Trondheim

Leave the cathedral heading east on Kongsgårdsgata, cross the red wrought-iron portal of Gamle Bybro (save the proper photo for later), then climb Brubakken up through Bakklandet — a 15-minute uphill burn that is unavoidable, which is exactly why we do it now while your legs are fresh. The reward is a star-shaped 1680s citadel on Trondheim's highest green hill, built to stop the Swedes and now the city's free panoramic lookout. From the ramparts you see the cathedral spire, the horseshoe bend of the Nidelva hugging downtown, and — on a clear day — the Trondheimsfjord opening north toward the Atlantic. The grounds are free; skip the small paid museum.

Tip: Walk past the main flagpole viewpoint to the southwest corner of the outer rampart — it is the only spot where Nidaros's central spire lines up perfectly behind the colored rooftops of Bakklandet for a single-frame 'everything' shot. Midday light around 11:30 is crisper than the low midsummer evening sun, despite what the guidebooks say.

Descend Brubakken back toward the river — 12 minutes downhill, follow the smell of waffles. The restaurant sits in a yellow 1791 coaching inn at the foot of the hill, the oldest standing house in Bakklandet, its floors slanting and its walls crammed with black-and-white harbor photos. Order the fiskesuppe (creamy fish soup, ~195 NOK / 18 EUR) with a slice of fresh brown bread and a half-pint of Dahls, the Trondheim brew. This is the rare place where tourists and Trøndelag grandmothers eat the same thing at neighboring tables.

Tip: Arrive by 12:45 — they do not take lunch reservations and the small dining rooms fill by 13:15. If the queue is long, order the fish soup to go in a paper cup (10 kr cheaper) and eat it on the wooden bench directly across the lane facing the Nidelva.

Step out of Skydsstation, turn right — 30 seconds to the bridge. A crossing has stood here since 1681; the current red wrought-iron 'Portal of Happiness' (Lykkens Portal) dates to 1861 and is painted the exact oxblood of the warehouses downriver. Walk the bridge once, then drop down to Nedre Bakklandet and stroll east along the waterline beneath the leaning wooden houses — ochre, mustard, oxblood, sea-green — all propped on 18th-century timber pilings. The tall stilted merchant warehouses on the opposite bank are what you will walk under next; from this side is the angle every postcard is made from.

Tip: The wooden bench on the east-bank promenade halfway between the bridge and Nygata is where locals propose — afternoon sun lights both the river surface and the west-bank warehouses from this exact spot. Walk two blocks deeper into Bakklandet for a cardamom bun (skillingsboller) at any neighborhood bakery for ~35 kr rather than the kiosks at the bridge foot that charge tourists 75 kr for the identical pastry.

Cross Gamle Bybro west back into downtown and turn right onto Kjøpmannsgata — you are now walking directly beneath the stilted warehouses you just photographed from across the river. A continuous row of 18th-century wooden merchant buildings on massive pilings, painted yellow, ochre, and deep red, leaning over the Nidelva since the great fires of the 1700s rebuilt the town. Walk the full length north to Ravnkloa fish market at the harbor, then drop down to the river's edge for the reverse angle — late-afternoon sun ignites the east-facing wooden facades from about 16:30 onward in summer.

Tip: From the Ravnkloa end, cross Fjordgata to the small wooden staircase at the rear of the warehouse row — it drops you to a hidden river platform where the warehouses reflect in still water, a frame most visitors never find. Avoid the horse-and-carriage rides along Fjordgata (350 kr for 15 minutes of downtown traffic) and the 'Viking-themed' tourist restaurants with horn-helmeted mannequins outside on Nordre gate — they charge 400 kr for reheated meatballs. The real warehouses have no costume gimmicks and no laminated photo menus.

You are already on the block. Havfruen occupies one of the oldest river-facing warehouses at Kjøpmannsgata 7, its 18th-century beams blackened by three centuries of herring smoke. Enter through the small wooden door on the river side for the best first-impression view. The kitchen is Trondheim's most serious seafood address — fjord-caught cod, Atlantic halibut, and Arctic king crab paired with Trøndelag butter and root vegetables. The 3-course set menu runs 695 NOK (~65 EUR); the 'Hav & Land' (sea and land) tasting with the day's catch alongside Dovre mountain lamb is around 850 NOK.

Tip: Reserve at least 48 hours ahead and explicitly request a Nidelva-side window table — the 19:00 seating in summer catches the sun hitting the Bakklandet houses across the water through the glass, the single best view in any Trondheim restaurant. Final pitfall warning for the whole Kjøpmannsgata / Solsiden strip after dark: several newer bars aggressively pull tourists in with English-only 'Viking beer + platter' signs — drinks run 140 kr and up for local pilsner that costs half as much anywhere Trondheimers actually drink.

Exit the cathedral's south door and the palace is thirty steps across the cobbled courtyard — you are already inside Northern Europe's oldest secular building. The basement archaeology hall, built directly over excavated 12th-century workshops where the archbishop minted his own coins, is the highlight; upstairs a separate vault holds Norway's actual Crown Jewels, the only royal regalia you can see in person anywhere in Scandinavia. Arriving before noon means no tour buses and the cool stone air is welcome after the cathedral.

Tip: Walk past the dull upstairs armory and go straight down the stone staircase to the archaeology gallery — that is what the ticket is actually worth. The Crown Jewels vault is open only 11:00-15:00 and capacity is twelve people at a time, so slot in just after 11:30 when the morning queue has cleared.

Cross the Gamle Bybro on foot — eight minutes, with the pastel warehouses of Bakklandet leaning over the Nidelva to your right — then turn into Øvre Bakklandet where the yellow 1791 coaching inn is the oldest restaurant on the street. The low-ceilinged wooden parlour has award-winning fiskesuppe, house-smoked bacalao, and homemade raspberry lemonade that arrives in jam jars. Locals treat this as their canteen, so arriving at 13:00 sharp gets you a window table before the 13:20 rush.

Tip: Order the fiskesuppe (creamy fish and root vegetable soup, ~195 NOK) with a side of flatbrød — it has won Norway's best soup award three times and is the one non-negotiable dish here. Cash-paying locals sit in the front room; credit-card tourists are seated in the annex out back, so say 'I'd like the old room please' when you walk in.

Step out of the inn and walk south along Øvre Bakklandet — no map needed, just follow the river. The entire street is a preserved 18th-century workers' quarter of ochre, mustard and coral wooden houses tilting over their own reflections, and afternoon light from the west turns the whole row into a stained-glass postcard. End the loop at the red-gated Old Town Bridge, whose 'Portal of Happiness' carvings are the single most photographed frame in all of Trondheim.

Tip: The postcard shot is not from the bridge itself but from the southeast corner of the Bakklandet riverbank, fifty meters downstream — aim the camera back upstream and the bridge's red gate frames the colored warehouses perfectly. Do not waste 85 NOK on the hand-cranked Trampe bike lift nearby; it is closed most afternoons and the climb is gentler than Google suggests.

From the east end of Gamle Bybro, walk straight up Bakke Alle for fifteen minutes — the cobblestones turn to a steep gravel path lined with 17th-century officers' cottages. The white star-fort on top saved Trondheim from Swedish invasion in 1718 and today its ramparts are a free public park with the only full panorama of the city: fjord to the north, cathedral spire due west, the Trollheimen peaks rolling south. Coming up at 16:00 rather than noon means the west-facing rooftops are already bathed in warm light, and in summer the sun does not set until 23:00 so you will not be racing it.

Tip: Enter through the main south gate but walk around to the southwest rampart behind the flagpole — it perfectly centers Nidaros Cathedral between two fjord inlets, a framing the official viewing platform misses entirely. The white tower interior is free and often empty; the brick cellar below once held the Norwegian resistance in WWII, with bullet marks still visible on the execution wall.

Walk back down the hill, re-cross Gamle Bybro, and it is another seven minutes south along the river to Bispegata — Sellanraa is the glass-fronted bistro opposite the cathedral's east end. Half literary café and half modern Trøndelag kitchen, it serves regional lamb from Oppdal, cod from Frøya, and a reindeer tartare that tastes of juniper smoke. The candlelit tables with cathedral views fill first, so a reservation is essential.

Tip: Ask specifically for the 'Fra Trøndelag' three-course menu (~550 NOK) — it changes weekly, always features one hyperlocal ingredient, and is a third cheaper than ordering à la carte. PITFALL: the cluster of English-only restaurants along the main Bakklandet pedestrian street charge 400-500 NOK for identical dishes and rely entirely on cruise-ship traffic — one block back from the river is always half the price and twice the food.