Bergen Christmas Market — A Complete Guide from a Local

Bergen Christmas Market at night.

You might be surprised, but the Bergen Christmas (Julemarked) market wasn’t a thing before 2017. Yes, there were some smaller markets around, but nothing like in pretty much every other European country. Since its establishment, the Christmas market hasn’t been cheap. And yes, even locals complain about the prices. Where else will you pay almost 13 EUR for a tiny cup of mulled wine? That includes the cup itself, of course, but without the cup, you save a bare 4 EUR. And yet, every year we keep coming to check out the Bergen Christmas market, buy some overly expensive souvenirs and food, and enjoy the Christmas spirit.

As a local, I’d like to share with you my tips on how to better enjoy the market, what to avoid buying, and how to get the most from your visit. But first, let’s talk about some trivial things. It’s located at one of the main squares, Festplassen.

Opening hours

This year, the Bergen Christmas market is open from the 21st of November until the 22nd of December. Opening hours:
Monday – Friday 12:00 – 21:00
Saturday and Sunday 10:0 – 21:00

It is free to go to the market, but the moment you take out your wallet, you will experience Norwegian prices to the fullest. Depending on what you want to do and when you plan to come, you will spend there from 30 minutes to 1 hour. Maybe up to 1.5 hours if you decide to go during the busy hours, Friday after 16:00, or Saturday/Sunday after around midday.

As a local, I recommend planning your visit to be a part of some other activity. For example, you can watch a Christmas movie at Bergen Kino, or go to a concert at Grieghallen. I made an overview of winter activities in Bergen, so check it out. That way, you will get the most out of your rainy Christmas experience. And yes, since Bergen is the rainiest city in Europe, most likely it will be raining during your stay. But hey, we live here, and yet we say that Bergen is the best city on Earth. If you have proper rain gear, of course.

How to enjoy it

Do you drink mulled wine? Glühwein? Glögg? We call it gløgg in Norway, and that’s the first thing you need to grab the moment you come to the market. Remember that you pay 40 kr for the cup itself when you pay 149 kr for the drink. So, if you really like this year’s design of the cup, you can keep it and say “ha det bra” to 40 kr. Otherwise, ask for the price without the cup. You will either get a paper one or be asked to return the pretty one. Please do so, since we tend to trust in people’s decency.

Where to get gløgg from? Go to Peisestuen on the left side of the main entrance, or to the large white tent right behind the Ferris wheel. Peisestuen is prettier, and you can sit there in a nice area, which will probably be occupied anyway. I don’t recommend buying drinks from the small outside kiosks. Happened to me that the gløgg was lukewarm, and it just didn’t taste right then.

Every year, the flavours change, so you won’t get the same drink two years in a row. Alcohol free options are available too. Last year, we had a pretty good apple gløgg. This year, it’s a raspberry, plum, and cherry mix. As much as I love trying new things, I can’t stand raspberry in any form other than the natural berry one. Which I can eat kilos of.

As soon as you grab the drink, it’s time to walk around and look at all the good stuff that you want to buy or try. And here you can decide for yourself where you want to start.

Shops and kiosks

Another thing you might hear locals complain about is that the Bergen Christmas market is not very Norwegian. Yes, we have some traditional Norwegian goods sold on the market, but they account for at best 20% of the market. Lots of them you can get cheaper in the nearest supermarket. As a “fake Norwegian” (proud citizen, yet I wasn’t born and raised here), I would also love to see a bit more variety of local goods than we currently have. If you are a tourist, I encourage you to buy Norwegian since, well, you are in Norway. But what should you buy then?

Norwegian souvenirs and food

Wool! That’s exactly what you want to bring from Norway. If you can afford it, go for one of those Norwegian sweaters. The most typical one would be Mariusgenser with the colours of the Norwegian flag: blue, red, and white. Dale of Norway is a famous brand, and you can buy it in several shops in Bryggen. But the Bergen Christmas market offers something a bit more local from an island south of Bergen that belongs to the Osterøy municipality. The same place also sells sheepskin and Christmas wreaths.

A bit cheaper to buy wool socks or a wool blanket. Not sure about the quality, but the same stall also sells fur hats and wooden decor. I’ve never seen anyone wearing them, but with the constant rain, it would be a surprise to see them in Bergen.

The same white tent by the Ferris wheel has smaller stalls that change from day to day. When I was there, I saw this kind of grandma-style tablecloths.

In case you can read Norwegian (or Danish or Swedish), you can buy a local book. For women, there’s also a whole section of shawls and scarves. What you really want to buy at the market are probably handmade Christmas tree ornaments or posters that will remind you of Bergen.

Food can be divided into two categories: something you can bring home, and something you can only eat at the market. For something you can bring home, I recommend kransekake. It’s a pyramid-looking cake, which is served on special occasions like Christmas or Constitution Day.

My second option would be lefse, a type of flat bread, often served with cinnamon and sugar. Some people don’t like it, so be sure to try before you buy. I regularly eat one after swimming, and the commercial ones are available in any supermarket.

I love lefse for its simplicity. Also, sugar and cinnamon, what can go wrong?

Then the standard stuff: smoked or cured salmon/trout, deer/moose sausages, Norwegian cheese, and beers. Most of these things you can buy in a local supermarket, though. Cheap supermarkets like Rema 1000 or a bit pricier ones like Meny or Lerøy Mat will do. But, of course, do as you please, you won’t find everything the same in the supermarket. And the price difference won’t be that noticeable. Here and there a few kroner. But supermarkets will be cheaper. Those huge sausages for 180 kr are pretty alright priced. Everything bottled I’d say buy in a supermarket.

Separately, I want to mention Fjåk chocolate. It’s the fancy, expensive stuff that I normally buy for presents for my friends. It’s the first and only bean-to-bar chocolate in Norway. They have two cafes in Bergen city centre, and I recommend going there for a cup of hot chocolate. You can also buy this hot chocolate mix and chocolate bars here at the Christmas market. Go for brunost (brown cheese) or pepperkake (gingerbread cookie). Those are the most Norwegian flavours you can get.

Street food has 2.5 Norwegian options. The one I totally recommend is the elk kebab. Had a few of them when I was at the Tons of Rock festival in Oslo a few years back. And in any honesty, where else can you eat an elk kebab? My second option would be Juleburger, a Christmas burger, made from deer. The half option is the pinnekjøtt sausage, lamb ribs hot dog. But I’m generally sceptical about the place, which makes them. Try it, or not, I’d probably stay away for good.

International market

There are a lot of things from around the world at the market. Also, some local-ish, which I wouldn’t necessarily call Norwegian per se. Tiny Bergen is a series of tiny expositions that the artist creates and takes pictures of. You can get a postcard or a poster if you’d like. There’s a dedicated Moomin shop (hello, Finland!), but Julehuset also sells some Moomin souvenirs. Hundeutstyr for those who want to buy something for their dogs. Woof!

How about some alpaca clothing or functional ceramics?

Now my favourite part 🙂 Every year, we get Dutch cheeses on the market. If I remember correctly, it was my first ever purchase when the Bergen Christmas market was first opened. And it was the truffle cheese that I bought that time, and I keep buying it again every year. But in all honesty, I have zero self-control with cheese, so I try to avoid buying it. It just doesn’t last long. I just got home, well, let’s have some cheese. Oh, it’s lunch time. Let me cook something, and while I’m at it, I can eat more cheese. It’s lunch, so I absolutely need to have a few more slices of cheese with my food. What’s for dessert? You got it! And just like that, the whole brick of cheese is gone in less than one hour. Happens more often than I dare to admit.

And then there’s a lot of pretty expensive food that’s sold by grams. I bought a small brick of mango and passionfruit smoothie fudge, and it was around 23 kr. While it did taste good, I don’t think it’s very reasonably priced. Small Italian cakes cost 890 kr per kilo. I bought it last year with my friend and his kid; we were pretty disappointed with what we got. I don’t recommend that stuff. If you want something Italian, get panettone. If you want to try, just choose one. But you know what, when I buy sashimi-grade salmon in an expensive supermarket, it costs 720 kr per kilo. And it’s delicious. Some sugar and flour shouldn’t cost 890 kr per kilo. If you want something expensive, buy handmade bonbons. They are pretty good. Or go for some classics: roasted almonds or honey.

Street food

Savoury

After all the walking, shopping, and looking around, it’s finally time to eat something. I already mentioned 2.5 Norwegian options, but what about the rest? Pasta, Polish dumplings, sausages, pizza, Asian, gyros, crepes, and more. Everything is pretty expensive, though. I repeat myself, try elk kebab or deer burgers if you want something special. Crepes are okay-priced, and that’s what we eat with my nieces when we get hungry. Polish dumplings, I still get to try. Stay away from corn-dogs, they even got into the local newspaper for being so expensive for nothing.

Sweet

With sweet stuff, just go for what you like. I tried cotton candy, churros, and donuts. Everything is as expected, except for the price. Chimney cake, I wouldn’t buy it because I have been to Prague so many times, I don’t think I’d try local ones in Bergen. Also, because of the price. If you get hungry, just go to the nearby Backstube bakery and get German stollen for around 80 kr. And it’s 750 grams.

Rides

Last thing to mention is the rides and one game. My nieces and I do the rides every year. Even though they are pretty grown up, and we’ve been to a proper amusement park in Stockholm, Gröna Lund, they still love them. And since it’s our tradition, we keep doing it. It’s fun. 10 rides cost 550 kr this year.

Conclusion

Bergen Christmas market is still relatively young, and it’s trying to find its form and shape. For no alternatives, it’s pretty alright, but if you’ve traveled around Europe before Christmas, you know how it should be. I hope my tips and tricks will help elevate your experience in Bergen and maybe save a bunch of money for your Christmas concert at Grieghallen 🙂