Located on Norway’s western coast, Bergen is the country’s second largest city and a thriving creative hub with international connections. Bergen Airport offers multiple daily direct flights to London (just 1.5 hours away) and other European hubs, making it easily accessible for international film productions. The city offers a wide range of backdrops, lending themselves a wide range of genres — from period dramas, romance, thrillers, fantasy productions or more.
Recently, Bergen has demonstrated its cinematic potential through War Sailor –an $11 million feature film and Netflix mini-series by Bergen-based director Gunnar Vikene. It was partly shot in Bergen and produced locally by Mer Film. The film’s striking visual qualities earned cinematographer Sturla Brandth Grøvlen an ASC Spotlight Award.
Bryggen – The Hanseatic Wharf
Bergen’s most famous landmark, Bryggen, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The colorful Hanseatic wooden houses along the harbor create a striking setting, perfect for historical or fantasy narratives. Beyond the picturesque façades, the many narrow alleyways and interiors provide authentic period detail. Today, the heritage site buildings house shops, restaurants, offices, and a museum.
Notable productions:
The Golden Compass (2007)
Shetland S4 (2018)
My Norwegian Holiday (2023).
The Fløibanen Funicular and Mount Fløyen
Fløibanen connects the city center to Mount Fløyen in just a few minutes, offering spectacular aerial views as Bergen unfolds below. At the summit, filmmakers will find sweeping vistas, lush forests, lakes, and even a café and restaurant. The funicular can accommodate hundreds of passengers an hour, operating year-round, making it an easily accessible natural location suitable for all seasons. For productions, this means quick access to both urban panoramas and forested mountain scenery, just minutes from hotels and restaurants in the city center.
Notable production:
Berlin Station S2 (2017)
Gamle Bergen (Old Bergen Museum)
This open-air museum recreates the atmosphere of 18th- and 19th-century Bergen with authentic wooden houses, courtyards, and narrow streets. It is an ideal setting for period dramas or scenes requiring historical detail without modern distractions. Located only 15 minutes from the city center by car, Gamle Bergen is easily accessible for film crews.
Notable production:
War Sailor (2022)
The Witches (1990)
Film Commissioner for Western Norway, Sigmund Elias Holm
Bergen combines its historical heritage with easy access to diverse natural locations. The city is home to an active film industry, robust regional film financing, the national broadcaster TV 2, boutique post-production and VFX facilities, and some of the Nordic region’s most forward-thinking producers.
Mount Ulriken
Known as the city between seven mountains, Bergen is surrounded by dramatic peaks. The highest peak, Ulriken, offers panoramic views across the city, fjords, and sea, accessible year-round by fast-moving cable car. Its rugged terrain and sweeping skies lend productions a sense of grandeur and scale.
Notable production: The Snowman (2017) filmed scenes here.
Bergenhus Fortress
One of Norway’s oldest and best-preserved stone fortresses, Bergenhus Fortress stands guard at the entrance to the harbor. Today the fortress complex serves as a venue for representation events, operative and theatre performances, large-scale concerts and other cultural events. Its medieval halls, courtyards, and waterfront walls make the location suitable for historical dramas, fantasy productions, or thrillers requiring imposing architecture.
Fantoft Stave Church
A stave church is a medieval wooden Christian church building, once common in northwestern Europe. Originally wide-spread, almost all remaining stave churches are in Norway. Located just outside the city center, Fantoft Stave Church is a reconstructed medieval wooden church originally dating back to the 12th century, rebuilt in the 1990s following an arson attack. Surrounded by forest, it offers an atmospheric setting ideal for historical or fantasy storytelling. With few stave churches remaining in the world, they are a rare and visually striking location.
Grieghallen
Grieghallen is Bergen’s landmark concert hall and a striking example of Scandinavian modernist architecture, built in honour of Norwegian composer Edvard Grieg. Its bold geometric façade rises like a sculptural form in the cityscape, creating a sharp contrast to the city’s historic wooden quarters. Inside, the main concert hall is renowned for its acoustics and sweeping modern design. For filmmakers, Grieghallen offers a versatile backdrop: sleek exteriors that can double for international cityscapes, and expansive interiors suited for performance scenes, contemporary drama, or stylish urban settings.
Natural Locations
Bergen is often described as the gateway to the fjords. Surrounded by seven mountains, a varied archipelago, and a rich diversity of landscapes within a short drive or train ride, the city offers filmmakers unique versatility. Here, it is possible to capture both urban cityscapes and untouched nature in a single shooting schedule.
About Bergen
Bergen, Norway’s second largest city, is a vibrant hub on the country’s west coast with a population of around 290,000. Despite its size, Bergen has the feel of a compact city, where most of the main attractions, hotels, restaurants, and cultural venues are within walking distance. This makes it especially convenient for visiting film crews and international guests.
The city offers a wide selection of accommodation, including higher-end hotels such as Hotel Norge by Scandic, Opus XVI, and the historic Bergen Børs Hotel – all centrally located and well-suited for international production teams, cast, and VIP visitors.
Bergen has also earned a place on the global culinary map. It is home to three Michelin-starred restaurants – Lysverket, Gaptrast and Omakase by Sergey Pak – known for their inventive use of local seafood and seasonal produce. Combined with a variety of high-quality dining options across the city, Bergen offers world-class cuisine in an intimate and accessible setting.
While often associated with dramatic fjords and mountains, Bergen itself enjoys a temperate oceanic climate. Winters are generally mild, with little snowfall in the city core, making it easily accessible year-round. This, combined with efficient infrastructure and international flight connections via Bergen Airport Flesland, ensures smooth logistics for productions.
For more information about filming in Bergen and the Western region of Norway, visit Western Norway Film Commission. To explore funding opportunities in the region, see Zefyr Media Fund and Western Norway Film Fund.
