If you wanted advice as to where to stay in Bergen I would not recommend a particular hotel but rather an area of Bergen where you should stay. The ridge of land, called the Nordnes peninsula, that makes up the southwest arm of the 'U' shaped Port of Bergen is covered with very attractive houses of all shapes, sizes and architectural styles.

You can spend hours just wondering around the side streets and alleyways. Most are immaculately kept. The Bergen residents have a pride in how their houses look. Many have been turned into small boutique hotels or Bed and Breakfast establishments.

If you type in the street name 'Haugeveien, Bergen' into Google Maps you will see a long road which runs along the spine of the Nordnes peninsular ridge. At the very northern tip is Nordnesparken and the Bergen Aquarium.

The roads that run parallel and run up and down hill all contain buildings that are pleasing to the eye. Some of the buildings have clapper board wooden planking facers to protect the walls from the elements blown in on North Sea winter storms.

When the old wood has to be replaced the builders now use a plastic facer that is molded to look exactly like a plank of wood. The beauty of this new material is that it is very hard wearing and no longer needs painting as they come in lots of different colors.

If you are walking around the area with children you can have a game with them to guess if the facers is made of wood or plastic. I believe the area is known as the Bergen Stransiden district but I am not too sure if that applies to the waterside only. Do not wear high heeled shoes as many of the streets are cobbled and you will either break your ankle or lose a heel.

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