Bergen is the second biggest city in Norway, located on the west coast of the country. It has with fjords and islands on one side and is surrounded by mountains. Bergen is locally known as the city between 7 mountains, or in Norwegian “byen mellom de 7 fjell” as the city center is surrounded by seven mountains. Hiking in Bergen is, therefore, a pretty natural activity when visiting the city.
Like many Norwegians, people from Bergen are eager and active hikers. Even though it’s a city known for its many rainy days throughout the year, they are active users of the mountains in and around the city. Because, as I grew up hearing, “There is no bad weather, just bad clothing”. If you visit Bergen, make sure to hike at least one of the many mountains there. There are hiking opportunities and trails for every hiker, no matter the experience.
Whether you’re planning your Bergen hiking trip, go camping in Norway or just want a day of hiking the mountains in Bergen while visiting, you’ll be able to find the information you need here. If not, feel free to reach out with any questions. As mentioned, Bergen is my hometown, so I might know a thing or two that can be useful to know before a visit to Bergen.
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Table of Contents
How to get around in Bergen
Because public transportation is the best way to get around in Bergen I’ll give you some practical information about public transportation in Bergen before getting into the different hikes.
Public transportation in Bergen
The public transportation tickets in Norway cost 38 kr(4$) per ticked. Each ticket can be used for 2 hours, no matter the direction you’re going. You can therefore technically use a ticket to get somewhere and back, but you would have very little time at your destination that way.
You can eighter download their app Skyss Billett or buy a ticket on ticket machines on most bus stops in Bergen. Don’t buy the ticket directly on the bus as it will be much more expensive that way. Also, check out their page and app to find the best travel connections for you.
The tickets can be used both on the public buses and the public tram “bybanen”.
Hiking in Bergen
As you might get, with so many mountains in and around the city, Bergen has amazing hiking opportunities. in the following paragraphs, you’ll find some hiking alternatives in Bergen that are easily accessible from the city center. In addition to these mountains and hiking trails, there are many many more hiking trails in and around Bergen. Some of them are better reached by car, and some are not reachable with public transportation at all. If you have a question about a specific hike not mentioned, please let me know and I’ll see if I can help you.
You can visit Norway without paying for accomodation? Figgure out how you can Camp in Norway, witout paying anything.
Camping is a great way to see Norway, be it to go hiking in the mountains, or to visit and see the city.
Mount Ulriken
Ulriken is the tallest mountain in Bergen with its 643 meters above the ocean. It’s located about 20 minutes drive from the city center. From the top of Ulriken, you’ll have an amazing view of the city and its surroundings and the fjords. Ulriken is easily recognizable from around Bergen because of its big satellite antenna on the very top.
Hiking Ulriken is done in 1-1,5 hours and takes about the same time back down. It’s a relatively short hike but is pretty inclined. In addition to the views, Ulriken offers a short and intensive workout. It’s my favorite mountain to hike in Bergen for those two reasons.
If you visit on a sunny afternoon you’ll be sure to pass by locals jogging up and down, or walking their dog in the afternoon sun (or rain, you never know, its Bergen after all.
How to get to Ulriken
There are a few ways to get to Ulriken, depending on what you want to do. You can eighter hike up or take the cable car to the top. These directions are from the city center of Bergen.
How to get to Ulriken by public transport
If you want to hike mount Ulriken you can take bus number 12 marked Lægdene – Montana from Festplassen in the center of Bergen. Get off at Montana and walk the last 7 minutes to where the Ulriken trail starts. You can always ask the bus driver to let you know where to get off to be sure. The bus ride takes about 25 minutes.
You also drive to Montana if you have your own car. You can park most places along the road, and also at the kindergardens parkinglot when it’s closed.
How to get to Ulriksbanen
If you’re not into hiking but would like to visit Ulriken anyway, you can take the cable car, Ulriksbanen, up to the mountain top too.
If you want to get to Ulriksbanen by public transport you can take bus number 3 marked Sletten from Småstrandgaten M and get off at Ulriksdal, from there its about a 15 minutes walk to where you can catch the cable car to Ulriken.
You can also take bus number 2 marked Birkelundstoppen from Småstrandgaten M. Get off at Ulriksdal and walk the last 15 minutes. Both rides take less than 10 minutes as long as traffic isn’t bad.
You can also take the private Ulriken Express that takes you directly from the city to the Ulriken cable car. It leaves from Strandgaten & Torgalmenningen every 30 minutes between 09:00-18:00 in high season. The price is 70kr(8$) for adults and 50kr(6$) for kids. You can also buy a combined ticket for the bus and the funicular. You can get more information about taking the Ulriksbanen on their pages.
Vidden: Ulriken – Fløyen
Vidden is the stretch between the two mountains Ulriken and Fløyen. It’s a nice day hike in Bergen with amazing views, passing by small lakes and several viewpoints. You can choose the difficulty of the hike yourself as if you go from Mount Fløyen to Mount Ulriken, you will go slightly upwards as you’re going from a lower mountain to a higher one. From Ulriken to Fløyen you will be going slightly more down then up and it is, therefore, a slightly less challenging hike.
With this said though, you will still have a fair share of ups and downs on your way no matter from where you start. Remember that the trail isn’t more than a path in some places, so you should definitely be ok with somewhat rough terrain.
You can eighter choose to take the cable car up to Ulriken, hike across Vidden and take the Fløybanen funicular down, or hike up and down to make the hike even longer. If you hike from peak to peak, the hike is about 15 km and take 4-5 hour depending on your pace. Vidden can be hiked all year round, but be aware to dress for the season as it can be windy and during the winter it is better suited for cross country skiing in periods.
Mount Fløyen
Mount Fløyen is without a doubt the most famous of Bergens seven mountains, and a must visit location in Bergen. Fløyen is easily accessible from the very city center, eighter by the fløybanen funicular or by walking the about 4 kilometers up to the top. The walk up is easy, on mostly paved or well-prepared gravel roads, with beautiful views of the city and the fjord as you ascend.
From the top of Fløyen, you have the option to keep hiking on a big range of hiking trails and paths. By example, you can hike Vidden, over to Stolzen, or up to Runnemannen from the top of Mount Fløyen. In addition, you can also stroll around in the area on top of Fløyen, to find beautiful lakes and forest.
How to get to Fløyen
As already mentioned, Mount Fløyen is easily reached from the city center. The Fløyen funicular station is close to the UNESCO protected Bryggen and Fisketorget. To get to Mount Fløyen Funicular station, head up Vetrlidsalmeningen from the corner of Kjøttbasaren. The station is hard to miss, a white characteristic little house at the end of the street.
If you want to hike the 4 km up tp Fløyen, just take the stairs on the left side of the station and head upwards between the characteristic three houses. Google maps actually show this route!
Rundemanen
Rundemanen is one of the mountain tops you can reach if you continue to hike on from Mount Fløyen. It is the second tallest mountain in Bergen at 568 meters above sea level. after Ulriken. As mentioned, the walk up Fløyen is easy and on well-prepared roads. The hike towards Mount Rundemanen from Fløyen also start out on these kinds of roads before continuing on hiking trails and paths.
Hiking on to Rundemanen allows you to see the view over Vidden, mentioned above, as well as a good workout as it is a slightly more challenging hike.
Stoltzekleiven – “Stoltzen”
Stoltzekleiven is a 10 minutes drive outside the city center of Bergen. Stoltzen, as it is popularly called by locals, is a hiking path dominated by a somewhat overwhelming number of stairs. It’s a short ascent, but trust me that you’ll reach the top with your legs on fire.
Every year, “Bergensere” as the locals are called, arrange a stair running competition up Stoltzen, called Stoltzen opp. Anyone can sign up to have a go in their own pace, but the current record holder ran the whole distance in 7 minutes and 54 seconds! Don’t count on running up the stairs in the same time though.
How long does it take to hike Stoltzekleiven?
The ascent is 301 altitude meters and about 800 stairs. The normal amount of time to use to hike Stolzen is closer to 30 minutes. Well as the top you have, yet another beautiful view over Bergen city.
How to get to Stoltzen
You can easily reach it by bus, drive there, or walk the about 30 minutes out there from the center.
If you want to go to the start of Stoltzen, by public transportation, you can take bus number 10 market Mulen from Festplassen K. You take it all the way to the end station called Mulen. The ride should take you about 10 minutes. When you get off the bus, head to Fjellveien and walk left towards the start of Stoltzekleiven.
Løvstakken
Mount Løvstakken is another mountain easy reachable from the center of the city. Løvstakken towers 479 meters above the ocean and has a great view over the city center, but also other parts of Bergen. From the top, you can see across the Bergen valley towards the mountains Ulriken, Rundemanen, Fløyen, and Stolzen. On the other side, you have a great view over the area Flyllingsdalen.
The mountain is easily recognizable from various places around Bergen city. You can make out Løvstakken Mountain by its tall characteristic antennas on the top.
How long does it take to hike Løvstakken
The hike one was is about 2,5 km and takes about 1.1.5 hours to do. Just for the hike you should calculate 3 hours to be safe, and be sure to make time to enjoy the beautiful view from the top.
How to get to Løvstakken
There are various buses going and the stop is called ” Løvstakkveien “. You can also take the city tram “Bybanen” to the stop “Danmarksplass” and walk up the last part. If you go by car, you can find parking along the streets just before the Løvstakken trail start.
You will start your hike from the end of Løvstakkveien, where there is a gravel path. Follow the gravel path up for a while and continue onto the forest path until you reach the top.
Read about my backpacking essentials, to get some inspiration for your packinglist.
