TRAVEL | Old meets new in central Bergen

I have been away for a few trips over the last two weeks… the first was not that far, it brought me to Belgium, and turned out to be a surprising design tour and meet ups with several designers together with a small group of five bloggers. After that I went back to Amsterdam and headed straight to the airport for my next trip to Bergen Norway to meet up with my friend Anouk B at Bergen Designstory


It was my first time to Bergen and Norway and I was surprised by the combination of contemporary architecture and the small wooden houses and little streets around the hotel, I can only imagine how cute they look when covered in snow.

Apparently it rains almost every day in Bergen but we were really lucky to have a beautiful blue sky and great temperature for the first three days. We did some really beautiful tours too and hope to show you some more pictures of that and the Limburg designtour next week, for now some thoughts and white wooden houses from Bergen.

The Clarion Collection Hotel Oleana

The Clarion Collection Hotel Oleana where I stayed, is one of the 170 hotels of the Nordic Choice Hotels, a hotel chain owned by Norwegian Petter Anker Stordalen. The hotel opened it’s doors four months ago and is located right in the centre of Bergen, which makes it the perfect location to discover Bergen by feet.

The hotel, situated in an historic building, has a large lobby with a huge couch and fireplace, and a wall and chairs covered in trendy velvet. Bergen life seems all peace and quiet, beside a busy nightlife on Friday and Saturday night, and together with a magnificent fjord trip, a walk through the woods and some shopping and trying out the different bars and restaurants, it was the perfect place to slow down for a few days.

The hotel is overlooking a quiet street and little parc and there are lots of shops around the corner. One of the good things is they not only offer breakfast, also supper is included which was perfect for going out just for drinks or coffee and dessert.

At night you can easily walk around in the area around the hotel where you will find small coffee places and restaurants and get the change to experience the laid back atmosphere and enjoy the thousands of lights coming from the houses build on the hills around the city centre… pure magic!

Pictures and words by Vosgesparis | With thanks to Visit Norway, Hotel Oleana and Bergen Tourist board | Find more on our instagram account under #visitBergen #visitNorway and stay tuned for more pictures soon.