How strongly I would like it, people do not always share my opinions. You
may therefore visit this notebook and read
other opinions of the different places in Bergen or about how terribly
wrong I am. You are also welcome to add your own
experience with Bergen Night-life, give comments on the BGNT, or just show
the world that you exist.
(This page is yet very unfinished, watch out for more!)
This is my own project to make a guided tour to inexperienced night-life goers in Bergen. First thing one has to know about Bergen's night-life: the town is divided. In the area around Fløyen are all the discos, 'glamour' and smart asses. The places are also mostly visited by locals. In the area around Nygårdshøyden are all the rock and roll, the shabby ones and the places for the 'intellectuals'. Consequently, the clientel on the places is mixed up with foreigners (everybody that are not from Bergen) and students. The last and less defined area are the places along and near the harbor where you have the people from the less dense areas around Bergen, all the tourist souvenirs and the places with one man bands playing sweet hits from the 80's.
GENERAL OPENING HOURS A sad story but we have to live with it. The last election to the city council gave us a Chairman belonging to the Norwegian Christian folk party (KrF), and consequently the council have restricted the opening hours. The effect is that all bars follow the same opening hours. At week days serving of alcoholic beverages stops at 01:00 and at weekends (Friday and Saturday) serving stops at 02:00. Thus, places that originally closed one o'clock during the whole week are now allowed to be open one hour more in the weekend, while places that originally were allowed to serve alcohol to half past two close half an hour earlier in the weekend and one and a half hour earlier in the week days.
THE BEER One more thing that might be of interest is the beer that are sold in Bergen. Once Norwegian beer making was divided into cartels-each brewery having its defined area. The brewery of Bergen was and is Hansa (even though it's now mainly own by a Swedish company) and in the old days you could only by Hansa in the restaurants, bars and pubs (at least without paying extra money). Today the cartels has broken down but still Hansa is the common beer sold. However, a few places have started to offer beer from several Norwegian breweries.
This tour starts in the area around Fløyen. First we'll start at the disco called EXODUS. It's the place with the most ugly commercials. Typical disco place where the girls DRESS UP and with a lot of conservative smart asses. Mainly people from Bergen. Have Stimorol shows. Expensive beer. Cover charge.
In the same street is RUBINEN. Probably named after a book by the Norwegian writer Mykle. The book was banned because of 'pornographic' descriptions. I was once told a story about a Japanese tourist that asked the clerk in his hotel where he could get a girl. The clerk then suggested Rubinen so the tourist went there. The next day the Japanese once again met the clerk, thanked him, and gave him money. Well that's all I know about the place - and I think that the story describes the image of the place quite well. Remember condoms.
Following the street north ward is a place that has changed the name quite a lot lately and might currently be called TROPICANA. The only place in Bergen that had regular strip tease shows and naked women dancing in cages. However, I think they had to stop because of protests and demonstrations. At least having regular strip tease shows (and women in cages). Nevertheless, it belongs to the disco places. Cover charge.
An other place called HOLMES is placed in the same area as Tropicana. Mainly youngsters, so I have not been there for ages. Last time I noticed anything about the place was a current poster that were posted all ower town. The poster advertised for body painting and wet T-shirt shows, so may be I go and visit the place one day. Disco. Cover charge.
Our tour is now moving toward Nygårdshøyden and we are currently in Torgallmeningen. There are several places in this area. If you stand by The blue stone with your nose pointing toward the Theater, you have the Maxime complex at your right. This includes PÅ FOLKEMUNNE, MAXIME, ENGLISH PUB and DEN STUNDELØSE. The first place, PÅ FOLKEMUNNE, is a resturant that I have not visited, but I have been told that they serv good and inexpensive food (you can always try). However, the beer is expensive in all the places: 43 Kr for 0.45 liters (two years ago). MAXIME is a bigger hall that some times arranges concerts. On regular days it's mainly a disco place. Cover charge. Same prices on the beer as in the rest of the Maxime complex. DEN STUNDELØSE is a sit and talk place but do also have a small stage where informal concerts are arranged. The music is often jazz or etnical inspired. It is often crowded and becomes a stand and talk place. Interior is sofas and 'funny' paintings from theater plays. The clientel is mainly middle-aged. Cover charge.
If you are still standing by The Blue stone and look to the left about 45 degrees, you will see a place called WESSELSTUEN. The place is named after a Bergen's writer who is most famous for his death epitaphs. The place has funny paintings from the poems and plays of Wessel on the wall. The clientel is basically everybody and some times visited by actors from the theater and students. Have no music. A sit-and-talk place. The beer costs 41 Kr and is a genuine half liter. Serves food. Both young and older people. In summer time it's a nice place to take a beer in free air.
Still standing by the blue stone you now turn 90 degrees to the left and are confronted with the old building that once contained The Bergen newspaper 'Bergens Tidende.' Now it is containing the place called DICKENS. The place is a cafe and sit and talk place. It got two floors - or rather - a downstairs and a balcony. From the ceiling hangs lots of plants for those of you who have a hang of that kind. (Got it?). Here you can buy both small dishes and dinners. The second floor or the balcony is furnished with heavy chairs and the walls covered with shelves containing old books probably bought cheap on a second hand store. The clientel is basically square and probably from Bergen.
Once you have been at Wesselstuen you may want to be a little nostalgic about the last time you were on a charter trip to the southern hemisphere. So what you do is to go to RICKS. You find the place in the direction of the theater. There are four compartments and is probably one of the most expensive places in town. Entrance fee is 50 Kr. and a 0.4 liter beer costs 39 Kr. It is constituted of four compartments: one hall with a stage usually used for samba bands, a bar (serves strong alcohol), a disco discotheque and a long small pub playing rock hits from the 80s. At Thursday the place regularly arrange samba evenings which are advertised for by posters showing a mulatto with her tits hanging out and lot of feathers. I haven't been there on Thursdays my self, so I can't guarantee that this is how the female clientel is dressed on these days. The pub tries to have an atmosphere like the one you find on charter trips to Ibiza, with the young servers dancing (to the rock hits from the 80's) behind the bar and the clientel dancing in front of the bar. Age limit is 24.
Other places in the area:
If you walk up to the Theater from Torgallmeningen and take a left turn you end up in a street called Engen. Here you find a place called Café Opera - and it's a Café. The place try to have an intellectual style having exhibitions of local artists of the sort you will not find in the more serious galleries. Here you find the people that think they are intellectual if they use the afternoon sitting by the table reading a newspaper while they drink a cup of capuccino. You don't go to the place if you wear a pair of regular blue jeans, sneakers and a sweater - if you know what I mean. Also a hang out for people from more exotic places on earth. Serves some simple dishes. Besides Hansa beer, the place also sell american beer of the type that is like 'making love in a canoe.'
Cafe Henrik (you know the writer Henrik Ibsen) vis-à-vis Cafe Opera - coming soon. For so long, the place got a real good assortment of different beers. It is a sit and talk place but the place is often very crowded and the acoustics is very bad. The place have no music, not even through speakers.
Walking up one block you meet a street that change name with out reason. At the northern end it's called Haakons gate and at the southern end it's called Nygårdsgaten. The whole area is packed with kebab bars for hungry nightgouers. Actually some one should test all the kebabs and make a guided kebab tour. Along the street are also several secondhand shops in which you might get what you are looking for cheap, or find your stolen belongings. (I didn't say this, it's just a rumor - no suing). In the street you also find shops selling army effects, grunchy clothes, a comic store and most important; a Vinmonopol (the place in Norway where you by wine and booze). However, you better bring some tax free, it's expensive.
The first bar in this area, right where the street change name from Haakonsgaten to Nygårdsgaten, is FOTBALL PUBEN. Fotball is the same as soccer and it follows that the pub is for Norwegian football hooligans. However, don't panic! Norwegian football fans are cute and nice and do not harm anyone. There are monitors so you can follow football matches, meet people and drink a beer, all at the same time. In the summer it's possible to sit outside. If you want to be frindely with the locals you cheer for BRANN (except when there are people from Fyllingsdalen present).
Bergen Gjestehus - Coming soon
After all the waiting in vein Bergen at last got it's Student house baptized DET AKADEMISKE KVARTER. At his place you can get a inexpensive meal, go to the pub and drink (relative) cheap beer or go to concerts and cultural happenings in the evening. However, if you don't like to hang around with self-good students this is absolutely not the right place for you. At the time being the place is quite new and has no real ambiance but it's OK enough.
Just a little further down the street on the other side is FINCKEN, the only official homo place in town. However it's not a homo place only - hetros are welcome too (hey! don't be prejudiced). Fincken is a small cafe that serves small dishes.
Even further down Nygårdsgaten is GARAGE, a place where all the black people goes, that is; all those that only use black clothing. Mostly students and people from Bergen that think Rock'n Roll is coooool. If you are lucky you may meet a satanist and if you are even more lucky you may meet a personal satanist. The place is divided in to three different departments. An old that have been called 'the pub', and a new one that is called 'the bar' and ,at last, a concert room in the basement. Besides HULEN, the most rock'n roll place in town. The pub and the bar are cafe like in style. Lots of camp (I say kitch). Check out the door handles. Original nasjonal music awards donated by the two Norwegian bands: Pogo Pops and Barbie Bones. Beer costs 37 NKr and is genuin half liters. You may also buy a Guinnes, Mexican beer that is like the american, and a few other kinds. Serves also half liters with strong beer (48 NKr).
However, the ultimate student place is HULEN (they need all the support they can get now when everybody is going to Det akademiske kvarter - poor bastards). It's an old bomb shelter caved out in the mountain on the other side of Nygårdshøyden containing two halls: one where there is a DJ playing music and one where they have a stage on which a band may be playing. It's loud, dark and sometimes crowded. You will mainly find students there and currently they think it's cool to look like some modern hippis or something, Actually they are straight as hell and hard working students that want to out compete the others so they can start at their major. Anyway you may waste your time by visiting HULEN's homepage. If you are lucky you may find last months program. HULEN takes a cover charge which vary depending on the nights band (or if there is a band). The beer (RINGNES) is relatively cheap (but not the cheapest) - the place is supposed to be a non profit place. Open to one o'clock in the week day and to 03:00 in the weekend. By the way, HULEN recently had a 25 years in business jubilee which they celebrated by giving out a CD and a Jubilee book. In the above mentioned book you can read stories from HULEN as for instance the one about the idiot that spilled some 1000 liters of beer into the fjord Puddefjorden.
By this time you are probably unconscious and will not remember any of the places the next day. Good luck!
Last updated by Peter Johnsen