I took world's best train ride on city break 90 minutes from UK - three words sum it up

Shimmering lakes and tumbling waterfalls whistle past my window. Behind them rise hulking mountains dappled by melting snow. I’m on one of the world’s most beautiful train journeys, passing through a wilderness that’s not remotely remote. Just a 1.5 hour flight from the UK, in fact.

I’m on a Jet2 City Break to Bergen, the gateway to some of Norway’s most spectacular fjords. The king of them is the Sognefjord, stretching and splintering more than 200km inland from the sea through dramatic valleys carved by ancient glaciers.

This mythically beautiful landscape is in day-tripping distance of the city, and the Norway in a Nutshell experience (from £181) offers a whistlestop tour. After a two-hour train ride to Myrdal, we hop on the historic Flåm Railway.

Once crowned the world’s best train ride by Lonely Planet, it passes spectacular scenery including the Kjosfossen waterfall, which has its own stop allowing passengers to marvel at its mighty force up close. We also pass Rjoandefossen at the perfect moment as the sun hits its spray, refracting a perfect rainbow.

We get off at Flåm itself, picturesquely positioned at the tip of Aurlandsfjorden. This beautiful branch of the Sognefjord demands to be appreciated from all angles, so we take a minibus up to the Stegastein viewpoint that juts out from the mountaintop 650m above the village – a feat of engineering almost as magnificent as the views below.

We then head back down to board a fjord cruise. Nature is part of Norway’s national identity and is carefully protected, its elements harnessed to produce most of the country’s energy from hydropower. Most vehicles are now electric, including our ship.

It makes for a serenely quiet voyage as we sail to the Naerøyfjord, the narrowest, wildest and most famous branch of the Sognefjord, passing sights including the village of Aurland – said to have inspired Disney’s Frozen. I drink in the views from the top deck, sipping a cold beer as we glide noiselessly along, only the sound of the ship’s Norwegian flag flapping in the wind punctuating the peace.

After a long day, I’m glad to get back to Bergen. I’m staying at the Thon Hotel Orion, perfectly placed near the city’s picture-postcard Bryggen district. My room has views over the wharf and a comfy bed into which I happily collapse.

This area was once one of Europe’s most important trading ports and is today one of Norway’s most recognisable tourist sites. The colourful waterfront parade of shops and cafes was originally offices and lodgings used by German merchants who arrived here in the 13th century and dominated for 400 years. The oldest of its tilting wooden buildings dates from 1702, though it’s miraculous any remain at all.

Fires have razed this city to rubble repeatedly over the centuries – but in fact this area was saved by one. Excavations after the last major blaze in 1955 found artefacts dating back to the Middle Ages, now on display in the Bryggens Museum (entry £12). Before that discovery, many had wanted the run-down area demolished. Instead it became a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Today, it’s a charming jumble of ancient buildings and newer neighbours built in the traditional style. A narrow alleyway leads us off the main drag and seemingly back in time, into a warren of timber-planked walkways and cobbled courtyards lined by goldsmiths, galleries and gift shops. At the back is Bryggen Tracteursted, Bergen’s oldest restaurant.

Once a dining hall for local merchants, it’s still very much a medieval tavern in style, with wooden tables and fur-draped chairs perched precariously on a sloping stone floor. As our host plonks down my beer I instinctively shoot out a hand to catch it, in case it rolls off.

He then tells us about resident ghost Hans, purportedly a young apprentice left dangling too long over a fire in a hazing ritual. Legend has it he was found cooked and his face fell off in three pieces, we’re told as we’re handed our food. Bon appetit!

Stockfish (dried cod) was a major export in Bryggen’s trading heyday and it’s never off the menu here. I try it in the classic Bergen fish soup, a rich, creamy chowder with delicate fish dumplings. I later catch a glimpse of a whole stockfish framed on a wall, its body blackened and shrivelled and its jaws hinged wide open in a silent scream. Let’s just say it tastes a lot better than it looks.

For those seeking more contemporary cuisine, my favourite meal was at Sann, an elegant city centre restaurant and rooftop bar where we dined on dry-aged pork served with kale grown on the roof and a tonka bean and black pepper sauce. The cocktails were first rate, the views and vibes impeccable.

A guided e-bike tour from Bergen Bike Rent (£58) is the perfect way to explore the wider city’s hilly terrain. I’m glad of the turbo function as we pedal up steep, cobbled streets past pretty pastel-coloured buildings and sights including the cathedral, Festplassen public square and Grieghallen. The concert hall is named after Bergen-born composer Edvard Grieg, probably best known (by me, anyway, thanks to Alton Towers) for In the Hall of the Mountain King.

Troldhaugen, his home with soprano star wife Nina, is just outside the city and we later pay a visit (entry £13). Built in 1885, the villa is a time capsule still furnished with original pieces including his Steinway piano. There are also regular recitals in an on-site concert hall overlooking the lakeside vista that inspired his work.

You don’t have to venture far to find such beauty in Bergen. Ringed by seven mountains, the city offers an easy escape into nature. The highest, Mount Ulriken, can be reached by cable car from just outside the city centre (return ticket £10). At the summit is the Skyscraperen restaurant and cafe, boasting the best beer garden view I’ve ever seen out over the city, sea and fjords below.

Inside is no less spectacular, with floor-to-ceiling windows immersing diners in the craggy landscape. We dine on a seasonal, set menu including Jerusalem artichoke soup, beef sirloin with Chinese cabbage, and a rhubarb and raspberry sorbet with lemon verbena sauce.

The meal is paired with craft cider, for which Norway is becoming rightly respected. The champagne-like Alde Sider we drink is from nearby Hardanger, a region with its own Protected Designation of Origin. My bags are later clanking with bottles from duty free. Equally impressive are beers from Bergen microbrewery 7 Fjell, including the aptly-named Ulriken, a heady double IPA.

You can hike from here to the neighbouring Mount Fløyen, but less intrepid travellers can also reach it via the Fløyen funicular from the city centre (return ticket £14). It’s one of Bergen’s best-loved attractions and it’s easy to see why as we zoom up, panoramic views unfurling around us. Within minutes we’re on the mountaintop, at the edge of a thick forest criss-crossed by well-maintained and more accessible trails than those up Ulriken. There’s also a playground and a couple of cafes, plus the upscale Fløirestauranten, serving 10-course tasting menus alongside more casual brasserie meals.

A 10-minute stroll takes us to the pine-fringed Lake Skomardiket, where you can paddle canoes for free in summer. It’s hard to believe such wild tranquility is mere minutes away from Norway’s second city.

While many UK travellers overlook it in favour of Oslo, Bergen offers a pretty unbeatable package. It’s a brilliant city break in its own right and the ideal hopping off point to explore the mountains and fjords. Voss, western Norway’s largest ski resort and extreme sports capital, is also within easy reach.

There’s a rather beautiful greeting Norwegians use when they meet each other again, to thank each other for an enjoyable last encounter: takk for sist. I have a feeling I’ll be saying those three little words to Bergen again very soon.

Book the holiday

• Jet2CityBreaks offers a three-night B&B stay at the Thon Hotel Orion in Bergen, Norway, from £589pp. Depart from Manchester on May 1, 2026, with 22kg baggage. T&Cs apply. More info at visitnorway.com.