Three days is the sweet spot for Bergen. It is long enough to see the old harbour at a relaxed pace, to take a proper fjord trip and to wait for a clear window to ride a mountain cable car, and short enough that you do not run out of things to do. The city is compact, so the skill is not in fitting sights in but in matching each sight to the weather you actually get. This plan is built in three blocks, each with a wet-weather alternative, so you can swap days around when the forecast changes.
Day one: the old town and the harbour
Start at the Fish Market at Torget, where the harbour opens out, and have a coffee or an early fish soup in the Mathallen. Walk the quay to Bryggen and spend an hour in the passages behind the facades. Then visit the Hanseatic Museum and Schøtstuene, which explains what you have just been walking through. Continue along the harbour to Bergenhus Fortress, climb the Rosenkrantz Tower if it is open and look back at the wharf from the water side. In the afternoon take a guided old town walk if you want stories, or ride the Fløibanen funicular to Mount Fløyen and, if the weather allows, walk down. An evening ride gives you the lights of the harbour.
Day two: a fjord
This is the day to commit to water. The easiest option is the half-day Mostraumen cruise, which leaves from the quay beside the Fish Market and takes about three and a half hours, leaving the afternoon free for the KODE art museums or the Bergen Aquarium. If you want the headline fjord country, give the whole day to the Nærøyfjord, Flåm and Stegastein tour, or to the Flåm Railway. Book fjord trips a few days ahead and check the departure points, since some leave from the harbour and some from the station area. Dress for the open deck, whatever the season.
Day three: the mountain and the extras
Keep the third day flexible and use it for the clearest weather you can find. Ulriken643 is the highest of the city mountains, and the cable car takes you to a summit plateau with views of the fjords and islands. Check the webcam before you go, and remember that in winter it is closed on Mondays and has seasonal closures. If the clouds sit low, swap in the art museums, the Troll Museum and the aquarium, which are indoors. If you have the energy and the season is right, the Steinsdalsfossen waterfall near Norheimsund is an easy half-day out where you can walk behind the falling water.
Rainy-day swaps
Bergen is one of the wettest cities in Europe, so assume that at least one of your three days will be wet. The wet-weather bench is deep: the Hanseatic Museum, the KODE museums, the Troll Museum, the aquarium, Mathallen and the indoor tour of King Håkon's Hall and Bryggens Museum. The fjord cruises still run in the rain, and many people find the mist on the water the best part. Keep your outdoor sights for the dry hours, and book nothing that cannot be moved without penalty.
Eating on the plan
Lunch at the Mathallen on day one, a snack at the top of Fløyen, a proper dinner near the harbour and a cheap picnic lunch on fjord day will keep costs in check. Breakfast is the best value meal if your hotel includes it, which is why many travellers choose Opus XVI, Clarion Hotel Admiral or Zander K for a central base. Our guide to eating and drinking has more on what to order.
Practical notes
Wear shoes with grip, carry a waterproof jacket instead of an umbrella and bring layers, because the temperature can swing between harbour and summit. Daylight is short in winter, so do your outdoor sights between late morning and mid-afternoon, and long in summer, when you can fit in an evening walk. Use buses and the light rail for the aquarium, Ulriken and the airport, and your feet for everything else. If you have more than three days, add a Hardanger day trip or the Voss area, and if you have fewer, merge days one and two and skip the mountain.
If the weather turns bad on the day you planned for the mountain, move it to the next dry window rather than forcing it, because a cable car ride into cloud is wasted. Keep your hotel flexible too, and remember that a central base such as the harbour front or the station district makes every swap easier.
