Bergen, verdict by verdict

Bergen trades on two assets: a UNESCO Hanseatic wharf and a harbour ringed by seven mountains. Bryggen's crooked timber warehouses are the postcard, the fish market anchors the waterfront, and the Floibanen funicular lifts you to the Floyen view in eight minutes; reports agree it earns its reputation as the most charming base in fjord country.

Then there is the rain, falling measurably on well over 200 days a year, so a dry week is luck rather than planning; the locals' answer is a good jacket and carrying on, and the Hanseatic Museum makes fine wet-weather cover. The bill is the other Bergen tax, with even Norwegian-standard prices stinging at restaurants and bars, summer middays bring cruise crowds, and northern lights hopes belong to Tromso.

The second draw is the fjords: this is the classic launchpad for Norway in a Nutshell to Flam and the Naeroyfjord, and for the Hardangerfjord blossom run in spring. Two days covers Bryggen, Floyen and the museums, three to four adds a fjord day, and the Bybanen light rail runs the airport in about 45 minutes. It suits travelers who pack for weather rather than hope against it, seafood eaters, and anyone here for the wharf and the fjords.