One of the tourist sites on every visitors list is the Bergen Fish Market known as the Fisketorget. Torget is the name of the street where the fish market is held. It is the bottom section of the old harbour. You can't miss it as it is held outside on the water's edge under covered market stalls, even in winter.

All the Bergen travel guide books say this is a place you must visit. I must say I was a little underwhelmed. I think I was expecting more. Something a bit larger. In the old days the Bergen fishing fleet would return with their catch and unload directly onto the dock front. The waiting fishermen's wives would then collect the catch and take it to their family market stall.

Don't expect to only see Norwegian fishermen and sales staff. They now come from across the world. There are Japanese's, Italians, Russians, Portuguese Spanish and many more. That even goes for the fish that is on sale. Today they sell frozen imported exotic fish, not just the freshly caught fish from the North Sea. You can even see the country of origin sticker on the side of some of the boxes that the fish are displayed in on the market stall tables.

If you see a product that looks like meat then you are probably looking at whale for sale. A very controversial food product. A number of the stall holders offer samples for their customers to try before they buy. If you are hungry there are stalls that offer cooked fish and chips (French fries). Other stalls offer fresh rolls stuffed with fresh salmon, shrimps or crabmeat. You can also swallow oysters if that is what you like.

The Bergen Fish Market is an ideal starting point for your walking tour of Bergen. It is very near to the old colourful Hanseatic league warehouse region of the harbour and the artisan market and food hall. Because the fish market is regularly cleaned and bags of ice are used to keep the fish in good condition there is a lot of water on the pavements. If you are visiting in the winter be very careful as the streets soon resemble an ice rink. They do try to put out salt but some patches are missed. You do not want to spend the rest of your visit in the hospital.

The Fisketorget fish market in Torget is open every day except Sunday from 7am. They close about 4pm except in the summer they stay open until 7pm. By the side of some of the stalls there are large metal containers. This is where they keep the live lobster and other fish. Look out for the more exotic fish. Look for the oversized King crabs. There are some market stalls selling vegetable and fruit amongst the fishmonger stalls. You will also find some selling Norwegian tourist souvenirs. If you need to take something home as a memento or present then the prices on the craft stalls seemed cheaper than inside the surrounding shops.

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