A full guide to visiting Bergen’s magical gingerbread town

Each Christmas, the people of Bergen come to together to create Pepperkakebyen: the world’s largest gingerbread town. It usually starts around the 15th of November and lasts until early January. I suggest checking the Visit Bergen website for accurate dates for the year you are visiting. 

Imagine this: walking into a large, dimly-lit room to the delicious aroma of freshly-baked gingerbread, with hints of butter and spice making your mouth water. The smell instantly transports you back to childhood. A beautiful miniature city sparkles in front of your eyes, like something from a movie. 

All of it is made from gingerbread: fantasy houses, real buildings from around Bergen, the Roman Colosseum, Hagrid’s Hut. Cars, ships, people, reindeer. All under the glow of a giant moon. 

If you’re in Bergen during the Christmas period, Pepperkakebyen is a truly magical experience. It’s the perfect romantic date night idea, or a fun evening out for the whole family. I highly recommend adding this impressive gingerbread town to your bucket list so you can feel like you’re in a real-life Hallmark movie for an evening. 

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Pepperkake quite literally means ‘pepper cookies’ though there isn’t any pepper in them. They refer specifically to the thin, crunchy gingerbread cookies found in supermarkets during the Christmas period in Norway. I love these cookies – they have a great texture, the spiced flavour is delicious and they are perfect for dipping into tea. 

These cookies come in bright red tins and many varieties in the supermarket. My favourite is ‘Bertil’ – a one-legged gingerbread man. Is he a war veteran? Did he have his leg amputated after a bad accident? The mystery surrounding Bertil’s missing leg has never been resolved, but it haunts me to this day. 

Pepperkake is a core part of the Christmas celebrations in Norway, and the red tins appearing in the supermarkets is the first sign that Christmas is coming. The warming mix of ginger and cinnamon spices in the cookies are a comforting combination to endure the long, harsh winters, and there’s nothing more festive than the smell of gingerbread baking in the oven!

Along with the sensory reasons gingerbread is so popular, it is also an important source of family bonding time. Parents will make and decorate gingerbread houses with their children, and you’ll often find many gingerbread making kits in supermarkets for this purpose. 

Interested in trying your hand at making your own pepperkake? I found this spicy Norwegian pepperkake recipe from the North Wild kitchen.

Bergen’s gingerbread town started in 1991 as a community project initiated by a local teacher called Steinar Kristoffersen. It was meant to be something that would bring the citizens of Bergen together and bring happiness during the long, dark winter period. When the sun sets at 3pm, season depression is a real concern. 

Now in 2025, the gingerbread town is still running, bigger and better than ever! Schools, kindergarteners, companies and clubs create the beautiful gingerbread houses and donate them to Pepperkakebyen to be part of the display. All of the profits from the exhibition are donated to children’s charities across the city. 

The gingerbread town is not a tourist attraction – it’s a core part of Norwegian culture and really exemplifies the collectivist nature of Norwegian society. The town is created by the citizens of Bergen through the power of community spirit, friendship and creativity. What you’re seeing is the results of hundreds of hours of individual labour by bakers, teachers, children, and normal people coming together to create something magical.

Though the room itself is not huge, you can easily spend several hours lost in the magic of this incredible art exhibition. It’s like entering another world – perhaps the cosy fantasy world created when a baker writes a fairytale. 

Step back and take in the big picture: a miniature alpine town frosted with snow, hundreds of amber lights sparkling behind sugar windows like a starlit night. 

Then zoom in: you’ll find a miniature Bryggen with its colourful houses and harbour area. A pirate ship out in the bay. A stave church, alone on a mountain top. A football stadium. A beautiful cafe, with intricate swirls of icing decorating its walls. The more you look, the more there is to see. 

Each gingerbread house is unique. Each one comes with a story, the story a real person behind it. Pepperkakebyen truly represents the heart and soul of Bergen, and all those who live there. 

If you’re planning to make a full evening of visiting the Gingerbread town, why not plan in dinner and dessert beforehand? 

One of my favourite restaurants nearby is Koji – a Korean BBQ restaurant where they grill your meat on the table in front of you and make some amazing kimchi pancakes. Having been to Seoul, I can vouch for the Korean food at this restaurant being as close to authentic as you can get outside of Korea!

Alternatively, Villani is an amazing Italian restaurant that makes the best stone-baked Neapolitan pizzas I’ve had outside of Italy. Their white sauce truffle pizza is my personal favourite – it’s ridiculously good. Villani’s interior is also very atmospheric and beautiful, making for a nice dining experience. 

For dessert afterwards, why not get a thick, creamy hot chocolate from Fjåk – Bergen’s local artisan chocolatiers. The cafe is situated right next to Villani and is a short walk from where the gingerbread town is located. At Fjåk, you can choose what percentage of cacao you want, and they offer some great winter-themed drinks such as a dark chai. However be aware that they close early at 7pm!