Bergen Entertainment

Bergen has a good blend of entertainment options. Although eating out can be pricey, there are some excellent restaurants here and some good local specialities to sample, such as reindeer meat or the famous Bergen fish soup. The city has a good reputation for classical museums and some excellent shopping.

Eating out

There is some excellent food to be had in Bergen and a good range of traditional and international restaurants. Norway is a fishing nation and the seafood here is considered some of the best in Europe. There is also plenty to interest the more adventurous meat-eaters, with deer and elk possibilities on the menu. Most of the good eateries are in the city centre. The downside is that a lot of the restaurants in Bergen are on the pricey side, but there is still some good value to be found.

Caf Opera has a reputation for good home cooked food and excellent value, and is popular both for its eating in the daytime and in the early evening, with beer and dancing late into the night. There is excellent seafood to be had all over the city, but particularly near the fish market and harbour. Fiskekrogen Restaurant has a good reputation and offers some interesting dishes such as monkfish with bacon and redcurrant sauce; this place tends to get busy, so its a good idea to make a reservation.

Local cuisine

Norwegian food may not be the most famous in the world, but those holidaying here will find plenty of interesting local delicacies to sample. There is obviously a strong emphasis on fish and seafood, and in particular, grilled or smoked salmon (laks) is excellent in Bergen. Bergen fish soup is common in many traditional restaurants and is particularly good on a cool breezy day. Geitost, a sweet goats cheese, is worth trying, as are the various varieties of Norwegian meatcakes.

Meat lovers will enjoy trying some of the local game and venison, in particular, reindeer, elk and deer that have been part of traditional Norwegian diet for centuries. The most typically Norwegian fish are herring, catfish and monkfish, and the fish cakes (fiskekake) can be very good and often reasonably priced. For many people, some of the best food can be found at and around the fish markets, with freshly cooked shrimps, and fish sandwiches being great for snacking.

Theatre and music

Bergen has a lively music and theatre scene, with some interesting classical music concerts and theatre performances.

The Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, with a history dating back to 1765, have a good reputation and perform every Thursday from September to June, with some additional weekend performances. They are based in the 1,500-seat Grieg Hall.

The Edvarg Grieg Museum at Troldhaugen has a beautiful 200-seat concert hall and is an excellent venue for classical music concerts, and in particular, for the music of Grieg himself. There are regular performances throughout the summer and autumn, and if you do get the chance, it is certainly worth buying tickets for a concert.

Bergens main theatre (Den Nationale Scene) has regular performances of traditional Norwegian plays, light entertainment and musicals. Bergen International Theatre (BIT), located at Nstegaten 54, has a good mixture of Norwegian and international plays as well as some good dance performances, with performances around three times a month.

Shopping

With so much of Bergens history centred on trading, it is no surprise to find that today, there is still some excellent shopping to be found here. There is a good range of options from small souvenir shops to specialised shops and large departments stores, should you need to escape from the rain for a bit! Some of the best shopping is to be found in the Bryggen area; not only is it the most attractive part of town, but there are some excellent shops on the small streets and plenty of cute cafs for when you want to relax for a bit. The best large shopping centres in the city are Galleriet on Torgallmenningen (an old street which has been covered and converted into a shopping centre), Bergen Storsenter near the train station, and Klverhuset in Strandgaten.

For visitors who are not residents of Norway, Sweden, Denmark or Finland, it is possible to get up to 18.5 per cent tax refunded on shopping purchases, called a Global Refund. Show your passport and ask for a Global Refund Cheque and then when leaving the country, go to the Global Refund desk for your cash refund.