Bergen, Norway: Just Add Water

A UNESCO designation practically guarantees a destination has everything required for a well-balanced family vacation, from compelling historic sites to awe-inspiring green spaces to unforgettable food at every price point. Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city, may only have a population of about 280,000, but it rivals larger capitals when it comes to activities that keep visitors of all ages delighted.

Bergen Main Square at Dusk © Elyse Glickman

Old Bryggen, a big swath of downtown made up of renovated and restored building, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Bergen, in its entirety, is also one of just 18 cities designated a UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy, along with Ostersund, Sweden; Parma, Italy; and Phuket, Thailand. With so much going for it, it’s certain nobody in the family will be bored or hungry.

Food Tour Bergen © Elyse Glickman

Though a food tour is always a no-fail first-day activity, Norway Insight Tours captures the city’s UNESCO glory while getting participants familiar with Bergen’s layout. The three-hour Eco Food Tour and longer City of Gastronomy tour not only cover the city’s famed fish market (fisketorget), but also the roots of Southern Norway’s economic foundations. The guide discusses how brown cheese, dried stockfish and apples became staples in the Norwegian diet at Norway Insight’s Base Camp (a 300=year-old building inside Bryggen). Following that, there’s a pass through the fish market to sample a fish cake, and strolls to quaint neighborhood restaurants to sample hearty stews, waffles topped with brown cheese and other delicacies.

Bergen Fjord Adventures offers a different kind of food-focused excursion uniting Norway’s two biggest draws — seafood and fjords — with a fast-paced daytrip aboard a speedboat. The day is bookended with an adrenaline rush-inducing trip past the fjords’ islets and reefs en route to a small island whose year-round population consists of goats and seabirds. The guide stops occasionally to discuss geology, regional wildlife, maritime history and the family-owned seafood business. After the boat docks, she sets up a bonfire, gets out meal prep supplies and asks her passengers to forage for periwinkles, shellfish and seaweed to be used in what will become an elegant fish stew. The hunt for edible treasures, even for the most finicky eaters (alternative foods are provided), ends up being an enjoyable lesson on how to cook in the wild.

Collecting Shellfish in Bergen © Elyse Glickman

A luxurious, slower-paced alternative to the speedboats is a reservation at Cornelius Seafood Restaurant, especially if grandparents are part of the family group. The award-winning restaurant begins with a scenic cruise from Bergen’s harbor to the glass-walled restaurant nested on a small islet. Meals are “metrological,” which means that day’s weather will determine what the culinary team will prepare for the multicourse dinner. Fabulous side dishes include great sunset views and tanks filled with local sea creatures not intended for consumption.

The Bergen Maritime Museum and Hanseatic Museum offer more food for thought in their depictions of Bergen’s maritime heritage and role in overall European history. The Hanseatic Museum, one of the oldest surviving wooden buildings in Bergen, recreates the daily lives of German merchants credited for reviving Bergen and its economy after the Plague, 1350–1750. The Maritime Museum sails through Bergen’s and Norway’s maritime evolution from the prehistoric period and Viking era to the present day through models, paintings and various items related to shipboard life and the people who lived it.

KODE’s four buildings constituting Bergen’s visual arts hub are worth a visit for special galleries dedicated to Edvard Munch, Nikolai Astrup and other Norwegian artists (J. C. Dahl, Harriet Backer, Erik Werenskiold and Gerhard Munthe); and Sølvskatten (The Silver Treasure), a permanent collection of silver and gold objects produced in Bergen. The KunstLab in KODE 4, designed especially for the youngest art aficionados, puts KODE’s best-known Norwegian and international pieces into a context they can truly appreciate. A kilometer from downtown, technology and environmental science comes to life at VilVite Science Centre, with more than 100 installations, including a bike that defies gravity.

Wild Bergen Goats © Elyse Glickman

A ride up the Fløibanen Funicular and the panoramic vista of the city and fjords are figuratively and literally just the beginning of a day’s adventure at Mt. Fløyen Park. A few yards away, little kids can scale the interactive playground constituting the ultimate “tree house,” get to know Norway’s beloved folkloric characters in the Troll Garden, or pet resident cashmere goats who assist with the park’s landscaping in spring and summer. Guided hikes are offered daily in the warmer months, as are kids’ weekend zip line tours, and canoe and bike rentals. Throughout the year, well-marked trails and picnic areas with grills are accessible, enabling visitors to experience the mountain as a fall foliage paradise or a winter wonderland.

Although Bergen happens to be one of Europe’s rainiest cities, its beauty, storybook architecture and excellent food make it one of Scandinavia’s brightest and most accessible travel destinations for those making their first visit to the region and for experienced travelers interested in discovering new vistas as members of the Hanseatic League did centuries ago.