Bergen in Norway

Framed by seven mountains and opening onto the dramatic coastal inlets of western Norway, Bergen is the country’s gateway to the fjords. This was once the largest city in Scandinavia and a dominant force in the medieval Hanseatic trading network. Nowhere is that history more tangible than along Bryggen, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed wharf where centuries-old timber warehouses stand above the harbor. Salt air drifts off the water as vendors at the Bergen Fish Market arrange the morning’s catch. The city is built to be explored on foot, with winding lanes threading between wooden houses. Ride the Fløibanen Funicular to the summit of Mount Fløyen and the city fans out below, a dense cluster of rooftops pressed between mountain and sea.