A harbour city game from the theatre to Bergenhus
The Bergen scavenger hunt is a self-guided city game you play on your phone: you walk from landmark to landmark, solve a riddle at each one by looking closely at what is in front of you, and unlock the stories and local legends behind it. Between the theatre and the fortress you walk for roughly 37 minutes and cover 2.7 km across 10 stops, so the whole game, riddles and stories included, fits into about 1.5 hours and begins whenever you open it.
Highlights include the wooden merchant houses of Bryggen, Bergenhus Fortress with its medieval hall, Bergen Cathedral, the Sailors' Monument by Dyre Vaa and the Shetlands-Larsen statue. Bergen is a harbour city, and the route links Hanseatic history, old fortifications and the fish market in one walk.
- Durationabout 1.5 hours
- Walkingabout 37 min · 2.7 km
- Stops10
- LanguagesEnglish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Dutch
What you do between Torgallmenningen and the fortress
A cannonball, runes and a Baroque pulpit
Each of the 10 stops hides one riddle in something you can see: a detail on the theatre front, a feature of the Sailors' Monument, the cannonball from 1665 still lodged in the cathedral wall. Sharp eyes and a little logic do the job, and you need no Norwegian at all.
Hanseatic merchants and a Shetland Bus hero
A solved riddle unlocks the story behind the place: why German merchants kept a trading base at Bryggen until 1754, how Leif Larsen made 52 crossings with the Shetland Bus, and which royal wedding was celebrated in Håkonshallen in 1261. On a wet day the audio narration tells you each story, so the phone can stay in your pocket.
Short distances around Vågen
The 2.7 km wrap around Vågen, the old harbour, so the walking adds up to only about 37 minutes. Google Maps leads you from square to quayside, and the one uphill stretch is left for the end, behind Bryggen towards St Mary's Church and the fortress.
Shelter whenever a shower passes
No clock runs during the game, so you can duck into a café or the Mathallen food hall at Torget when the rain comes and pick up the next riddle later, even on another day. Already down at the harbour? Choose Torget or Bryggen as your first stop in the app.
See the route and attractions →
How it works
- Book online Choose the number of players. Your booking reference arrives by email straight away.
- Get the app Download the World City Trail app from the App Store or Google Play and enter your booking reference.
- Play when you like Start whenever you are ready, walk at your own pace and pause any time. No guide, no fixed schedule.
Who gets the most out of a game around Vågen
A port call or a weekend between the fjords
In about an hour and a half you see Bryggen, the cathedral, the fish market and Bergenhus, which leaves time for Fløyen or a fjord trip later the same day. Because every stop puts a question to you, you actually study the wooden gables instead of just photographing them.
Children who like ships, runes and towers
Kids enjoy searching for the cannonball in the cathedral wall, posing beside the statue of a Second World War skipper by the water and seeing the stone Rosenkrantz Tower up close. Every team needs one grown-up, and from the fish market onwards the stops follow each other within a few minutes' walk.
Colleagues and clubs on a team outing
Teams of up to 5 follow the game on their own phones, so a larger group can split up outside the theatre and gather again in the fortress grounds. Everything happens in public streets and squares, with no room to hire.
Good to know
- Bring a charged smartphone with mobile data; a power bank helps.
- No entry tickets needed: everything happens outside the buildings. Going inside is optional and paid separately.
- Family friendly; children must be accompanied by an adult.
- Not suitable for wheelchair users and difficult with strollers.
- Teams of up to 5 work best; bigger groups split into several teams, one ticket per player.
- Every purchase helps support stray cats and dogs in Greece.
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