While Oslo appears frequently amongst travel destination hotspots, Norway's second largest city Bergen tends to get more of a limelight bypass. The fact that Bergen was recently recognised as one of Europe's fourteen 'secret cities' however, as well as it being one of nine cities to be awarded a European City of Culture title in 2000, mean that things could be set to change.
Surrounded by seven imposing mountains on three sides with the fourth presenting the North Sea, Bergen offers an attractive, laid-back mix for a coach tour. Divided into two parts, the city is over-spilling with museums, galleries and other cultural points of interest and has a picturesque hub by way of the vibrant market (torget) in the harbour. Adopt the Bergen pace of life and relax in the market's surrounding restaurants, pubs and cafes, or stroll past rainbow coloured wooden houses and through narrow cobbled streets. Life is so good here that there are even white picket fences to prove it.
- Bergen offers both a fantastic funicular and cable car that transports visitors up to Mount Ulriken and Mount Floyen. A journey on either offers brilliant views of