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Though known as one of the rainiest places in rainy Norway, BERGEN has a spectacular setting among seven hills and is one of the country's most enjoyable cities. There's plenty to see, from the fine surviving medieval buildings to a series of good museums - the best located in the atmospheric old warehouse quarter, Bryggen, dating from the city's days as the northernmost Hanseatic port. Bergen is also within easy reach of some of Norway's most spectacular scenic attractions, both around the city and further north.

Founded in 1070, Bergen was the largest and most important town in medieval Norway, a regular residence of the country's kings and queens, and later a Hanseatic port and religious centre that supported thirty churches and monasteries. Little of that era survives, although the much-modified medieval fortress, the Bergenhus, still commands the entrance to the harbour. The city centre divides into two distinct parts: the wharf area, Bryggen , adjacent to the fortress, once the working centre of the Hanseatic merchants and now the oldest part of Bergen; and the modern centre , which stretches inland from the head of the harbour and down along the Nordnes peninsula, taking the best of Bergen's museums and shops.

The obvious place to start a visit is the Torget , an appealing harbourside plaza that's home to a colourful fish market. From here, it's a short stroll round to the Bryggen , the principal historical and cultural target, where a string of distinctive wooden buildings line up along the wharf. These once housed the city's merchants and are now home to a string of shops, restaurants and bars. Although none of these structures was actually built by the Hanseatic Germans - most of the originals were destroyed by fire in 1702 - they carefully follow the original building line. Among them, the Hanseatic Museum (daily: June-Aug 9am-5pm; Sept-May 11am-2pm; 35kr) is the best preserved, an early eighteenth-century merchant's dwelling kitted out in late-Hansa style, complete with the possessions and documents of contemporary families. More than anything else, though, it's the gloomy warren-like layout of the place that impresses, as well as the all-pervading smell of fish. Good though this is, it's the Bryggens Museum (May-Aug daily 10am-5pm; Sept-April Mon-Fri 11am-3pm, Sat noon-3pm, Sun noon-4pm; 20kr), just along the harbourfront next to the SAS Royal Hotel , which is Bergen's showpiece, displaying all sorts of intriguing artefacts that were retrieved during the detailed archeological excavation of the Bryggen. A series of imaginative exhibitions attempts a complete reassembly of medieval life - from domestic implements, handicrafts and maritime objects through to trading items - set in context by a set of twelfth-century foundations that were unearthed during the first dig in the 1950s.

A few steps from the museum, Øvregaten has long marked the boundary of the Bryggen. By walking along its length you'll soon reach the terminal for the Fløibanen , the quaint funicular railway (every 30min: Mon-Fri 7.30am-11pm, Sat 8am-11pm, Sun 9am-11pm; May-Aug till midnight; 34kr return) that runs up to the top of 320m-high Mount Fløyen, from where there are panoramic views over the city.

In the other direction, back along the waterfront, lies the Bergenhus , a large and roughly star-shaped fortification now used mostly as a park; its stone and earth walls date from the nineteenth century, but enclose the remnants of earlier strongholds. Of the two medieval survivors (combined guided tours on the hour: mid-May to Aug daily 10am-4pm; rest of year Sun noon-3pm; 15kr), the first is the Håkonshallen , a dull reconstruction of the Gothic ceremonial hall built for King Håkon in the mid-thirteenth century. Rather better is the adjacent Rosenkrantztårnet , a tower whose thirteenth-century winding spiral staircases, medieval rooms and low rough corridors were enlarged in 1565 by the local lord, who used the place as a fortified residence.

About ten minutes' walk from the Bergenhus, in the modern centre, Bergen's four main art museums are on the south side of a pleasant, artificial lake. The pick of these is the Rasmus Meyer Collection , Rasmus Meyers Allé 3 (daily 11am-5pm, closed Mon mid-Sept to mid-May; 35kr), which holds an extensive collection of Norwegian painting, including many works by Edvard Munch.

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