hike

  • Bergen

    Hananipa Hike

    Hananipa Hike

    If you’re in Bergen looking for a hike that is close enough you can do it in less than a day but also far enough that you can’t hear the hustle and bustle of the big city, then Hananipa is for you!

    Hananipa is not one of the famous Bergen hikes. In fact, I didn’t even know about it until one of my friends invited me to join her on the hike. As it had been months since I had left Bergen city centre (thanks, corona), I took the opportunity to go out and see some mountains and a fjord.

    The hike to Hananipa is gorgeous. You see the Sørfjorden, you see farms, fish farms, an old prison, small villages, sheep, and even snow in July! It’s a great taste of West Norwegian nature without having to venture far out into the wilderness.

    For this guide, I have tried to focus on including all the information I want to see when I’m planning a hike. Here we go!

    In this article...

    Is this hike for me?

    • Total length (beginning and ending at the train station): 13.8km (8.5 miles)
    • Types of path: First 4km (2.4 miles) is a road; last 2.5km (1.5 miles) is a rocky path
    • Steepness: First 4km (2.4 miles) is a noticeable but not steep incline; last 2.5km (1.5 miles) is a mixture – mostly it’s slightly steep (almost like walking upstairs) but it does flatten out towards the end
    • Safety: This path is safe – you never go close to the edge
    • Easy to follow? There are signs at the major turning points, but otherwise the path is unmarked. Still, though, you can see it clearly on the ground.
    • Populated? You will likely see other people along the way, but not many
    • Facilities: No toilets, shops or cabins along the way (including the train station)

    About the mountain

    Hananipa is a mountain peak located roughly between the villages of Trengereid and Vaksdal. The mountain is 718 metres (2355 ft) high, above the trees, and offers a panoramic view to the nearby island of Osterøy, the Sørfjorden, and the village of Vaksdal.

    About the area

    Trengereid is a small village about 18km east of Bergen centre. Trengereid has long been a farming community, well before industry came to the area. It was originally built up as an industrial village thanks to Johan Jebsen, who in 1895 founded Trengereid Fabrikker AS. Using electrical power from its own power plant on Manndalselva, the factory made various textile products. Operation ceased in 1987 and the power plant has since been taken over by BKK, the national power service.

    In 1920, the mountains around Trengereid began to be used for mining activities with the Risnes Limestone Quarry starting operations here. The mines provided jobs for 70 men, and the workers barracks were eventually placed with housing. The mines closed down in 1986 and since then no new business has been started in Trengereid.

    The population hasn’t decreased from this lack of industry, however, with the locals about to easily commute to Bergen city centre.

    Today Trengereid is a traffic hub with road and train connections to Bergen, the Hardangerfjord (Norheimsund), Voss and eventually Oslo. There is a primary school (opened 1896), a parish hall and chapel, and a daycare. Trengereid has a mixed choir with 30 members, and a music club. There are no shops or kiosks in Trengereid; the closest is in Arna.

    How to get there

    Take the train from Bergen Central Station to Trengereid. You can take the lines to Oslo, Myrdal or Voss, meaning that the train runs fairly regularly.

    The train journey takes 17 minutes. You do not need to request the train stop there; it always does.

    How do I buy tickets?

    Vy App – download the app called ‘Vy’; it’s in English so it’s easy to navigate. Select Bergen – Trengereid and your desired time.

    Cost: Around 66 NOK (varies depending on availability)

    At the Train Station – head to one of the ‘En Tur’ ticket machines and follow the prompts to buy a ticket.

    If driving, put “Skulstadvegen” into your GPS and follow the road up the hill. You’ll eventually come to a parking area on your right.

    Starting Point

    If you are taking the train, you will be starting from the train station – where I started too! The train station is around 3.7km from where the carpark is, and it’s all with a slight up hill (you will walk up 362 metres and it will take around 1 hour 20 minutes to get up there).

    If you are driving, you start from the carpark near the lake.

    Since most visitors to Bergen will be taking the train, I will begin the walk from the train station. Drivers, skip to the part with the car park!

    Part One: Train Station to the Lake

    Once off the train, cross the tracks. Directly in front of you, you’ll see a narrow staircase through the trees. The path is 150m long.

    You reach Vaksdalsvegen, a main road, and turn right. Then turn left onto Trengereidgeila. Follow the path as it curves to the right. You’ll then see a very narrow gravel path on your left – take that to get up to Skulstadvegen. If this road is too steep for you, keep following Trengereidgeila until you get to the main road Trengereidsvingane, turn left, and then take the next left onto Skulstadvegen. If this sounds confusing, Google Maps will take you on the exact same path.

    You will now walk all the way up Skulstadvegen – all 2.9km (1.8 miles) of it. The road isn’t steep, but you can feel the incline as you go up.

    Don’t be put off by this extra walk – Skulstadvegen is gorgeous, scenic, and a lovely walk. I got to eat some wild strawberries and look at the growing blueberries along the way. There are also many nice houses to look at. Here are some of my photos from the walk on the road:

    Eventually you’ll reach some farms with chickens and sheep (if you come in the middle of summer, the sheep will be up in the mountains). You will be walking on private property – that’s totally fine! – but you do pass through two gates that you can open but have to close.

    Eventually you reach Skulstadvatnet.

    Part Two

    When you reach Skulstadvatnet (the Skulstad Lake), you’ll see a sign about the local hiking trails. We are following signs to ‘Hananipa’. You can’t miss this point; the dam is right in front of you.

    Turn to the left and continue to follow the path along the left-hand side of the lake. This is where it will start to get rocky and narrow, but it’s never too steep.

    Eventually you’ll reach the other side of the lake, which is a nice rest stop before starting the next part. There’s a small stream there if you want to fill water bottles. There is also another sign pointing to Hananipa.

    Now comes the steepest part of the walk – you’ll be basically walking along the stream as you head up this wooded valley. The path is very narrow and it’s made up of rocks. Luckily it’s short – only a few hundred metres – so you can rest at the top where the trees end.

    Now for the last part of the walk:

    Part Three

    It takes around 30 minutes to get from the top of the valley to the mountain peak, so you really are on the home stretch. You’ll also be around 500 metres high at this point, so you’ve done most of the climbing! The trees are gone, and there are amazing views down to the Sørfjorden on your left-hand side. You’ll also the peak straight in front of you. It’s very grassy at the top, so the path is always pretty clear.

    You will soon pass a small cabin on your lefthand side. I’m not sure if this is a public or private cabin; when we went, we saw some tents next to it.

    The last little bit before the peak is a little steep, but it’s short-lived and you can see how close you are!

    When we went, there were plenty of sheep up there staring us down!

    What you see from the top

    If you walk a little bit past the peak you’ve been walking towards, you’ll see the stone marker indicating the top of the mountain. It’s from this point that you get incredible views out to Vaksdal and Osterøy.

    Vaksdal

    Vaksdal is a municipality in Western Norway with a population of around 3,977 people. During World War II, there was heavy fighting in the municipality as the German forces advanced along the railway line from Bergen towards Voss. The heaviest fighting took place in Vaksdal between 19 and 23 April. Three Norwegians and one civilian, as well as a larger, but unknown, number of German soldiers fell in the village.

    You can see the Vaksdal Mill from Hannaipa. When the mill was established in the early 1900s, it was the largest in Scandinavia. It produces grain and flour. It is an industrial municipality with 20% of the work in industry and 32% in construction, power and water supply. 26% of workers in the village commute to Bergen for work.

    If you are up there on a clear day (about as clear as I had it), you can see the Folgefonna Glacier and the mountains along the Hardangerfjord (you can’t see the fjord). In my photos, these are the mountains that still have snow on them. The glacier is fairly easy to spot as it’s a flat, white strip in between mountains.

    The Prison

    The island is called Ulvsnesøy and it has a lot of history for such a small island. It was probably first used as a monastic property, and later it became church property.

    In 1881, a boarding school for ‘bad’ boys aged 10 to 15 was established on the island. The institution was founded by Ole Irgens, Bergen’s school inspector at the time and ‘father’ of the Fjellveien trail in Bergen city centre. In 1900, the school was known as “Ulvnaes Lake School Home for Neglected Boys” and in 1951 it was changed to “Ulvsnesøy School for Boys with Disabilities”. The boys who lived there were sent by the authorities due to neglect of behavioural problems. In total, about 30 boys were there. The school closed in 1981.

    From 1982 Bergen used the island as a prison. At most, it had 31 inmates, 9 of which were women. The inmates were employed on the island, maintaining the buildings and farming. Farmers on the mainland could also use the prisoners as extra labour. The prison closed in 2019, was put up for sale, and the island sold for NOK 11.8 million. Whoever bought it has to use the island for business purposes, according to law.

    Going Back Down

    We took almost the same amount of time going back down, and that’s mostly because there are some rather large steps down that slows you a little bit.

    You do get some nice views going the other way, including the cabin we passed earlier.

    If the path feels confusing, you do see the lake in front of you all the way down, so it’s easy to navigate.

    The walk down the road back to the station was the toughest bit for me; it’s around that point that I started to feel tired. We checked the schedule for the train when we got back down to the lake – it took a little over an hour to get from the lake to the train station once we knew when the train was coming.

    Make sure you keep an eye out for Gullfjellet, the largest mountain on the Bergen peninsula.

    It has a flat, rocky top and is covered with snow practically all year round. In the photo, it’s the peak in the middle of the frame.

    When you reach Trengereid Train Station, head to the picnic benches and take a well-deserved rest! When we were there, and possibly very often, the station building is locked, so you will have to wait outside.

    Have you done Hananipa hike? Let me know in the comments!

  • Bergen, Hikes

    Fjellveien Hike

    Fjellveien Hike

    No trip to Bergen is complete without a hike in the mountains – that is what Bergen is famous for! Still, though, hiking may not be for everyone, or you may have limited time for a hike. That’s where the Fjellveien hike comes in. Fjellveien is one of the most famous hiking routes in Bergen and what’s so great about it is that it is flat, making it perfect for all ages and fitness levels. By doing the Fjellveien hike, you get a lovely look at the Bergen mountains, forests, historic buildings, fjord, and cityscape.

    For this article, I walked the entire length of Fjellveien hike, making a note of all of the major points of interests along the way. I’ve also written down how to get to/from Fjellveien.

    In this article...

    Bergen Travel Guide
    Norway Travel Guide

    Overview of the Fjellveien Hike

    Fjellveien (“Mountain Way” in English) is a path that goes along the mountains Sandviksfjellet and Fløyen in central Bergen. The trip starts at Munkebotn in Sandviken and travels through the suburb of Mulen, the city centre, and then into the expensive area of Bellevue and Kalfaret. The walk ends in front of the historic Bellevue Restaurant.

    Length and elevation

    In total, the length of the Fjellveien hike is 4632 metres (4.6km / 2.8 miles). It is probably the flattest hike in Bergen. The path is mostly a gravel path, though there are some sections where you have to walk on a road.

    In total, according to my Apple Watch, there was an elevation difference of 133 metres across the entire length.

    Time to allow

    Walking the entire length of the Fjellveien hike took me 80 minutes – and that includes stopping a lot for photos and venturing off onto detour paths. You could do it in under an hour if you are in a hurry, or even quicker if you jog the entire length.

    You can do the walk in either direction. Sandviken – Bellevue worked for me, but you can start from Bellevue. I’ve included how to get to both starting points in the next section.

    Getting to Fjellveien

    For my walk, I started Fjellveien on the Sandviken end. You can start on the Kalfaret end, but I found starting at Sandviken a little easier, a prettier direction, and then Kalfaret was easier for me to get back to the city.

    Taking the bus

    To the Sandviken Start

    I took the bus from Bryggen. There are two bus stops (A & B) in front of the wooden houses. These are the buses you can take:

    • 3 towards Støbotn
    • 4 towards Flaktveit
    • 5 towards Åsane Terminal
    • 6 towards Lønborglien
    • 83 towards Øyjorden

    Buses 4, 5 and 6 are the most frequent. Some leave from Bryggen platform A and some leave from Bryggen platform B. All take roughly 7 minutes / 5 stops to Gamle Bergen.

    The stop to get off at is GAMLE BERGEN (like the open air museum!)

    Once off the bus, head up the stairs and follow the road (Sandviksleitet) to the right. You’ll walk through a health centre (helse). Eventually the path will join with Munkebotn (it can be a little confusing; I used Google Maps to get there). Once at Munkebotn, keep following it (don’t go uphill; follow it to the right) until it splits into Fjellveien and Amalie Skrams vei.

    To the Bellevue Start

    The best bus that involves the least walking uphill is Bus 11 towards Starefossen. You can take it from Strandgaten (the stop right in front of the swan pharmacy), Småstrandgaten (close to the old city hall), or from Stadsporten (outside the old city gate). You get off at BELLEVUE, which is right at the beginning of Fjellveien.

    For the walk below, I start from Sandviken.

    Fjellveien Walk

    Beginning: Sandviken

    The walk starts along a very nice shaded path, where you feel like you’re walking in the woods. If you look between the trees to your right, you’ll see lovely views out to the city fjord.

    History of Sandviken

    Fjellveien was built in the late 19th/early 20th centuries by the Forest and Tree Planting Company (Bergen Skog og Taeplantningsselskap). Ole Irgens is often considered the ‘father’ of Fjellveien as he had a lot of input into its construction. At the time, Ole Irgesn was the school inspector of Bergen.

    Here are the stages (according to our walk)

    • Sandviken – Mulen: Built between 1901 and 1906
    • Mulen – Beautification: Built between 11879 and 1882
    • Beautification – Belleveue: Built between 1890 and 1894

    Permisjonsstein: Sandviks Battery Detour

    One of the first detour paths you’ll pass is the one that leads up to Sandviks Battery. It’s a little bit hidden as it’s not so much a path but rather an opening in the woods. The path to Sandviks Battery is relatively unknown; restorations have just been completed. (the local newspaper Bergens Tidende did an article about it here). The Sandviks Battery was built as part of Bergen’s inner fortifications in the late 19th century. Germans used it during World War II and built additional bunkers in the area. The name, “Permisjonsstein”, translates to “Permit Path”. When the soldiers were granted permission to leave, they would take this path down to Bergen.

    Sandviks Battery closed in 1952.

    Sherpas came to restore the path in 2019. They brought in their own equipment and worked to build stone stairs on the path. The path to Sandviks Battery has around 220 steps. It starts out flat, but gets steeper towards the end. If you walk slowly, it’ll take 15 minutes to get the top.

    If you want to do a detour to Sandviks Battery & Stoltzekleiven, see this walking overview (external link). Allow another 1.5 hours to complete this. Click here.

    You can watch a video of the hike up here.

    Old Hydro Plant

    The next point of interest is on your left; this abandoned building looks to be a hydro plant. The sign above the door says “BKK”, which refers to the Norwegian power company Bergenshalvøens Kommunale Kraftselskap. They have 29 hydroelectric plants throughout Western Norway. This building is a transformer station from the 1920s. Its connection to a nearby waterfall follows the old Stoltzekleiven route (see below).   

    Stoltzekleiven

    Stoltzekleiven is a well-known and popular hike amongst locals. In total, the hike has 908 stairs to the top. The elevation is 301.44 metres, the length is 834 metres, and the average elevation is 36%. It is quite a narrow path, and hikers are recommended to walk up only; heading back down via other nearby trails.

    The original trail was part of the Stoltzegården Farmstead; the name “Stoltz” comes from the German family that settled here. Gerhard Stoltz (1833-1907) was a German merchant who took over the farm Frydenlund (located at Gamle Bergen) and made it his year-long residence, renaming the property. He planted the shrubbery area up the mountain. The trail was laid out in 1900 over the old herding path. The spruce and pine trees we see are from 1870.

    Every September is the Stoltzekleiven Opp race. The event runs over two days from 9:15am to 6:15pm and runners go up every 10 seconds. On average, 6,300 people register for the event.

    The current record for men is held by Stian Øvergaard Aarvik (a professional mountain runner) with 7 minutes and 46 seconds. For women, it is held by Kristin Størmer Steira (a cross country skiier who has represented Norway at the Winter Olympics) in 9 minutes and 35 seconds. It takes me 30-45 minutes to do the hike.

    If you want to detour up Stoltzekleiven, walking down is discouraged. The path is too narrow, and locals only walk up.

    You can come back down via Munkebotn (where we started after the bus stop) or Skredderdalen (see further along this walk). You can also walk to Fløyen from the top – this is the easiest but longest walk.

    In 2011, Stoltzekleiven was refurbished with the help of Sherpas.

    White Manor House

    The white house you see here is the Bergen Skipperforenings Skipperhus, or the Bergen Skipper’s Association. The building dates to 1919 and maritime captains from the surrounding area make up the association. A retirement home has also been in here (see marcus.uib.no). In a recent newspaper article, the building has a market value of 43 – 51 million NOK.

    In front of it is another large house with a green tower and orange ceramic roof. Dating back to 1885, this building functioned as a retirement home for factory workers. From at least 2014, it is accommodation for students with a total of 37 apartments in the building (see this newspaper article).

    Christinegård

    Mon Plaisir is a pavilion from the old Christinegård Estate, who owned this property. You can’t see the house from here, but it’s directly below us.

    Christinegård is a “pleasure farm” (kind of like a holiday house) that dates back to the late 17th century. Christine Caspersdatter Middeltorp had the property built after her wealthy merchant husband died in 1694 and left her with a large sum of money. Very little is known about this first home.

    When Christine died in 1706, her daughter inherited the property. She passed it onto her son, Berent Madzen Chairman, whose wife Modesta Hansdatter Chairman, took over the property in 1747. She had the house rebuilt in 1763 with the main facade facing the fjord. According to the fire regulations of 1766, the property had a farmhouse, covenant dwelling, barge, barn and stables. Modesta’s son, Hans Berentsen Chairman, took over the farm in 1783.

    After the death of Hans, Christinegård was sold in 1822 to Dutch Consul general Michael Djurhus Prahl (1781-1851), who had the house completely rebuilt in the 1830s. The new building was two storeys and had the same position as Modesta’s, with the front looking out to the fjord. It was surrounded by a bastion, making the property look like a fortress.

    The front of the house has six pillars and a large porch, and there are window shutters on all the windows. This style gives it a very southern feel.

    Originally the property extended all the way up the mountain, but when Fjellveien was constructed in this area, it cut right through Christinegård’s property. Most of the land was sold off in the 120s to build apartment buildings.

    Christinegård was listed for protection in 1927, and between 1934 and 1958 it was the residence of the bishop. During World War II, Bergen’s commissioner-in-charge held Christinegård, and he held municipal funds in the building. Archaeologist Asbjørn Herteig, known for his work in the Bryggen excavation, took over Christinegård in the late 1950s and his descendants own the property today. It is not open to the public. On Google Maps, the house is now listed as a gallery:

    https://www.gallerichristinegaard.no/

    Mon Plaisir

    Mon Plaisir was built in 1836 for Michael D. Prahl, and ‘mon plaisir’ means ‘my pleasure’. The wooden building is shaped like a small Roman temple. In the photo above, you can see the fortress Sverresborg, built in the late 10th century by Sverre Sigurdsson during the Norwegian civil war. Just behind it is the church on Nordnes, Nykirken. The pink building to the front right is a high school

    The City of Rhododendrons

    The next little section of path has some lovely rhododendrons, which will be in bloom in May/June.

    Once you get past them, be sure to turn back around and you’ll see a sign dedicated to the rhododendrons.

    Mulen River & Water Plant

    Muleven is a river that flows down the mountainside. Originally, it would’ve gone all the way down to the fjord, but today it flows through pipes from Fjellveien downhill. The name refers to a number of mills that were established on the river to make use of the power of the stream for electricity.

    Until 1877, this was the city of Bergen’s northern boundary. This is also the point where Sandvik Mountain (Sandviksfjellet) becomes Fløy Mountain (Fløyfjellet).

    In 1876, the mills and water rights were purchased by the municipality, and four of the five mills were demolished, while the one remaining was in operation until 1912. The municipality planned to use Mulelven for both water and electricity. Mulevannverket (Mule Water Plant) was established to provide the local community with water in homes. Mulevannverket had the ability to supply the whole city with water if the main water plant at Svartdiket was to malfunction.

    Eventually Mulevannverket was taken out of use. Since 1997, Mulelven has not been a source of drinking water.

    It is possible to walk up the path you’ll see in the image to the left of the building. If you walk up there you’ll be able to see Mulelven. I didn’t go too far as I felt the gravel was slippery. You can certainly hear the river, but my photos don’t do the view justice.

    Skredderdalen

    This is also the beginning point of the hike Skredderdalen. Skredderdalen is a steep hike that is seen as an alternative to Stoltzekleiven if you want to get as high but do something a little easier. As you make your way up, you’ll pass the old damn built for the waterworks. The path will lead you to another path that will take you to Fløyen (See the hiking information here). It can also be a path down if you want to go up Stoltzekleiven. Here’s a link to that path.

    Mulen

    We are now in the residential area of Mulen, located between Christinegård and Bergen city centre. The name comes from the mill operations that took place along the river. It’s believed there was a farm here in the 1300s and that livestock were kept on the hillside.

    Inner City Views

    We are now in the city centre of Bergen, where below us will be Bryggen. It’s not visible from the path, though. For a short portion of the walk, you’ll be walking on a road as you cross through the suburb Breistølen. Fjellsiden is a residential area just above Bryggen. It was developed in the 19th century as the city was in desperate need of more housing due to a huge increase in the population. These wooden houses were built in a uniform grid pattern and were apartment buildings. The apartments were tiny; often they’d have one room and may have up to 12 people!

    Today Fjellsiden is a very expensive area of town. Some of these houses are now single residence buildings, but many are still tiny apartments.

    Hesten Trenger Hvile

    The main interjunction that links Fjellveien with Bergen city centre and Fløyen is called hesten trenger hvile, or “horses need rest”. There is a small fountain here as well as a statue of Ole Irgens, the ‘father’ of Fjellveien.

    From here, there are two paths you can take. The first is Tippetue, which is a scenic walk up to the top of Mt. Fløyen and the top station of the Fløibanen. The second is a path down to the city centre; ending somewhere near the Fløibanen lower station.

    Tippetue

    Why the name Tippetue? Well, Tippetue was a town local who lived in Bergen in the last half of the 19th century. He frequented the pub and had outrageous behaviour when he was drunk, so the locals called the area Tippetue. In 1908 the road was finished from Fjellveien to Tippetue, and then a few years later the road was extended up to the top fo Fløyen. (source)

    The walk up to Fløyen takes around 45 minutes and, while Tippetue is the steepest path to Fløyen, I’d say it is easily the most scenic.

    Regarding the walk back down to the city, this can be a way for you to get back to town when you’re finished with Fjellveien if you don’t want to take public transport.

    Skansemyren funicular station

    Not too long after the Tippetue junction you’ll cross paths with the Fløibanen. The stop is called Skansemyren, which is named after the residential area. The area is approximately 180 metres above sea level. There are many homes and apartments here.

    Skansemyren is best known for its communal sports ground, with different training activities taking place here. It is also home to the Tine relay race, which is held every year. The sports ground opened in 1896 with Ole Irgens at the forefront of operations.

    The Fløibanen opened in 1918 as a funicular between Bergen city centre and Fløyen mountain. If you are here on a busy summer day you won’t have to wait long to see the funicular; it runs every few minutes. Be sure to wave!

    From here, Fjellveien turns into a car road and remains this way for the rest of the walk. You’ve also got to be a little careful as there’s two roads in the area: Fjellien and Fjellveien – be sure to stick to Fjellveien.

    Bergen city centre

    The mountains you see (from left to right) are Løvstakken and Damsgårdfjellet. On the far left in the image, you can see the black skyscraper building that is the Bergen Media City. Next to it is the county administration building. Front and centre, towards the bottom of the frame, is the Bergen train station (look for the granite building). To the right is the Lille Lungegård Lake (you can learn more about the lake with my Årstad walking tour) and behind that are the KODE art galleries. To the right you can see the tower of St. John’s Church.

    If you walk along Fjellveien a little further, you’ll get more excellent views down to the city.

    Mt. Ulriken

    This is why I think doing the walk from Sandviken – Bellevue is nicest; you get this amazing reveal of Bergen’s largest of the seven mountains, Mt. Ulriken. Mount Ulriken is 633 metres high and is characterised by its TV tower on top. There is a cable car that will take you to the top of Mt. Ulriken, and it’s also a popular (but difficult) hike.

    Forskjønnelsen (Beautification)

    Beautification is a scenic zig-zag road and park that leads from Kalfaret up to Fjellveien. It was designed as a park in 1799 and has some lovely old villas close by (see my Årstad Walking Tour where I cover this in depth). It was formerly known as Lassens Minde (Lassens Memorial) after the parks designer, Customs Inspector HM Lassen, who also had the bushes and trees planted.

    This is a way back to the city if you wish to use it rather than take a bus back. If you head to the bottom you’ll end up on Kalfvarveien; turn right and you’ll see Stadsporten (The City Toll Gate). A couple minutes walk from there is the Bergen Train Station.

    Kalfaret

    Kalfaret is a suburb just outside the city centre of Bergen and was ‘the country’ (i.e. not part of Bergen) until 1877. The name comes from Calvarieveien (Calvary Road) and refers to the old Catholic tradition of walking around a road that is 1200 steps in length on Good Friday. This is approximately the distance from St. Jacobs Churchyard (next to Stadsporten) up to Kalfartoppen, the highest point in Kalfaret (this is the first portion of the walk we’ll take).

    Starting in the 18th century, a number of country houses were built along Kalfarveien. At the end of the 18th century, a row of Linden Trees were planted along the road, and gradually it was turned into a promenade that became a popular day trip walk with a number of restaurants and cafes along the way.

    In the 19th century, wealthy citizens began to move out of the city centre due to overcrowding and had lovely villas built along the mountainside in Kalfaret. Since then, Kalfaret has been synonymous with ‘wealthy Bergen’.

    Today a lot of the country houses are gone or have been significantly converted, and the large gardens have been filled with modern apartments. Still, we will be able to see some of the old villas from the late 19th century, and there’s also great examples of the Bergen-style houses.

    Bellevue Restaurant

    Lyststedet Bellevue has been a restaurant since 1976, when a gazebo was built here. A prospectus from 1801 shows a midmarket house on the site. It was rebuilt in 1899 as a restaurant, and has been a restaurant ever since. It is typically used for weddings and other celebrations. In earlier times, salutes were fired upon guests’ arrival.

    Today Lyststedet Bellevue is run by Bellevue Restaurant AS, which also runs Fløien Folkerestaurant and Bryggen Tracteursted.

    The business went bankrupt in 2016 and was transferred to another company. As of 2020, their website isn’t live (see here) and the Bellevue Restaurant AS company doesn’t list it on their website.

    Bellevue Restaurant marks the end of our walk!

    How to get back to the city

    Walking

    If you want to walk back to the city, you can follow the Fjellveien hike back to Beautification (if you want to be closer to the train station) or the Tippetue junction (if you want to be closer to Bryggen). You can also take Endregårdsbakken (just after Beautification) to get to the city centre. It will turn into Brattlien and that road will end just above Korskirken.

    Take the bus

    • Walk down Bellevuebakken (it’s to the right of the restaurant if you’re looking at it from Fjellveien).
    • When you reach Gamle Kalvedalsveien, turn left.
    • On your right will be a path down to the main road, Kalvedalsveien. When you get to the bottom, turn right. Shortly on your side of the road will be a bus stop.
    • Take Bus 3 to Støbotn for 8 minutes (6 stops) and you’ll be at Bryggen.

    I hope you enjoyed this walk! As you can probably tell by the amount of photos I took, I loved it. I think it’s a great option for anyone in Bergen who wants to see a lot in a short amount of time. You get a perfect blend of nature and cityscapes, and the walk itself is pleasant.

    Enjoy Fjellveien!

    Bergen Travel Guide
    Norway Travel Guide