surrounding Bryggen. As you explore Bergen’s best kept secret, you’ll learn about everyday life. The tour ends by passing by our top picks for restaurants. We consider this a moderate walk with stairs. The walk is approximately 3km (2 miles). Once you book, you’ll receive a confirmation email with all the details — including where to meet, what to wear, and our contact info.
Tour Options
Itinerary
Our tour begins by visiting the Bergen Fortress. When Bergen was the capital, this is where the palace was located. It's the best spot to start a walking tour!
We pass by Håkon's Hall, the major part of the medieval palace still standing today. Here you learn about Bergen's time as an independent country and we also explain Norway's unions with Denmark and Sweden. Please note that we do not enter Håkons Hall (it is a museum that costs money). On rare occasions, the fortress is closed due to a private event.
After learning about our royal past, we make our way into Bryggen. Bryggen is Bergen's UNESCO World Heritage-site and is where merchants have traded for 1000 years. It was made successful primarily by the Hanseatic League (the Hanse), a group of German merchants. We spend our time here learning about the Hanseatic League, their trading methods and systems, and how Bryggen functioned as a wharf. Please note we do not go in any of these buildings. They are all shops and small businesses today - none are museums.
Our last point in historical Bergen is St. Mary's Church, the oldest still standing building in the city. It was constructed in the 12th century and still functions as a church today. Please note we do not go inside the church as it has a separate admission fee.
After the history part, we head up-hill into the district Fjellsiden, which is a well-preserved area of wooden hours. We'll discuss everyday life in Norway, including what we eat, when we work, what a house costs, our taxes, and so on :) The route depends on your guide and their own interests. We pride ourselves on being a tour by locals showing local spots, so we choose the best route based on our interests.
We pass by the funicular station so you can know where it is. Here we talk about outdoor life and the importance of hiking culture in Norway. Note that we do not take the funicular! It would add an extra hour and 150 NOK to the trip. Also, it's best you go up at leisure. Maybe you want to go up for the sunset? Or maybe you want to go up to go hiking?
The last twenty minutes of this walk is spent discussing modern Bergen and our food culture. Bergen is, after all, a UNESCO City of Gastronomy! We make our way into the old town centre, walking along Skostredet - a popular street for restaurants.
We finish outside the fish market/tourist office in Bergen.
Highlights
What's included
Traveller Ratings
Important Information
- Infants and small children can ride in a pram or stroller
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Travelers should have at least a moderate level of physical fitness
Reviews(1,879)
Loved the tour with Jeff. His knowledge was superb and loved the humourous quips and stories too.
Jeff, our tour guide, shared his knowledge of historical Bergen as well as living in Bergen today.
Nicholas was a super tour guide, knowledgable, interesting and took us to some really great spots around Bergen.
Really informative, great guide, Caterina was very knowledgeable and engaging. Answered all our questions, spent just enough time at all the places we visited.
We throughly enjoyed our Walking tour of Bergen with Caterina. We liked learning the history of Bergen and learning some interesting facts of modern Bergen. Caterina was quite helpful and was also able to answer our questions
It’s comprehensive. History.living In Norway, food experiences, fascinating. Personal knowledge tips for moving to Norway
What an informative fun tour! We enjoyed it a lot and highly recommend Emma. We met at the fortress, all prompt, 14 people in our group. Everyone was engaged, listening, asking questions. Well paced and we learned a lot.
I'm so glad we did this tour! It was interesting and informative. Our tour guide had only been in Bergen for a year but she was so thorough and thoughtful with the information. She even recommended where to go for lunch and where to buy a Norwegian sweater. Our group had about 10 people and that was a nice size. Highly recommend doing this tour on your first full day in Bergen and you will not be disappointed!
Thanks to Janine we had a great walking tour of Bergen. Janine was very knowledgeable and captured the highlights for us in two hours. The tour left us with a good understanding of Bergen. Her personal recommendations were also helpful to us for the rest of our time in Bergen. Would highly recommend.
Janine was a great guide…lots of interesting information delivered excellently. We had a great group and the time flew by - would highly recommend.
