Bergen’s City Mountain

The west coast capital of Norway, Bergen is a city surrounded by mountains. One of these mountains is Fløyen, the popular hiking desitnation every Bergenser “citizen of Bergen” has to experience once or twice.

The Everyman’s Hike

The Fløyen mountain has become the symbol of Bergen’s nature and hiking culture. Therefore it has become the “mandatory” hike for every “Bergenser” (citizen of Bergen). The hike is about three kilometres long and it takes about 90 minutes from sea level to Fløyen’s peak where you get a view of the whole city centre and the city mountains surrounding it. The gravel trail to the top is not particularly steep, thus making it a simple hike for people of all ages.

The Three Billy Goats

On top of the Fløyen mountain, there lives three white cashmere goats. The woollen trio is called Fløyenguttene, simply The Fløyen Boys. During the summer, Elvis, Småen, and Festus Gilde stroll around the Fløyen forests keeping the vegetation in check. As well as gardeners, the goats are Fløyens mascots and the face that greets you while wandering through the forest. The welcoming animals always say hi and they are more than happy to pose for a photoshoot.

During the summer, Elvis, Småen, and Festus Gilde roams Fløyen’s grounds eating grass all day long.

Not Just a Hike

Hiking is not for everyone, making the Fløibanen rail a favoured alternative for many. The 844-metre long funicular railway line from ground level to the top has been operated since 1918. The two blue and red railcars, Blåmann and Rødhette run up and down the mountainside dozens of times a day. In 2019 alone, Fløibanen had 28.940 round trips transporting almost two million passengers. It’s estimated that during its lifetime, the railway has transported tens of millions of people up and down the Fløyen mountainside.

Taking the funicular railway you may see the whole city from a panoramic view. Here we see one of the carts, Rødhette (The Little Red Riding Hood).

The City Mountains

Fløyen is one of the seven mountains surrounding Bergen. They are called the city mountains due to their visibility from the city centre. The mountains have become a part of Bergen’s culture and have given name to everything from craft beer to designer clothes. Extending from the foot of the first to the peak of the seventh, The Seven Mountain Hiking Trail is the perfect trip for hiking enthusiasts. The 36 km long trail which takes around ten hours to complete is said to be one of the most striking trails on the Norwegian West Coast. We will cover this unique hike in a future blog post. Follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit to get updates on new posts straight to your feed.

Bergen is not the only Norwegian city to feature great nature experiences right next to the city centre. Read our post about Nordmarka, the Norwegian capital’s own urban wildlife reservoir.

The grand pine woods on Fløyen makes for a majestic view even in the deep forests.

Interesting read? Then we suggest taking a look on other blog posts on Bergen, especially the one about Bryggen, The World Heritage Docks. Here at Nuet, we publish weekly blog posts about everything Scandinavian. Read more at Nuetaquavit.com/stories and follow our Instagram @nuetaquavit.