Bergen: When to Go

The main tourist season (which coincides with Norwegian school holidays) runs from mid-June to mid-August. During this period, public transport runs frequently, tourist offices and tourist sites are open their longest hours and many hotels offer cheaper rates.

That said, Norway is at its best and brightest for much of the period from May to September. Late May is particularly pleasant: flowers are blooming, fruit trees blossoming, daylight hours are growing longer and most hostels, camp sites and tourist sites are open but uncrowded. Bergen's festival season also gets into stride around this time, kicking off with Ole Blues - the Bergen Music Fest - in late April. Enthusiastically embraced by the students and tourists of Bergen, Ole Blues is followed by another celebration of black America's contribution to world music - Nattjazz (the Night Jazz Festival) in late May. Hard on the heels of Nattjazz come the Bergen International Festival - a two-week celebration of dance, music and folklore - and, in October, the Bergen International Film Festival.

Weather

On the southwest coast, Bergen is cosseted by the Gulf Stream; it's one of the mildest parts of the country, so you won't experience the extremes of the Norwegian winter here. Average maximum temperatures for July hover around 16°C (61°F) (although they can be double that), and in January, around 3°C (37°F).

Bergen's weather is something of a national joke (including for many people from Bergen) as it's one of the wettest cities in Norway - you can reliably expect rain on at least 275 days of the year. In 2006 they almost broke the national record (held by the Oslo region) with 85 consecutive days of rain. Wind and precipitation appear to be on the increase in Bergen, a phenomenon many attribute to climate change.

Temperature (average ° C)

Rainfall (average mm)