Things to do in Stavanger
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Norwegian Petroleum Museum
We could (and have) spend hours in this state-of-the-art museum, one of Norway’s best. Filled with high-tech interactive displays, gigantic models and authentic reconstructions, its many highlights include a terrific 3-D film covering Norway’s geological history, a documentary by former Lonely Planet TV presenter Ian Wright, simulators, a petrodome recreating millions of years of natural history and an amazing model of ‘Ekofisk city’. Tracing the history of oil formation and exploration in the North Sea from discovery in 1969 until the present, the museum nicely balances the technical side of oil exploration and extraction with archive footage and newspapers of significan…
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Canning Museum
Don’t miss Canning Museum; housed in an old cannery, it’s one of Stavanger’s most appealing museums. Before oil there were sardines and Stavanger was once home to more than half of Norway’s canning factories; by 1922 the city’s canneries provided 50% of the town’s employment. Here you’ll get the lowdown on canning brisling and fish balls and the exhibits take you through the whole 12-stage process from salting, through to threading, smoking, decapitating and packing. There are no labels but there’s a handy brochure available at the entrance and guides are always on hand to answer your questions or crank up some of the old machines. Upstairs, there’s a fascinating display …
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Stavanger Cathedral
This beautiful cathedral is an impressive, but understated, medieval stone cathedral dating from approximately 1125; it was extensively renovated following a fire in 1272 and contains traces of Gothic, baroque, Romanesque and Anglo-Norman influences. Despite restoration in the 1860s and 1940, and the stripping of some features during the Reformation, the cathedral is, by some accounts, Norway’s oldest medieval cathedral still in its original form. Its wonderful stone columns, tapestries, elaborate baroque pulpit and stained-glass window depicting the main events of the Christian calendar are a visual feast.
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Stavanger Maritime Museum
This worthwhile museum covers 200 years of Stavanger’s maritime history spread over two warehouses dating from around 1800. There’s also a large collection of model boats, sailing vessels, a noisy wind-up foghorn, a reconstruction of a late-19th-century sailmaker’s workshop, a shipowner’s office and an excellent general store, as well as the merchant’s living quarters. The museum also owns two historic sailing vessels, the 1848 Anna of Sand and the 1896 Wyvern, both on display.
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Kjellaren Galleri
Old Stavanger is home to dozens of artistic workshops, artists’ studios and quiet little shops. If it’s still around, get hold of the leaflet The Old Town Stavanger – Art & Crafts, which has advertisements and a map for some of these shops, although it’s a little outdated. Of those that remain, Kjellaren Galleri sells oils, watercolours and photos of old Stavanger.
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Neo Galleri Studio
Old Stavanger is home to dozens of artistic workshops, artists’ studios and quiet little shops. If it’s still around, get hold of the leaflet The Old Town Stavanger – Art & Crafts, which has advertisements and a map for some of these shops, although it’s a little outdated. Of those that remain, Neo Galleri Studio is a small studio that sells ceramics and glasswork.
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Rogaland Art Museum
This museum, 2.5km south of the town centre, displays Norwegian art from the 18th century to the present, including the haunting Gamle Furutrær and other landscape paintings by Stavanger’s own Lars Hertervig (1830–1902). A nine-sided annexe houses the largest assemblage of mid-20th-century Norwegian art, including work by Harald Dal, Kai Fjell, Arne Ekeland and others.
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Stavanger Museum
The large eight-part museum, with its sites scattered around Stavanger, could easily fill a sightseeing day, but you’d have to keep up a brisk pace to fit them all in. The first museum you visit costs Nkr60/30 per adult/child, with each extra museum visited the same day costing Nkr20; student and senior prices are the same as for children. The children’s museum has separate pricing.
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Archaeological Museum
This well-presented museum, traces 11,000 years of human history, including the Viking Age. Exhibits include skeletons, tools, a runestone and a description of the symbiosis between prehistoric humans and their environment. There’s also a full programme of activities for kids (eg treasure hunts) in summer and it’s making a welcome move to more interactive exhibits.
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Ledaal
The empire-style Ledaal was constructed between 1799 and 1803 for wealthy merchant shipowner Gabriel Schanche Kielland. Now recently restored it serves as the local royal residence and summer home. You’ll see the king’s 250-year-old four-poster bed, unusual antique furniture and a pendulum clock from 1680.
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B.brormann B.bar
One of Stavanger’s coolest bars where you can actually hear the conversation and with contemporary artworks on the brick walls, this oddly named bar draws a discerning over-30s crowd and serves great-value half-litre beers (Nkr58) and spirits (Nkr76 to Nkr91). This is where we drink when we’re in town.
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Mosvangen Park
Mosvangen Park is a popular place for locals to wander and picnic amid the greenery. The lake and its small attached lagoon, which are encircled by footpaths, attract large numbers of breeding ducks, geese, and sea birds, as well as songbirds. It's a pleasant 3km walk from the centre or 10 minutes on bus No 130.
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Bølgen & Moi
The imaginative menus in this stylish restaurant include monkfish, lamb and veal, while the lunch specials are huge – the shrimp sandwich in cilantro and lime marinade (Nkr139) can only be described as massive. Although there are set menus in the evenings, you can also choose à la carte.
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NB Sørensen’s Damskipsexpedisjon
One of the better places along the waterfront, this restaurant serves everything from red mullet to pork ribs, with a seasonal lunch menu that’s excellent value. The atmospheric indoor dining area is ideal when the weather turns, and locals swear that the food and service is better upstairs.
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Valberg Tower & Guard Museum
The historic tower Valbergtårnet was constructed as a guards’ lookout in 1850 and now contains this interesting museum. From behind the west side of the tower at ground level there are some reasonable views over the city towards the old town.
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Sjøhuset Skagen
Also along the waterfront, this 18th-century former warehouse is the venue for great seafood dishes, although the cooks also do meat dishes. The oven-baked salmon (Nkr245) would be our pick for mains. The outdoor tables are tempting, but inside has more character.
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Transit Art Space
This sophisticated little café is an adjunct to a fine, small gallery of changing and often avant-garde exhibitions. It does good coffee and sells great art books. If you can’t find it, look for the Mona Lisa baring her bottom on the wall outside.
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Café Sting
Just up the hill but a world away, Café Sting is at once a mellow café and a funky cultural space with exhibitions, live jazz whenever the mood takes it and a weekend nightclub where the DJs keep you on your toes, spinning house, hip-hop and soul.
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Breidablikk
The excellent Breidablikk manor was constructed for a merchant shipowner, Lars Berentsen. These days, it allows you to see the opulent lifestyles of the rich and famous in late-19th-century Norway, displaying old farming implements, books and knick-knacks.
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Kult Kafeen
Located in the Kulturhus in the centre of town, this cool place has won the affections of families and cool young professionals alike. It’s relaxed with hints of minimalist style and serves a tasty fish burger (Nkr135) among the highlights.
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Iron-Age Farm
The reconstruction of a 1500-year-old Iron-Age Farm, 4km south of the centre, features various activities, staff in period dress and food preparation on Sunday. Take bus 25 or 26 towards Sandnes to Ullandhaug (Nkr27, 15 minutes).
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Children's Museum
A great place to take the kids is this museum, which has a range of activity-based exhibits (eg old toys, a labyrinth) centred around the themes of landscape, labyrinth, curiosity and theatre.
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Le Café Français
With the widest range of pastries and other sweet goodies in town and outdoor tables on the pedestrian street outside, Le Café Français is a good place to wind down. It also serves sandwiches.
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Akropolis Greek Restaurant
This very popular place serves authentic Greek food at reasonable prices for those in search of great salads, tzatziki, grilled meats and moussaka. It also does a Sunday lunch buffet until 6pm.
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Valbergtårnet Galleri
In the Valberg Tower, you’ll find the excellent Valbergtårnet Galleri, a gallery and showroom for high-quality artworks and handicrafts from across Norway.
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