Bergen and the Norwegian Fjords: The Perfect 1-Week Itinerary

Why spend a week around Bergen

Great question! And I happen to have a great answer.
Because Bergen is the most beautiful city in Norway and, the cherry on top, it’s the gateway to one of the two most beautiful regions in the country: the fjords region.

So going to Bergen isn’t just about visiting the city, the wooden houses, and hopping back on your return flight. Within easy reach you have the fantastic Naeroyfjord, the most beautiful fjord in Norway, and incredible mountains.

And there’s plenty to keep you busy — loads of activities and things to see in the area. So I’m going to suggest a great itinerary to discover Bergen at a relaxed pace AND explore the most beautiful surroundings. Get ready to feast your eyes!

Oh yes, this itinerary requires a car for the part outside Bergen, but I’ll suggest alternatives if you don’t want to drive. Let’s go!

Day 1 – Discovering the main highlights of Bergen

To kick off your visit to Bergen, I suggest something I love when I arrive somewhere new: a guided tour with a local. It’s a great way to easily discover the most beautiful and interesting spots, along with their history, so you can come back later and linger at your own pace.
A 2-hour guided tour to discover Bergen’s past and present is ideal for starting your trip, especially at just €25

Then have lunch and stroll leisurely through the city centre and the docks. The goal isn’t to overdo it and see everything in one day — you have plenty of time ahead.

In the afternoon, take the funicular, enjoy the superb view over Bergen and walk around the top of Mount Fløyen. So lovely! (hopefully you’ll have better weather than I did :D)

• For accommodation, I’d strongly recommend staying in the centre of Bergen. Book early to avoid the priciest options! A cheap and convenient choice is the Citybox in the city centre. For a treat, go for the Bors Hotel — beautiful and not completely out of budget.

Day 2 – Bryggen and the Bergenhus Fortress

To start this second day, I suggest heading out early to explore the old Bryggen docks. Why early? Because it’s the most visited spot in the city, and people tend not to be early risers — so get there before them to have the place all to yourself. And honestly, when you’re there alone, it’s absolutely wonderful! You can truly smell the old wood. There are also a few lovely little shops.
Then, to learn more about the Hanseatic League, which gave Bergen its golden age, head to the museum dedicated to it: the Hanseatic Museum. It’s interesting, nothing mind-blowing, but definitely worth a visit.
For the afternoon, continue exploring Norwegian history with a visit to Bergenhus, Bergen’s royal fortress. It was badly damaged during the war, but it’s interesting and well worth seeing.

Day 3 – A boat trip on the Osterfjord and wandering the little streets

Right, that’s already quite a lot to start with, so for day three I suggest we take to the water.
In the morning, take the boat to visit the Osterfjord from Bergen and head to Mostraumen, departing from Bergen port. Info and booking

It’s a lovely half-day trip on a fairly small boat, which makes it all the better for soaking it all in.
But if you’d like to go a bit further, there are also other fjord cruises departing from Bergen.

Fancy a real Nordic experience? Book a slot at Heit Bergen, the floating sauna on Bergen’s fjord! You get the sauna, plus the option to take a dip in the refreshing waters. Very local, very cool!

For the afternoon, get lost in Bergen’s prettiest alleyways and typical neighbourhoods.

Head first to the Nordnes peninsula — really lovely because it’s not too busy, it’s authentic, there’s nature and nothing but white houses. Very nice!

On the way back, pass through the tiny Nostet neighbourhood, with its little cobbled streets — incredibly photogenic and utterly charming!

Check the opening hours, but in the afternoon head to the Fantoft stave church (the standing wooden church), just outside the city. Okay, it’s a reconstruction — the original was burnt down in the early 90s by fanatics (murderers, for that matter) — but its history is fascinating!

Day 4 – Heading to the fjords and Fjaerland

Time to leave Bergen (early)! Get in the car and head towards Fjaerland. The road is superb and you’ll make a few stops along the way. It’s about 250km, so you really need to get going in the morning to be able to take your time en route.

First stop: the Tvindefossen waterfall, a beautiful roadside waterfall. Impossible to miss!
A little further along is the old scenic road (and what a road it is!) Stalheimskleiva, an incredibly impressive zigzag route. The problem is that due to rockfalls, you can no longer drive it. The bends were so tight that buses could only travel it in one direction!

But this road can still be walked. You can stop and walk a kilometre for a stunning viewpoint. Worth it! Though it is a detour.

Then continue towards Vik to visit the superb Hopperstad Viking church. If it’s open, don’t miss going inside!

Continue and take the ferry between Vangsnes and Hella, then there’s another hour’s drive to reach Fjaerland — a true slice of paradise where you’ll spend the night, at the foot of the glaciers.

If it’s not dark yet (yes, in summer that’s rare, I know), go and see the Bøyabreen glacier, very easily accessible.

• In Fjaerland, I recommend staying at the Fjærland Fjordstove Hotell

⭐️ Enlarge the map of Norway’s Fjords! ⭐️

Day 5 – Exploring the fjords and discovering heritage

A little less driving, but even more beautiful things to see! The idea is to make your way towards Flam while discovering plenty of highlights along the way.

First, head to Kaupanger where you’ll take a look at the stave church there — which I hope will be open.

Then take the ferry between Manheller and Fodnes to reach the old town of Laerdal, full of wooden houses — really lovely and fairly quick to explore since it’s not very big. In summer, plenty of nice little shops are open.

And then, definitely go to the Borgund Viking church, one of the 2-3 most beautiful in the country. But watch the opening times!

Then, head to Aurland. For this, there are two options depending on the season and the time you have. If you have time and the road is open, absolutely take the Snovegen, a magnificent panoramic road — though it can take a while.

Otherwise, take the main tunnel, the longest in the world. It’s quite an experience! But fast — 25km in a straight line. On the return to Aurland via this road, you’ll reach the Stegastein viewpoint, which offers an incredible view over the Aurlandfjord.

Ideally, I’d recommend sleeping in Aurland rather than Flam — it’s less busy. For something practical with a nice view, check out the Winjum Hostel Stegastein. Nothing incredible but it does the job. For a treat, there’s the Hotel Aurlandsfjord. But if you prefer to stay in Flam, I’d recommend the very lovely Svingen Guesthouse and its views.

Day 6 – Naeroyfjord cruise and the village of Undredal

Now things get serious! Not that the previous days weren’t amazing, but here you’re really in for a treat.

First, head to Flam for the Naeroyfjord cruise between Flam and Gudvangen — one of Norway’s most beautiful fjords (and my personal favourite!). You absolutely must book your ticket in advance here. It takes 2 hours, costs around 640 NOK per person, and it’s pretty incredible!

Once you arrive in Gudvangen, take the shuttle back to Flam to pick up your car. Or even better — you can do the round trip by boat!

You pick up your car in the Flam car park. Then, head to the wonderfully remote village of Undredal — very pretty on the fjord’s edge. If it’s the right season, you can visit the Stavkirke and taste the local cheese, which is highly regarded.

Finally, on the way back to your accommodation (same as the night before), take the road that continues along the fjord past Aurland — there’s absolutely nobody there — and you’ll arrive at a hamlet called Skjerdal. The view over the fjord is fantastic!

Day 7 – The Flam Railway

For this last day (sob), you’re in for another incredible experience. Head to Flam to take the train to Myrdal — one of the most beautiful railway lines in the world, spectacular, truly incredible.

You absolutely need to book in advance as it’s very popular. You can do the round trip, but since it’s your last day, I’d suggest doing the one-way trip and then returning to Flam by bike (you can rent them at the top), or on foot, and also doing the zipline! All the options are here for a full adrenaline fix 🙂

And that’s it — time to head back to Bergen for your last night, or straight to the airport.

• if you need to leave earlier, you can easily do the Flam railway on the same day as the boat — it flows well and you can also visit the village of Undredal.

Practical information

Where to stay for this itinerary

It would be a shame not to stay in the centre. I go into much more detail in the article below, but there are plenty of great accommodation options in Bergen.

If you want to treat yourself in a historic setting, then the Hotel Bors is the one for you!

If after all those stories about the Hanseatic League and the Bryggen docks you want to extend the adventure, book a room at the Hanseatiske Hotel, in an authentic hanseatic house.

For comfort, quality, location and breakfast, head straight to the Radisson Blu at Bryggen! Especially as they slash prices off-season.

For budget travellers, the excellent choice is Citybox Bergen — really good and affordable in the city centre.

But in July and August, book well in advance as it’s touristy and prices shoot up!

Renting a car to explore the fjords

First of all, a car is absolutely not necessary for visiting Bergen — everything is very manageable on foot or by tram. But a car is more of a hassle than anything in the city, because parking is expensive.

So I’d recommend renting a car when you need to leave Bergen, from day 3 or 4.

Prices can vary enormously depending on the agency, availability, season, and various other factors. So you absolutely must compare.

Sometimes rentals are €30 a day, sometimes they can climb to €70, but what’s certain is that the later you book, the more expensive it gets.

So compare. To get good prices but not just from anyone — you’ll see agency reviews and overall ratings, which is really important.

For my part I compare with them and I’m very happy with it (the info is clear and reviews are visible!):

• • Compare prices with a reliable comparator

Doing this itinerary without a car

It’s possible! Not necessarily totally straightforward, but by going through tour agencies you can see the majority of things in the fjords (especially in Flam), either staying in Bergen or heading straight to Flam.
For example, below I’m including 3 tours that let you do the Naeroyfjord cruise, discover Flam and its railway, and visit the Stegastein, all in one day. It’s packed, but it’s great!

Getting to Flam and staying there

The options I showed you above do all the activities in one day, going back and forth from Bergen.
But if you want to get to Flam yourselves and then enjoy the activities there, that’s perfectly possible! First, I’d suggest checking my article on practical information about Flam, but in summary, here’s what you can do:

• get to Flam by train from Bergen (fast line F4 or regional R40) or go to Flam by boat
• stay there at the Svingen Guesthouse or the Flåmsbrygga Hotel (but fairly expensive)
• from there you can easily take the Flamsbana railway and the Naeroyfjord cruise, but you really need to book in advance.
• and for Borgund, Stegastein and Laerdal, you can take this very handy tour from Flam!

Getting to Fjaerland without a car

For the day when you’d normally drive to Fjaerland via the Hopperstad Viking church, you can do roughly the equivalent, including a wonderful boat trip through the fjord. It’s packed, it’s pricey, but it’s fantastic!

In conclusion

Well, now you know everything! I’ve really tried to include all the most beautiful places in the Bergen region, without having to rush or cover too many kilometres. So you have time to visit the city — which is absolutely worth it — and you can truly enjoy the surroundings: the fjords, the Viking churches.
Of course, this itinerary is fully adaptable! Think of it as my personal selection of favourite places and activities — after that, do them in whatever order you like. But my advice would be not to pack too much in, not to rush, otherwise you’ll have regrets. I know there are so many things to see in Norway, but it’s a country that deserves to be visited slowly, to be savoured.

• if you’d like to stay longer, then this 2-week fjords itinerary is just for you!

Don’t forget the other articles on Bergen and the fjords!

• The most beautiful places in Bergen: discover everything you need to see during your visit to Bergen
• The best hotels in Bergen: to find out where to stay, I’ve put together a selection of the best options and best value for money
• Transport options between the airport and Bergen: by bus, tram, taxi, find out how to reach the city
• How to get from Bergen to Flam: discover the different transport options to reach the famous Flam railway
• What to do in Flam — a magnificent cruise, a fantastic railway, elevated viewpoints, it’s a superb place!
• The best cruises from Bergen: want to head out for the day? Here are several great cruises to do
• The most beautiful places in Norway’s fjords: because the fjord region is vast, here’s what you must not miss!
• The map of Norway’s fjords: on a single map, discover all the essential places and information you can’t miss
• What to see in Geiranger : Geirangerfjord compete with Naeroyfjord for the title of “Most beautiful fjord of Norway”, discover why!