NO25.24 Bergen – The Beautiful Rainy City

Bergen is beautiful. Full stop. There are cities where you have to search long and hard for what makes them special – in Bergen, you practically trip over it.

The colourful wooden houses of Bryggen, the old Hanseatic quarter by the harbour, are the city’s calling card and rightly a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Leaning walls, narrow alleyways, centuries of history – it feels like stepping into another time. But Bergen is more than just Bryggen. The lively streets, the famous fish market, the cafes and restaurants, the little boutiques – everything comes together into a harmonious whole.

Bergen is notorious for its rain – allegedly it rains here on more than 200 days a year. But that’s precisely what gives the city its character. Wet cobblestone streets, reflections in puddles, the smell of rain and sea – despite (or perhaps because of?) the weather, Bergen radiates incredible warmth. You sit in the dry drinking your coffee and watch the rain, and suddenly you understand why the people of Bergen love their city so much.

We would happily have stayed longer. Bergen is absolutely worth a trip – whatever the weather.