Where to stay

in Hordaland County

Bergen is a city with a small-town feel. The largest city on the west coast-and indeed the second-largest city in Norway-has a population just under 300,000. While many pass through without stopping to fully explore its neighborhoods, this one-time European City of Culture has lots to entice the curious traveler. View its colorful clapboard houses and dine at restaurants where the fish is so fresh it may have been caught just hours earlier. For a small city, Bergen's range of hotels and places to stay is also superb. Scandi-chic boutique hotels are in ready supply, as are cozy guesthouses, ideal for those visiting in the winter months when the temperatures are cold but the city's scenery can be quite magical.