i love bergen tour

Contact us at [email protected] or +47 940 54 465 (it's better to message than to call)

• A Walk Through Bergen Past & Present
• Historic Nordnes
• Bergen’s Historic Highlights & Bryggens Museum
• Bergen by Minibus
• Practical Info
• Groups, Private & Customised Tours

Bergen Walking Tour

See the best of Bergen with a unique walking tour

• A Walk Through Bergen Past & Present (General Walking Tour)
• Historic Nordnes: Merchants, Witches, Crime, & Hidden Alleys (Off-the-beaten path & Bergen Past & Present Part 2)
• Bergen Private Walking Tour (Multiple languages available)
• New! Winter Special!  1 Hour History Tour of Bergen

Note – Tours must be pre-booked! If you plan on coming and wish to pay by cash or card when you arrive, contact me to confirm your spot.

Don’t see the time you are after, or maybe you are trying to book a tour less than two hours before it begins? Message me on WhatsApp or SMS at  +47 940 54 465. I don’t recommend calling – I may be out on tour and not able to answer the phone. 

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Meet the Guides

I Love Bergen is a group of guides who love everything about Bergen. Emma is originally from Australia but has lived in Bergen for 7 years and is the founder of I Love Bergen. We have a small team of enthusiastic locals ready to give you not just the history of Bergen, but also an insight into what it is like to live here. Some of our guides include Magda, originally from Poland but living in Bergen for almost 10 years, and Renato, who has lived in Bergen most of his life but has an Italian and English background. All our guides have years of experience and are authorised local guides with fluency in English.

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Travel Guide & Tour Agency

Explore the Hidden North

The Hidden North is a travel agency and online tour guide written by Emma. 

The website includes self-guided walks, road-trips and historical overviews for places throughout Norway, Denmark, Finland, Estonia, and Sweden. 

About the company

Copyright © 2024 The Hidden North A/S Org nr 931213741

www.thehiddennorth.com

I Love Bergen Tours

I Love Bergen is 100% locally owned and operated in Bergen, Norway.

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Great tour! - I Love Bergen

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• Western Norway    
• Hordaland    
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• Bergen - Places to Visit    
• I Love Bergen

Great tour!

I highly recommend this tour! We took this tour this morning with Patrick as our guide. He was friendly and knowledgeable and gave a great tour! We learned so much about Bergen and Norways history. It really brought the buildings to life. Go on this tour. You won’t regret it.

We walked the back streets behind Bryggen as well as the main drag. Our guide, Emma, was clever and informative, and included great descriptions of what life was like throughout the centuries. And some good personal descriptions of life in Bergen present day.

Our guide was outstanding. The route we were taken on was great. We learned a lot about Bergen.

The trip was canceled last minute (the morning of the event ) I tried to reaching by phone and email for refund but no reply.

Hello, thanks for your message. We had tried to contact you prior to cancelling the tour, so it was not cancelled the morning of. Additionally, we did finally reach you after the tour cancellation and have already processed the refund. Refunds can take several business days to reach your account.

We took this tour today and our guide, Magda, was amazing! It was wonderful to explore neighborhoods we never would have visited and she made the history and culture of beautiful Bergen come alive. We felt touched by the pride of the Bergen citizens and loved the backstory behind this adorable, historically significant town. Thank you Magda!

Josina was a very knowledgeable and personable guide. Enjoyed both her ability to answer questions but her local anecdotes and insights. And all at a good and not rushed pace.

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Excellent tour - I Love Bergen

• Europe    
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• I Love Bergen

Excellent tour

Our guide was outstanding. The route we were taken on was great. We learned a lot about Bergen.

The trip was canceled last minute (the morning of the event ) I tried to reaching by phone and email for refund but no reply.

Hello, thanks for your message. We had tried to contact you prior to cancelling the tour, so it was not cancelled the morning of. Additionally, we did finally reach you after the tour cancellation and have already processed the refund. Refunds can take several business days to reach your account.

We took this tour today and our guide, Magda, was amazing! It was wonderful to explore neighborhoods we never would have visited and she made the history and culture of beautiful Bergen come alive. We felt touched by the pride of the Bergen citizens and loved the backstory behind this adorable, historically significant town. Thank you Magda!

Josina was a very knowledgeable and personable guide. Enjoyed both her ability to answer questions but her local anecdotes and insights. And all at a good and not rushed pace.

A great way to spend our 1st day in Bergen. Our guide Magda was very friendly and knowledgeable. We got history, visiting tips and insights into life in Bergen.

Wow! This is a fantastic tour! Completely met what we were looking to do on our first day get our feet wet with Bergen. And it did rain and our feet did get wet! But Dane provided us with 2 hours of enjoyable, entertaining discussion- fascinating history, past and present with just the right balance of information. The old downtown area is a lovely and appreciate having him walk us through a residential neighbourhood. Not only that, but he let us experience a "tasty" dried fish treat- OK my husband did it; I did not. This company goes above and beyond; I unfortunately lost my phone and a member from the tour operator went out of her way to retrieve it- shout out to Emma!

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You are here: Home Things To Do A walk through Bergens past & present

A walk through Bergens past & present

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Guided town walk

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Opening Times

* On 17 May, the tour will only take place at 2 p.m.

Join us for a walk that combines the best of Bergen with the hidden gems known only by locals. Explore the past & present with a native English-speaking guide.

Join us on an unforgettable journey through the historic streets of Bergen, the most beautiful city in Norway. Our tours focus not just on the history and highlights of Bergen, but also the off-the-beaten path hidden alleys and stories of everyday life. All our guides are locals who call Bergen home, and this tour was designed by them to show you Bergen’s history, everyday life, and favourite local spots.

The first half of our tour focuses on the history of Bergen. We wander the Bergenhus fortress complex, covering Bergen’s medieval history and short period as the capital of Norway. Meet King Håkon Håkonsson, whose coronation is the first historic description of Bergen being a rainy city and learn how he built up the fortress (and Norway) as a European powerhouse. Learn about Norway’s period under Denmark, Sweden, and Nazis during occupation, and see how we use the fortress today. After this crash course in Norwegian history, we make our way to Bryggen – Bergen’s UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here you learn about 1,000 years of trade history and the reason for Bergen’s founding and growth. Get to know the Hanseatic League – the German trading organisation that operated here for 400 years – as we wander the 300-year-old alleys. Our historic overview finishes at St. Mary’s Church, the oldest building in Bergen.

The second half of our tour is about life in Bergen. We leave the ‘touristy’ part behind and wander into the neighbourhood surrounding Bryggen. Your guide chooses the path based on their own interests and local experience, and as you explore Bergen’s best kept secret, you’ll learn about everyday life: house prices, work, what we do for fun, how we handle the rain, and more! This is also one of the most picturesque parts of the city. Be sure to ask your guide as many questions as possible and be sure to say hi to all the local cats that may follow us for part of the journey. The tour ends by passing by our favourite cafes, restaurants, with recommendations for ways to explore Bergen independently.

Our walking tour focuses on giving you both the highlights but also our favourite places in Bergen. We pride ourselves on being locally owned and operated and use authorised guides who live in Bergen all year round. Don’t miss an opportunity to uncover the treasures of Bergen on this captivating walking tour. Whether you’re a history buff, nature lover or simply seeking an authentic experience, our tour will leave you wish a lasting memory of the best city in Norway.

We limit the group size as this is a tour partly through a residential neighbourhood. We also want you to be able to ask as many questions as possible.

Group size: 16

Please note – Infants and children are welcome on the tour. If you have a stroller, keep in mind we will be going up three short sets of stairs throughout the tour. Dogs are also welcome on the tour but must be always kept on a leash.

This is a moderate tour with cobblestone paths on hills. Good and comfortable walking shoes are required.

Meeting point: We meet at the address Bradbenken 1. All guests are required to be at the meeting spot at least 10 minutes before the tour start time. We do not wait for latecomers and guests more than 15 minutes late to a tour have their booking cancelled without refund.

Duration: 2 hours

Finishing point: This tour ends at the fish market.

Language: English (private tours in other languages are available on request)

Booking: The tour must be pre-booked online in advance. We do carry card machines if you wish to pay on site but cannot guarantee a spot on the tour at the last minute – we strictly stick to our group size. Tours require a minimum of 1 person to operate and the first booking must be done at least two hours before the tour begins, or the tour will not operate.

Cancellation policy: Guests can cancel the tour and be fully refunded up to 24 hours before the tour start time.

There are no refunds due to bad weather. If extreme weather is forecast, the company will cancel the tour and contact travellers in advance to select another time or day. If another time isn’t suitable, the guest will be fully refunded. The tour runs on rainy days.

Prices may be subject to change.

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TripAdvisor Traveller Rating:

• Excellent 351
• Very Good 17

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Map & directions.

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Diamond's Fifth, finally! self.__wrap_n=self.__wrap_n||(self.CSS&&CSS.supports("text-wrap","balance")?1:2);self.__wrap_b=(t,n,e)=>{e=e||document.querySelector(`[data-br="${t}"]`);let s=e.parentElement,r=O=>e.style.maxWidth=O+"px";e.style.maxWidth="";let o=s.clientWidth,u=s.clientHeight,a=o/2-.25,l=o+.5,d;if(o){for(r(a),a=Math.max(e.scrollWidth,a);a+1 {self.__wrap_b(0,+e.dataset.brr,e)})).observe(s):process.env.NODE_ENV==="development"&&console.warn("The browser you are using does not support the ResizeObserver API. Please consider add polyfill for this API to avoid potential layout shifts or upgrade your browser. Read more: https://github.com/shuding/react-wrap-balancer#browser-support-information"))};self.__wrap_n!=1&&self.__wrap_b("undefined",1)

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For the 1965-1966 season of the New York Philharmonic, Leonard Bernstein planned a series of concerts titled “Symphonic Forms in the 20th Century,” programming works by Mahler, Sibelius and other great European masters. Bernstein also included American symphonies, including, on today’s date in 1966, the belated premiere performance of David Diamond’s Symphony No. 5.

Diamond began work on his Symphony No. 5 in 1947, and its original inspiration was two-fold: Diamond wanted to compose a symphony for Bernstein to premiere and to translate into music the vivid emotions he experienced after attending a performance of Sophocles’ tragedy, Oedipus the King. But Diamond found recreating the Oedipus story harder than he thought. He ended up putting his Fifth aside, and finished and premiered his Sixth, Seventh, and Eight Symphonies before coming to the realization that, “Program symphonies were just not for me.”

Years later, Bernstein asked, “What ever happened to that symphony you were going to write for me?”

Diamond explained all this to Bernstein, who replied, “Well, it’s about time you did something about it — it’s silly to have one symphony that just isn’t there!”

And so, Diamond set to work completing a non-programmatic Fifth, dedicated to Leonard Bernstein.

Music Played in Today's Program

David Diamond (1915-2005): Symphony No. 5; Juilliard Orchestra, Christopher Keene, conductor; New World 80396

On This Day

1892 - American folksinger and folksong collector John Jacob Niles, in Louisville, Kentucky

1865 - Meyerbeer: opera L'Africaine ( The African Woman ), at the Paris Opéra

1892 - Dvořák: In Nature's Realm Overture , in Prague

1892 - Sibelius: symphonic poem/oratorio Kullervo for vocal soloists, chorus and orchestra, in Helsinki, with the composer conducting;

1928 - Cowell: Sinfonietta , in Boston, Nicholas Slonimsky conducting

1938 - Diamond: Elegy in Memory of Maurice Ravel , in Rochester, New York

1948 - Stravinsky: ballet Orpheus , by the American Society in New York City

1966 - Douglas Moore: opera Carrie Nation , in Lawrence, Kansas

1981 - John Williams: Pops on the March by the Boston Pops with the composer conducting.

2005 - Arne Nordheim: Fonos for trombone and orchestra, in Bergen, Norway, by the Bergen Philharmonic

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Diamond's Fifth, finally!

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About Composers Datebook®

Host John Birge presents a daily snapshot of composers past and present, with timely information, intriguing musical events and appropriate, accessible music related to each.

He has been hosting, producing and performing classical music for more than 25 years. Since 1997, he has been hosting on Minnesota Public Radio's Classical Music Service. He played French horn for the Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra and performed with them on their centennial tour of Europe in 1995. He was trained at the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Eastman School of Music and Interlochen Arts Academy.

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Walking Tour in Bergen of the Past and Present

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I Love Bergen - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2024)