Finn and I enjoy Bergen on a sunny summer day.
There’s a joke among Norwegians about people of Bergen:
— How to spot someone from Bergen?
— They will tell you!
While I wasn’t born and raised in this beautiful city, I realised I was a true ‘bergenser’ when I knew more about the city than my local friends, and when I started convincing others that Bergen was the best place on Earth. Rightfully so, though!
Fun facts about Bergen:
- It’s the rainiest city in Europe,
- The city from Disney’s Frozen is based on Bergen,
- It’s the best place on Earth 🙂
There’s always a little ‘but’, though, about which I will tell you below.
Table of contents:
Best and worst times to visit Bergen
Best neighbourhoods and places to avoid
Top-5 hotels in Bergen
Best and worst times to visit Bergen
Since it rains so much in Bergen, chances are high that you will get some rain during your stay. But as we say, there’s no bad weather, just bad clothes!
The best seasons to visit Bergen are late spring, summer, and early autumn. So, somewhere from the end of April, beginning of May, all the way until the end of September or the beginning of October. Occasionally, we get very dry weeks, when the temperature goes up to 30°C (86°F), but that’s very random. Sometimes a heat wave can hit us in May, and then the whole summer is pretty wet. Sometimes it can hit us in July or August. But that’s better than wearing a jacket most of the summer, which happens, too.
Whenever the weather allows, most of the locals go hiking. This spot is on the side of Fløyen
If you go to Bergen during bank holidays, a lot of places will be closed, but don’t worry, restaurants and bars are still open. During Christmas time, people tend to either go out of town or stay home with their families. I always notice that streets become less crowded then. Come a little before the winter holidays, so that you can check out our Christmas market and do some winter activities.
The only holiday I recommend spending in Bergen is the Constitution Day, 17th of May. On that day, everyone is dressed in a traditional Norwegian dress, bunad, and the whole city looks so beautiful with countless Norwegian flags and flowers. We gather together with our friends in the morning and have breakfast with smoked salmon and sparkling wine. Basically, those two can be seen on every breakfast table on the 17th of May. After that, we go to the city to look at the parade, enjoy ourselves, and grab a few drinks. I don’t recommend eating out on that day, since it will be too crowded literally everywhere, the menu will be short, and the chefs will be stressed out.
In my opinion, the best time to visit Bergen is either May or June. The days are long, nature is blooming, and you can still see locals around. July and August are more touristy months, and that’s when we go abroad for our holidays, too.
What about the worst seasons to visit Bergen? Mid-October until the beginning of April is pretty bad. November is absolutely the worst time: it’s always dark, it rains a lot, or we get too much snow too soon. Without sunlight, one feels sleepy and lethargic. December is okay-ish, mostly because of the holidays and all the Christmas decorations. January and February are either cold and snowy or dark and rainy. Or a mix of everything. If you come to Bergen during that time, check out what to do in Bergen, so you don’t get bored.
How it feels on a sunny vs. a rainy day in Bergen. On the left: Saga in July. On the right: Anton in November
Best neighbourhoods and places to avoid
While Bergen is a very safe city, occasionally something out of the ordinary happens here, too. Most likely, you won’t experience anything while walking to the hotel from a bar in the middle of the night. But there are a few spots on the city map that I recommend avoiding even during the day.
Bergen, just like some other cities in Norway, has a problem with addicts. They often steal bikes or whatever they can find to steal, get high in public, and especially in the places below, or generally ruin a picture of paradise. For some reason, the authorities want to keep rehabs as close to the public as possible. In central areas, good neighbourhoods, and busy areas. A big and central park, Nygårdsparken, used to be one of the places where they liked to stay, but thankfully, they were moved away from there.
On the map below, you can see the areas and places you should reconsider for your Airbnb or hotel.
What about the best neighbourhoods? I actually started making a separate map, but realised I was getting too much of everything on it. Generally, Sandviken is my favourite part, and I have lived all over it. If you get to live in the hood, Nyhavn has newer apartment buildings with better amenities. Google Maps doesn’t really show Sandviken the way the locals call it, since it has inner (Indre Sandviken) and outer (Ytre Sandviken) parts, making it even bigger than it is on the map. The only place I wouldn’t live near in Sandviken is Nye Sandviksveien 33, where they have apartments for addicts. Technically, Nyhavnsveien 10 has them too, but it’s still a bit better.
Second, I’d recommend the Nordnes peninsula. Once again, Google Maps is not very accurate with what we consider Nordnes. Basically, we call the whole peninsula Nordnes, but sometimes specify some parts of it, like Verftet. I’d probably never buy a place in this neighbourhood, but as a tourist, I think it’s a nice area. One thing I’d recommend to you, no matter where you stay in Bergen, try to find a place with a view. It’s worth it 🙂
Then all the places on the Mount Fløyen side, like Skansemyren, Starefossen, and Kalfaret, are pretty good. Be mindful, it can be a pretty steep hike up if you get Airbnb in there. So, make sure you have a bus stop nearby. And only get a place with a view. Otherwise, it will be a bit difficult for you to hike, and you won’t even have something nice to look at at the end of the day. Trust me, I currently live there.
Overall, the best advice is to stay close to the city, but not in the middle of it 🙂 Remember, Bergen city centre is very compact, and everything you want to see is within walking distance.
Top-5 hotels in Bergen
Whenever I travel abroad, I generally try to find a good deal on accommodation in the neighbourhood of my choice. What I’d recommend in Bergen is not to save on a hotel and get something far from the city, but to try to find something near the main attractions. Or at least a hiking route you will do twice or more times. But that’s just how I see Bergen; I really enjoy its central parts with all the old houses, visible Fløyen, and the city fjord.
1. Clarion Hotel Admiral – best view
What is the best view in Bergen? Of course, towards Bryggen! Imagine waking up and seeing it and Mount Fløyen. Of course, it will come with a price, but it’s a million-kroner view! Literally. Most of the houses and apartments sold in Bergen add at least a million in asking price with a scenic view. At least with the Clarion Hotel Admiral, you have to pay only about 400 kr extra per night compared to a room without a view. Suite is 2.5x more expensive, though.
Hotel Admiral belongs to the Strawberry group, which operates in the Nordics and has about 255 hotels.
View from the hotel. Credit: www.strawberry.no
2. Moxy Bergen – best price
Moxy is an affordable hotel with a relatively central location. So, if you are like me and enjoy walking a lot in a new city, you might like this place, too 🙂 Otherwise, it has a light trail stop nearby. Alternatively, you can grab one of the Bergen City Bikes and cycle where you need. I’d recommend doing that. While I’m a frequent guest in that part of the city, it’s mostly because of my triathlon training, and because I live on the other side of the lake.
Moxy is a part of the Marriott Bonvoy Hotels family.
Moxy is an alright hotel for the price one pays. Credit: www.marriott.com
3. Skostredet Hotel & Spa – rising star
This hotel is pretty new, and it has a very central location. Both of these factors affect the price, though. In the same building, they have an expensive omakase sushi place that I still haven’t tried. Mainly because for the same price elsewhere in Europe I can try a two-Michelin-starred restaurant instead of a one-starred. The main restaurant in the hotel building is also Asian, but I didn’t like it much when I was there.
Hotel Skostredet belongs to the local De Bergenske group, which owns a couple of hotels and restaurants in the city. I have mixed feelings about them since I used to work as a chef and sometimes I had extra shifts with them, and I know a few chefs working in some of their places.
Standard double room in Skostredet Hotel & Spa. Credit: www.debergenske.no
4. Home Hotel Havnekontoret – best location
What can be better than having a view of Bryggen? Living next to it! This place is just slightly posh and expensive, but not to an extent where one questions their life choices. The hotel has an absolutely fabulous location, you basically live in the middle of the main city attractions, there’s a bus stop right outside, a supermarket, restaurants, and bars. If you want to go hiking, just walk for 8 minutes, and you will be near the start of the path up Mount Fløyen. As a bonus, there’s a 360-degree view tower in the hotel. Just take the elevator all the way up, walk a bit more up, and you will get to see Bergen from another angle.
Hotel Havnekontoret is also a part of the Strawberry group.
View from the tower
5. Hotel Norge by Scandic – best chain
Central location, a pretty big hotel, and a superb bar, that’s how you can describe Hotel Norway in Bergen. Regarding the bar, even we, the locals, go there occasionally for something a bit fancier than the regular beers. They make pretty decent cocktails, so I can recommend that place.
Hotel Norge is part of my favourite Scandic group. I don’t think I ever had a bad experience with Scandic, and pretty much all of their breakfasts are worth the money.
Even as a local, sometimes I end up at the bar of Hotel Norge. Source: www.scandichotels.com
Overall, Bergen is a safe place, with good neighbourhoods, excluding a few white crows, which are more like small spots. As long as you are visiting it during the warm seasons, you will enjoy it. And hopefully, you will also enjoy one of the hotels in Bergen I recommended 🙂
