Stage art
Den Nationale Scene
The national theater in Bergen. In a beautifully restored building, the theater presents a variety of plays on three different stages, from traditional Ibsen to contemporary plays. The largest stage Store scene is where most mainstream plays are played, while the two smaller stages features more alternative plays, often the most interesting ones. The plays are in Norwegian.
BIT Teatergarasjen
BIT Bergen International Theater presents Norwegian and international contemporary stage art productions of high quality.
Den Nye Opera
Although Bergen does not have its own opera house, it does have its own opera company. Den Nye Opera The New Opera usually put on a few productions throughout the year. Summer performances are often at the Bergenhus Fortress while other productions are performed at Den Nationale Scene or at Grieghallen. Tickets are available online. Tickets usually range from kr. 200 to kr. 550 depending on seating and availability. Bergen does not attract the top performers, and the quality may vary a bit, usually anywhere between superb and a bit below average.
Events
Nattjazz
Nattjazz is a two-weeks long jazz festival from the end of May to the start of June, the longest jazz festival in Northern Europe. All concerts take place at Verftet USF, a former sardine factory located at Nøstet, with a capacity of over 4000 guests. With a day-pass, you get access to all concerts that night for a fair price. Usually, there are six or seven concerts every night, some simultaneously on the various stages. The festival's musical profile ranges from traditional jazz to world music. Some of the artists that previously has played on Nattjazz are Gotan Project, Ahmed Jamal, Jan Garbarek, Stan Getz, Art Blakey, Herbie Hancock, Van Morrison and James Brown.
Bergenfest
Music festival from the end of April to start of May. A number of concerts in most rythmic music genres pop, rock, hip hop, blues, soul all over town.
Constitution Day
On 17 May, every business in town, except restaurants downtown, is closed as the citizens dress up in their finest clothes and celebrate all day long. You will be stunned by the amount of people in the streets â one can hardly move around â and by the beautiful national costumes every second person you meet will wear. This is the day people will look oddly on you if you wear anything less then a suit or dress. At 7AM, there is a twenty-one-gun salute from Skansen, half way up Mount Fløyen, as the morning parade starts from Dreggen. At 10:30AM, the main parade starts at Torgalmenningen, goes around town and ends up at Festplassen. The parade is formed by children and organizations such as sports teams, and only a very few military troops, unlike in many other countries. The level of nationalism can perhaps be a bit overwhelming for foreigners, but try to say gratulerer med dagen literally "congratulations on the day" to anyone you meet, and you will probably get the same in response, even if you're not Norwegian at all.
16 May
The night before Constitution Day is the definite party night in Bergen.
Bergen Reggae Festival
Yearly event hosted by the reggae collective Cushion in the beginning of June.
Bergen International Festival
With about 160 events in two weeks from the end of May to start of June, Bergen International Festival is the largest festival of its kind in the Nordic countries. The festival presents literature, dance, theater and classical music. The latest years, focus has been on art from the Nordic countries.
Bergen International Film Festival
BIFF is a week-long film festival held in October every year at Bergen kino the Magnus Barfot multiplex cinema. In 2007 BIFF had 40,000 visitors.
Buekorps
The buekorps literally meaning archery brigade is a tradition unique to Bergen. Formed by children and young people, these brigades have their roots back to the 19th century when kids imitated military troops performing closed order drill. The brigades parade the city streets with drummers, officers and privates carrying crossbows throughout spring, with Constitution Day being the high point.
Concerts
Det Akademiske Kvarter
Popular student venue, usally hosting concerts several times a week except during holidays and the summer.
Bergen Jazzforum
Jazz club with focus on modern jazz. Norwegian Jazz Club Of The Year 2008.
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra
The program is varied, but the repertoire is usually quite easy listening. The orchestra plays of course a lot of Edvard Grieg's works.
Guided tours
Bergen Highlights
A 1.5 hour tour by coach to the most important sights downtown Bergen.
Bergen Guided Tours
A 3 hour tour by coach to the most important sights in Bergen, including Troldhaugen and Fantoft stave church.
The Bergen Express
A 55 minute tour by a diesel-powered train imitation starting at Bryggen, travelling around downtown past a nice viewpoint half way up Mount Fløyen.
Beach-life
Hanging out by the ocean can be one of the best ways to spend a summerday in Bergen. The temperature in the ocean around Bergen is warmer than most places on the west coast because of the outer islands protecting the area from the constant flow of cooler water from the North Sea, and allowing the water to heat in smaller bays in the area. Temperatures can rise to 20°C after consecutive days with good weather. The water is clean and fresh. There are sandy beaches at Arboretet at Milde Hjellestad, Kyrkjetangen at Nordåsvannet and Helleneset, "bathing houses"/beaches at Nordnesparken and Elsero situated in Old Bergen in Sandviken. After a day hiking in the mountains, Skomakerdiket above Mount Fløyen has a sandy fresh-water beach.
Nye Sydnes Sjøbad
Public seawater "pool".
Institutions of higher education in Bergen include the University of Bergen (http://www.uib.no/education), The Norwegian School of Business and Economics (http://www.nhh.no/en/stud...), Bergen National Academy of the Arts (http://www.khib.no/khib_e...) and Bergen University College (http://www.hib.no/english...). The university is Norway's second largest and covers most areas of education, though the educations in law and in medicine are probably considered the best. The Norwegian School of Business and Economics is considered the best education within these fields in the country. All the aforementioned institutions are members of the Nordplus and Erasmus exchange programmes and offer courses in English.
hiking
De syv fjell
Locals refer to de syv fjell the seven mountains when they talk about the mountains surrounding the city. But there's no agreement on which mountains these seven really are, as there are in fact at least nine mountains and peaks in the area. Most people do however agree that Fløyen, Ulriken, Løvstakken and Damsgårdsfjellet are among the seven, plus three out of Sandviksfjellet, Blåmanen, Rundemanen, Lyderhorn and Askøyfjellet. As locals are known to have strong opinions on most subjects, the question of which mountains to include has been up for debate in local newspapers since the morning of time. The reason for the controversy is probably that the number seven is more of a roman-inspired gimmick, and that it is impossible to distinguish some of the mountain tops from each other when in the city center, as many of them are part of the same massif.
The mountains surrounding Bergen offers great hiking possibilities. There are options for anyone from those just looking for a fifteen-minute stroll in the sun to the more adventurous interested in daytrips and steep hills. Byfjellene lit. "the city mountains" have good networks of dirtroads and paths, usually well signposted. Good maps are available in most bookstores â look for Tur- og friluftskart Bergen 1:25 000 from the Norwegian Mapping and Cadastre Authority Norwegian: Statens kartverk.
For advice on hiking, as well as hiking opportunities elsewhere in Norway, you should consult Bergen Turlag (http://www.bergen-turlag.no/) Bergen Hiking Association, the local branch of Den Norske Turistforening (http://www.turistforening...) Norwegian Trekking Association, located in Tverrgaten 4-6. The Norwegian right to access entitles you to hike in all uncultivated areas.