Bergen Gingerbread Town 2026 (Pepperkakebyen): Dates, Hours & Tickets

Updated 21 October 2026. Dates, hours and prices are from the organizer, Bergen Sentrum, and Visit Bergen.

Every Christmas since 1991, Bergen has built a whole town out of gingerbread. Kindergartens, schools, companies and thousands of local families bake the houses, and the organizers call the result the world’s largest gingerbread town. Visit Bergen describes houses, churches, castles, rockets and even oil platforms. It’s the kind of thing my boys would talk about for weeks. Here’s how I’d plan a visit in 2026.

Opening hours for 2026

The Gingerbread Town follows simple hours for most of the season:

Holiday hours

The last days are Friday 8 January (until 21:00), Saturday 9 January (until 20:00) and Sunday 10 January (until 19:00).

Tickets and prices

You can buy tickets in advance online or at the door.

There are a few more discounts at the door, for example for kindergarten and school groups and for people with a companion card. The full list is on the organizer’s page.

My tip: go on a weekday. Children under 16 get in free from Monday to Friday, so a family of four with two kids pays for two adult tickets. Weekday mornings are also when I’d expect it to be quietest, though school and kindergarten groups visit too.

What it costs a family of four

Here’s the math for two adults and two kids aged 3 to 15, using the 2026 prices:

So the weekday visit is the bargain. The guided walk is a bigger treat, but it bundles a local guide, Bryggen, the Gingerbread Town, a hot drink and the Christmas market into one evening, which could be worth it on your first night in Bergen.

Is it worth it?

I think so, especially with kids. It’s indoors, so it works on a rainy Bergen day, and it’s a real community tradition rather than a commercial attraction. Combine it with the free Christmas market and the Festival of Lights, and you have a Christmas weekend without spending much at all.

What you’ll see

The town is laid out inside byROMMET, a venue in the city center, a short walk from the train station. The houses come from all over Bergen: children’s first gingerbread cottages next to detailed churches and landmarks built by local companies. Visit Bergen also mentions that you can taste Bergen’s own gingerbread hearts at the end.

The money goes to a good cause. Bergen Sentrum, the nonprofit city-center association that runs it, says the profit from the Gingerbread Town goes to causes for children.

Can you add your own house?

Yes, if you’re in Bergen early. For 2026, the community bake ran from 16 October to 1 November, every day from 09:00 to 19:00. Anyone could bake something, and builders get a free ticket and a diploma. Check the organizer’s page in early autumn if you want to take part in a future year.

Planning a visit with kids

• How long? I’d allow about an hour, plus time for a hot drink after.
• When? A weekday is free for kids. For the best Christmas atmosphere, go in late afternoon when it’s dark outside and the city lights are on.
• Strollers: it’s an indoor venue, but it gets busy on weekends and in the Christmas holidays. A carrier might be easier for little ones.
• Combine it: walk on to Bryggen, the old wooden wharf, and to Bergen Christmas Market on Festplassen in the same evening.

A Bergen Christmas weekend: 14 and 15 November 2026

The opening weekend is a nice time to come, because two things happen at once:

• Saturday 14 November: the Gingerbread Town opens at 09:00. At 16:00, Bergen holds its Festival of Lights (Lysfesten) around the lake Lille Lungegårdsvann, ending with fireworks at about 17:00. It’s free and no ticket is needed.
• Sunday 15 November: a slow morning, then Bryggen and the fish market area, and back to the Gingerbread Town if the kids want a second look (on a Sunday, kids 3–15 pay 49 kroner).

If you come a week later, Bergen Christmas Market on Festplassen opens on Friday 20 November and runs until 22 December.

Other Christmas things to do in Bergen in 2026

• Bergen Christmas Market: Festplassen, 20 November to 22 December, Monday to Friday 12:00 to 21:00, weekends 10:00 to 21:00. Free entry, and the carousels need a separate ticket.
• Advent on Mount Fløyen: Visit Bergen lists Advent events on Fløyen on Sundays from 29 November.
• Guided Christmas walk: daily from 21 November to 21 December, 16:30 to 19:00, in English. It visits Bryggen and old streets, then the Gingerbread Town, and ends at the Christmas market. Adults 895 kroner, children 3 to 15 545 kroner, including entry to the Gingerbread Town and a hot drink.

All the other Norwegian markets, from Oslo to Røros, are in Christmas in Norway 2026.

Getting to Bergen

• From Oslo by train: Vy’s Bergen Railway takes about 6.5 to 7.5 hours, with 6 to 7 departures a day. The line crosses a high mountain plateau, reaching 1,237 meters above sea level, before dropping down to the coast.
• Through the fjords: you can break the trip at Myrdal and go down to Flåm and the Nærøyfjord, then continue to Bergen. That’s the classic Norway in a Nutshell route.
• By air: Bergen Airport Flesland has flights from Oslo and many European cities. The Bybanen light rail connects the airport with the city center.

What to wear

• A real rain jacket. Bergen is famous for its rain, and December is no exception.
• Waterproof shoes with good grip for wet cobblestones.
• A hat and gloves for the Festival of Lights and evening walks.
• Layers you can take off inside the warm venue.

Read next

• Christmas in Norway 2026
• Norway in a Nutshell: DIY or tour?
• Where to go in Norway

Ha det (bye for now),
Brian

Sources (checked 21 October 2026)

• Dates, hours, holiday hours, ticket prices, history and community bake: bergensentrum.no/pepperkakebyen
• Festival of Lights, Bergen Christmas Market, Fløyen, guided Christmas walk, description: en.visitbergen.com (Christmas in Bergen, updated 19 October 2026)
• Bergen Railway: vy.no (The Bergen Line)

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