Bergen tours and excursions
Bergen tours
Walking tours
Bergen Guide Service offers a variety of guided walking tours which include visits to Bryggen, the Hanseatic museums and Fløibanen Funicular Railway among other attractions. Bergen Tourist Information can also be contacted for information about walks and itineraries.
Tel: 5530 1060.Website: http://www.bergenguideservice.no
Boat tours
Run by Bergen Fjord Sightseeing, these harbour trips provide excellent views of Bergen's colourful houses and of the seven mountains that surround the city. The MS White Lady leaves the Torget daily at 1400 between 1 June and the end of August. The trip lasts an hour.
Tel: 5525 9000.Website: http://www.whitelady.no
Bus tours
Tide runs two different regular tours daily in the peak season. These depart from the tourist information office. The first option focuses on attractions in the city centre, while the second takes in Troldhaugen and the Fantoft Stave Church. 'Bergen in a Nutshell' is a spectacular round trip of the city, taking visitors through the historic town centre in an old double-decker bus and then up the Ulriken cable car to Mount Ulriken.
Tel: 5523 8732.Website: http://www.tide.no
Train tours
The Bergens Expressen takes visitors around the city centre's sights in a little train, before climbing up the Fjellveien to reveal a fantastic panorama. The tour takes about an hour and runs hourly in May between 10am and 4pm, and hourly between June and September from 10am to 7pm.
Tel: 5553 1150.Website: http://www.bergensexpressen.no
Helicopter tours
Fonnafly organises tailor-made trips by sea plane or helicopter from Sandviken, 1.5km (1 mile) north of Bergen. A 50-minute flight into the spectacular Hardangerfjord is one of many possibilities.
Tel: 8800 1313.Website: http://www.fonnafly.no
Bergen excursions
Troldhaugen - The Edvard Grieg Museum
Designed by the composer Schack Bull, Edvard Grieg's attractive Swiss-style house was built in the 1880s in lush surroundings on a promontory jutting out into Lake Nordås. The hut in the garden where he composed many of his great works still contains his desk, upright piano and rocking chair. Up until 1985, concerts regularly took place here. They are now staged in the concert hall, Troldsalen, usually every Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday in the summer (mid June to mid Aug), and Sundays in September (free bus from Bergen city centre).
Tel: 5592 2992.Website: http://www.kunstmuseene.no
Fjord trip
Bergen Fjord Sightseeing offers a four-hour tour around the fjords closest to Bergen. The boat departs from the pier at Torget at 1000 (May-Sep) and 1530 (Jul-Aug). Numerous other waterborne tours are available, and all can be booked through the tourist information office. Maritime Tours also operates day tours of the magnificent Osterfjord aboard a vintage vessel, departing from Bryggen daily (Jun-Sept).
Tel: 5525 9000; 5530 8080.Website: http://www.whitelady.no
Lysøen
You don't need to be a music fan to enjoy a visit to Lysøen. The 'island of light' was built as a summer residence for the Norwegian violin virtuoso Ole Bull in 1873. The delightful villa, which is an unusual combination of architectural styles inspired by Ole Bull's travels, is open to the general public in summer, with guided tours taking place daily.Pack a picnic and wander in the beautiful grounds before catching the ferry back to the mainland - there are idyllic, secluded bathing spots, as well as 13km (8 miles) of paths to explore. Lysøen is about 30km (18.5 miles) south of Bergen's centre. Take the E39 south, then follow signs for Fana on the 546, and from there head towards Søvik, from where the tiny ferry (passengers only) departs.
Tel: 5630 9077.
