Season guide · Bergen · Norway
Bergen in winter
December–February: weather, crowds, prices and the best things to do this time of year.
Updated By the AMZBooking editorial team
Photo: Holger Uwe Schmitt, CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answer
Short days, frequent rain and occasional snow, with Christmas lights, the Gingerbread Town and low prices. Expect highs up to 5°C (41°F) and lows around 0°C (32°F), with about 55 rainy days across December–February.
Key facts
- Months
- December–February
- Temperatures
- 0°C (32°F) to 5°C (41°F)
- Rainy days in the season
- About 55
- Sea
- 6°C (43°F) to 8°C (46°F)
- Crowds
- Very quiet
- Hotel prices
- Low
Weather in winter
| Month | High | Low | Rainy days | Daylight | Crowds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4°C (39°F) | 0°C (32°F) | 19 | 6.6 h | 1/5 |
| February | 4°C (39°F) | 0°C (32°F) | 16 | 9 h | 1/5 |
| December | 5°C (41°F) | 0°C (32°F) | 20 | 5.8 h | 2/5 |
Compared with the rest of the year: average highs of 4°C (39°F) against a yearly 11°C (52°F), and 55 of the year's roughly 207 rainy days fall in these 3 months. Crowds rate 1/5 and hotel prices 2/5 on average.
What's on in winter
Recurring events; dates move from year to year, so confirm with the organiser.
- December: Christmas market at Festplassen (usually December)
Good choices for winter
Museum · Nygårdshøyden
University Museum of Bergen
Look for the whale hall upstairs and walk through the Nygårdsparken afterwards.
- Time needed
- 1.5 hours
- Cost
- Low cost
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Museum · Bryggen
Bryggens Museum
Built over the excavated remains of Bergen's earliest buildings, the museum displays the foundations of 12th-century wharf houses and finds from the medieval city, including runic inscriptions carved on wooden sticks that record everyday messages, trade deals and love notes.
- Time needed
- 1–1.5 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Rainy day
Gallery · Sentrum
KODE art museums
One ticket covers all the lakeside buildings for the day, so pace yourself and break for coffee.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Art
- Rainy day
- Iconic
Museum · Paradis
Troldhaugen
Edvard Grieg's Victorian villa above Lake Nordås, about 8 km south of the centre, where the composer lived for 22 years.
- Time needed
- 2–3 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- History
- Art
- Couples
- Outdoors
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Aquarium · Nordnes
Bergen Aquarium
Check the feeding times on arrival, then walk to Nordnesparken next door for sea views.
- Time needed
- 2 hours
- Cost
- Mid-priced
- Kids
- Rainy day
- Nature
Day trips in winter
- Lysøen (About 1 hour by bus and boat) — The violinist Ole Bull built a fairytale summer villa with an onion dome and carved interiors on this small island south of Bergen in the 1870s.
- Norway in a Nutshell: Flåm and the Nærøyfjord (A full day, about 10–12 hours round trip) — The classic fjord round trip combines the Bergen Railway to Myrdal, the steep Flåm Railway down to the village of Flåm, a boat through the narrow, UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord to Gudvangen and a bus back to Voss and the train to Bergen.
What to pack
- A warm coat, hat, gloves and thermal layers
- Shoes with good grip for icy pavements
- A compact umbrella and waterproof shoes — rain is frequent
- Comfortable walking shoes
Other times of year
Questions travellers ask
+Is winter a good time to visit Bergen?
It is a trade-off: Short days, frequent rain and occasional snow, with Christmas lights, the Gingerbread Town and low prices. The best months overall are May–August.
+What is the weather like in Bergen in winter?
Highs of up to 5°C (41°F) and lows around 0°C (32°F), with about 55 rainy days over the season.