24 hours in Bergen: A family-friendly itinerary for your first trip to Norway
When we were planning our roadtrip around Norway, I knew we wanted to spend a couple nights in the city of Bergen before beginning our travels. Many people use Bergen as a starting point for what is known as “Norway in a nutshell” trip, which allows them to see the fjord area in a couple days.
We rented a car to explore Norway, and were doing some slow travel, so we stayed at the Clarion Hotel Admiral in Bergen for two nights in order to help us to get over jet lag and have all of our activities within walking distance.
Bergen is a gateway to Norways’s famous fjords, but it’s also a destination itself. It’s not a city to skip, and I think 3 nights in Bergen at the beginning of the trip is the perfect amount to conquer a to do list and give yourself time to get over jet lag (if you’re coming from the US like we are). We stayed for 2 nights at the beginning of our trip, and then 1 night before we flew home.
Bergen is definitely a kid-friendly city. Read on to discover our favorite activities for families in Bergen. We visited in the summer, so this list is focused solely on summer activities. (Remember to pack a rain jacket- Bergen is one of the rainiest towns in Europe!)
Here everything we did on our short trip to Bergen. The first two items on the list are perfect for kids. We have a kiddo who loves museums, so we’ve shared those, too. But they might not be entertaining for every young kid.
Visit the Troll Museum*
Take the Floibanen funicular to Mount Fløyen*
Bryggen Museum
Wander around Bryggen
Visit the Kode Art Museum
Troll Museum (great for kids)
This museum does not look like much from the outside, but it was a great way to start our time in Bergen, especially when traveling with a 7 year old. After breakfast at our hotel (we stayed at the Clarion Admiral Bergen).
The troll museum offers an introduction to Norweigan folklore. If you have a kid who loves fairy tales or Marvel movies, then this is a great place to visit. For adults, there are audiobooks available (we did not get one, because we found the videos in English). The museum is entirely inside, with different rooms each with an introduction to a different type of troll. In the center of the museum is a large arts and craft room where kids can play with stamps, drawings, and animate their own troll. We spent most of our time here.
Our daughter liked finding the hidden troll stickers in each room; she was given a book at the start and added the stickers to each part of her booklet.
Cost: Adults 250 nok ($26 USD per adult)
Cost: Children 130 nok ($13 USD per child)
Recommended time to spend here: 1.5 hours
Troll Museum- Bergen
Magical sand table- we played here for a while!
Silly troll family photo
Large arts and crafts room at the Troll Museum in Bergen
2. Take the Floibanen funicular to Mount Fløyen
Bergen is one of the rainiest cities in Europe, so when it’s a sunny day, you will find everyone taking the funicular up to Mount Floyen. At the top, you will find beautiful views, and enough activities to keep your busy for half a day. If you don’t have any plans in Bergen, then this is the perfect place to explore and spend half a day.
Here’s what you can do at the top of Mount Floyen:
visit the playground
take a short (or a long hike)
visit the small lake and enjoy a free canoe
have a photoshoot with the many trolls in the forest
have a coffee, beer, or wine at the restaurant
grab a sandwich or soft-serve ice cream at the small take-away restaurants
visit with the resident goats (be warned: they’re roaming freely and happy to dig into every little kid’s stroller for snacks)
We purchased our tickets using a QR code outside the funicular’s base in order to skip the long lines. You can take the funicular up and then hike down, or purchase round trip tickets.
Cost: Return ticket: Adults NOK 200 ($21 USD)
Cost: Return ticket: Children 4–15 years: NOK 100 ($11 USD)
One way: Adult NOK 105 ($11 USD)
Children: NOK 55 ($6 USD)
Recommended time to spend here: 2-3 hours if you are traveling with small kids and not talking any long hikes.
Playground at the top of Mount Floyen
Free canoeing on Mount Floyen
Making friends with some troll friends in the forest
3. Bryggens Museum
Bryggens is a small history museum that shows how people used to live in the area; archaeological excavations of Bryggen from 1955. It’s not really focused on children, but they do have a scavenger hunt booklet, which our daughter always enjoys.
As you wander the museum, you will first see the excavations and walk above and around them. Then, at the bottom, you can see items in glass cases like weapons, cooking materials, and toys to show how people lived. There are also Runic inscriptions, and when our daughter completed her scavanger hunt, the front desk of the museum gave her Runic stickers so she could spell out words or make her own secret codes.
Adults will enjoy the museum’s movie that brings the past to life and explains the excavation and the findings. If you’re not into history, you can absolutely skip this. It is quite small, and mostly underground, so it’s a bit dark, and it’s not the right fit for everyone.
Cost: Adults: 170 NOK ($17 USD)
Cost: Children (under 18): free
4. Wander around Bryggen
When you see photos of Bergen, you are probably looking at Bryggen. In 1994, Bryggen was named a UNESCO World Heritage site. This is the old wharf of Bergen, which was important as a shipping center from the 14th to 16th century. While there were many fires in this area, what remains are wooden structures from the early 1700s that boast colorful and photogenic shops. If you love to grab a souvenir on your trip, this is where you will want to go. We picked up a small house to put on our mantle for the holidays.
You can simply wander around Bryggen while shopping, grab a bite to eat, or take a guided walking tour if you want to learn more of the Hanseatic history.
Bryggen is also right next to some of the best places to eat in the city. You can stop by the fish market and have a sit down meal. My husband enjoyed the hot dog he picked up from Trekroneren, and we had a family meal while seating outside. If you have a picky eater, there’s also a McDonald’s. All of these are within a few minutes from each other.
Cost: Free to wander; a 1-hour walking tour is around $20 USD per person.
Recommended time: 1 hour
Bryggen- Bergen, Norway
Best hot dog in Norway
5. Kode Art Museums
The Kode Art museum is actually a collection of multiple buildings. Once you get your tickets for the day, you can pop in and out of the museums as you wish at your own pace.
We explored two buildings during our visit, including a small area for children to complete arts and crafts. This is perfect for a rainy day (which is many days in Bergen.) Some of the exhibits featured some adult content, but luckily our 7-year-old has no awareness of such things. Older children would probably be a little suprised. If you’re traveling without children, you could start your museum day before breakfast, have lunch, and then come back for a second or third building. It’s easy to spend half a day here exploring if you love art.
Cost: Adults 200 nok ($20 USD per adult)
Cost: Children (under 18): Free
Recommended time to spend here: 1.5 hours
Playing at the Kode art museum.
We visited Bergen, Norway in June of of 2026.
Read more about our recent trips and find inspiration for your next family adventure.
