Stavanger – where Norway’s history and modernity meet
Cobbled streets adorned with edgy street art. Historic architecture housing top Nordic restaurants. Stavanger is a place of contrasts.
On Norway’s southwest coast, Stavanger is one of the country’s most photogenic towns. Your camera will be busy with cobbled streets lined with century-old merchant cottages and a rainbow-array of wharf houses.
Stavanger has also built a strong reputation as a foodie city. Expect first-rate coffee and a wide choice of very good restaurants, including several with Michelin stars. The Gladmat food festival takes place in Stavanger each summer, too.
The city is also popular with hiking enthusiasts thanks to its proximity to two of Norway's most famous natural attractions: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) and Kjeragbolten (the Kjerag Boulder), both situated on the shores of the stunning Lysefjord.
A short history of Stavanger
Stavanger’s first official mention came when historian Snorri Sturluson scratched ink onto parchment for the Heimskringla (a saga about Norwegian and Swedish kings). In it, he mentioned the ship-fought Viking Battle of Hafrsfjord, a fjord in the Stavanger Peninsula.
The famous fight occurred sometime between 870AD and 900AD between Harald Fairhair and an allied army of Norwegian chieftains. The victor, Fairhair, named himself the first king of the Norwegians and unified the country for the first time.
Two centuries later, the coastal market town had grown enough in size and status to get its first cathedral – making the town nearly 900 years old. Today, Stavanger Cathedral remains a popular tourist attraction and is the country's only cathedral dating from the Middle Ages that has retained its original architecture.
Over the centuries, its economic wealth has gone up and down on the back of the fishing and shipping industries. Then, after spending almost all of World War II under occupation, the North Sea oil boom in the 1960s led to Stavanger’s status as the Oil Capital of Norway.
Multicultural Stavanger is Norway’s third-largest city and balances its oil and gas business with a lively arts and festival scene. In 2008 it was selected as a European Capital of Culture and has won several awards for the preservation of its historic quarters.
In particular, the 18th and 19th century white-wooden merchant houses of the Gamle (Old Stavanger) were saved, allowing them to house boutique shops, artist studios, and cafés that are popular with tourists.
The best things to do in Stavanger
1. Stroll Stavanger’s streets
Stavanger is easily explored on foot, with plenty of colourful street art and pretty neighbourhoods to see. Begin in Gamle Stavanger, the old town, with its 18th-century white-timber homes and flower-filled window boxes. Home to almost 150 timber structures, it is the largest surviving wooden house settlement in northern Europe.
From here, move towards the pedestrianised Øvre Holmegate, nicknamed Fargegaten (Colour Street) thanks to its photogenic rainbow-hued façades, and coffee shops. Come evening, follow the Blå Promenade, where a series of blue lights embedded in the pavement lead you around the Vågen (harbour).
2. Admire Swords in the Rock
Soaring into the sky, this trio of giant Viking blades – symbolising freedom, unity and peace – marks the site of the Battle of Hafrsfjord in 872AD. One of the most famous battles in Norwegian history, it saw the end of independent smaller kingdoms and the rise of a unified Norway under King Harald Fairhair.
3. Come face-to-face with Vikings
Viking House, a state-of-the-art museum, centres around an immersive 30-minute VR experience that takes you aboard a Viking ship and into the heat of the Battle of Hafrsfjord. You can visit both the Viking House and the Swords in the Rock on our On the trail of the Vikings excursion.
4. Discover the Petroleum Museum
Oil has shaped the city’s fortune since 1969, so it’s only fitting they have a museum in honour of this ‘black gold.’ Exhibitions are set up in a futuristic replica of an oil platform by the harbour. There’s a good section on climate change, too.
5. Pay a visit to the Norwegian Canning Museum
Housed in a former fish factory in Old Stavanger, this fascinating museum explores the history of canning and fishing in the city. The Norwegian Printing Museum is next door, where you can see the old labels and packaging required for city's burgeoning canning industry.
I have lived in Stavanger for 20 years and the first thing I recommend to anyone is to lose yourself among the small streets around Valberg, the old fire tower. Or pick a bench on the town square and settle in for some really good people watching. After all, Stavanger is a town of possibilities, filled with local entrepreneurs, so there’s some great characters.
When is the best time to visit Stavanger?
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June | Jul | Aug | Sept | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Max temp (day) °C | 3.5 | 3.2 | 4.8 | 8.4 | 11.5 | 14.1 | 16.6 | 16.8 | 14.5 | 10.6 | 7.1 | 4.7 |
Min temp (night) °C | 0.7 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 3.6 | 6.7 | 9.6 | 12.3 | 12.8 | 10.9 | 7.4 | 4.2 | 1.8 |
Southerly Stavanger enjoys a milder, warmer climate than many other parts of Norway thanks, in large part, to the Gulf Stream that sweeps warm water along the coast. Winters are never too cold, but they have regular rain showers from September to January.
The skies start to clear in May, and from June to August the city tends to enjoy a pleasant northern European summer. “Everybody is so happy to finally be out with the sun,” says Øystein. And while Stavanger is too far south to experience the Midnight Sun, it still gets a decent 18-hour stretch of daylight at summer’s peak. In winter that daylight window shrinks to around six hours.
The start of September marks a sweet spot when the crowds of visitors have thinned, and the sun still shines.
Visit Stavanger with Hurtigruten
Northbound on The North Cape Line/Hurtigruten from Hamburg
In port: 5-8 hours
We stop at Stavanger on the northbound leg of three itineraries: The North Cape Line from Bergen, and the summer and winter Hurtigruten from Hamburg journeys.
Getting to Stavanger from your ship
The approach to Stavanger by ship is sensational, as we pass through the beautiful Lysefjord and past one of Norway’s most famous sights: Preikestolen (The Pulpit Rock), which towers 604 metres above the fjord’s shimmering waters.
Our ships dock in the harbour, which locals call Vågen, a short walk from Stavanger’s centre. To the west is the twist of cobbled streets of the old town, Gamle Stavanger. To the east spread the paintbox-bright wharf houses of Sjøhusrekken. Poking above them, you’ll see the green oxidised-copper turret of Valbergtårnet, a 19th-century tower built to keep watch for fires in town.
A broad paved path leads you straight into the heart of the city. But before you do, get your first glimpse of the city’s diverse street art on the side of the Stavanger Port Authority building.
Excursions in Stavanger
You can see the best of the city of Stavanger on a variety of shore excursions.
On the trail of the Vikings
Embark on a whistle-stop tour of Stavanger’s Viking history with a visit to three of the city’s most important landmarks.
Walking tour in the old town of Stavanger
On this guided walking tour of Stavanger’s colourful old town, learn about the city's intriguing past and how it evolved to become the oil capital of Norway.
