Bergen cruise port guide
Bergen’s maritime tradition is age old and your MSC Cruise of Northern Europe will lay anchor in a setting which exudes history. An excursion on land will give you the opportunity to visit the Hanseatic quarter, where you find the oldest buildings in Bergen, built along the Bryggen docks, one of the most active and lively parts of town. Included by UNESCO amongst the world heritage sites, this quarter has preserved the old buildings of the port, and is, with its narrow alleys and dark, open galleries, one of the best preserved Medieval boroughs of the country. A vacation in Norway with an MSC cruise will give you the opportunity to explore this fascinating land. A visit to the Hanseatic Museum and the Schøtstuene, the merchant navy league assembly will help you get to better know this intriguing town. Håkon Hall in the royal palace built by King Håkon Håkonsson in the mid-14th century and the adjacent Rosenkrantz tower (1270) reflect to this day the power of the Hanseatic League in the Middle Ages. All this can be admired also from above with a ride on the Fløibanen funicular, that takes you up to the peaks of Mount Fløyen, from which it is worth walking down on foot: after crossing landscapes of rare beauty you will find yourself in the lively bustle of the fish market. You can take a walk amidst the wooden homes built on the side of the hill and along the long smau, the narrow passages typical of Bergen. Take time to visit the original wooden church of Fantoft, built in 1150 but transferred here only in 1882. Along the shores of Lake Lille Lungegårdsvann you find many art galleries and a museum with a collection of paintings by Edward Munch. In Troldhaugen instead, there is the museum-home of the most famous Norwegian composer, Edvard Grieg, who worked and lived here in a small cottage on Lake Nordås.
About Bergen
Bergen is Norway's second-largest city and its busiest port by both freight and passengers, welcoming over 300 cruise ship calls annually and nearly half a million cruise passengers. The compact, walkable city centre clusters around the UNESCO World Heritage Hanseatic wharf at Bryggen and the medieval Bergenhus Fortress, set amid the celebrated Seven Mountains on the western fjord coast. Bergen is the principal gateway to the fjords of West Norway.
The UNESCO World Heritage Site at Bryggen — the preserved line of medieval Hanseatic warehouses along the eastern shore of Vågen — is Bergen's defining landmark and a short walk from the cruise quays. Immediately north, Bergenhus Fortress (dating from the 1240s) guards the harbour entrance and contains the medieval Håkonshallen, once the seat of Norway's royal administration. Mount Fløyen rises steeply from the Bryggen area and rewards visitors with sweeping views across the city, fjord, and surrounding mountains. The twin medieval churches of Mariakirken and Korskirken, both built around 1150, anchor the northern and southern ends of the original town respectively. The pedestrianised Torgallmenningen square defines the modern commercial centre. Bergen's position makes it the natural departure point for excursions into the celebrated West Norwegian fjord landscape.
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