Stavanger

Introduction

Stavanger - Harbor

Stavanger is a city in the southwest of Norway, located in Rogaland county. Its rapid development over the latest years has not eradicated the old town charm, its small size compared to other international cities, and not least its proximity to the fjords and mountains of western Norway. This makes it worthwhile to spend a couple of days here on a trip to Norway and using it as a starting point for exploring the rest of the country.

Stavanger has about 125,000 inhabitants, though the larger metropolitan area has almost 300,000 inhabitants. Stavanger's airport is well connected to a number of domestic and international destinations, a railway links the city to the south and east of Norway, and boats links north to Bergen and into the fjords.

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History

Stavanger has experienced three pronounced rise-and-falls all related to its geographical location on the coast. In the late 1800's the small town saw a rapid expansion due to herring fishing along with a booming number of sailships. Both industries failed and by the turn of the century Stavanger was in heavy decline only to be saved by sardines. The canning industry boomed through the 1920's and onwards only to be stopped again by one of nature's twists of fate. Then came the late sixties, with rumours of possible hydro-carbon (petroleum) resources under the North Sea. The rumours proved correct giving fuel to a renewed bonanza which Stavanger and the surrounding region still prosper from.

All these shifts have left their impressions on Stavanger's architecture, geographical layout, expansion, and culture. The city's growth has made it the centre of the third largest conurbation in Norway. The ever-expanding, technology intensive, oil industry has created one the most dynamic business regions in Norway. Personal and public wealth combined with a heavy influx of immigrants from all parts of the world have given rise to a rich and diversified cultural life. The town abounds in bars, restaurants, festivals and stages for all sorts of performances. The Stavanger Region was Europe's culture capital of 2008.

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Neighbourhoods

Stavanger is divided into 7 boroughs:

Hundvåg
Tasta
Eiganes og Våland
Madla
Storhaug
Hillevåg
Hinna

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Sights and Activities

Stavanger

Visit Stavanger Domkirke - the oldest cathedral in Norway dating back to AD 1125.
Stroll along the inner harbour and into the narrow cobbled stone streets of the car free city centre.
Walk uphill and into the picturesque Old Stavanger (Gamle Stavanger), small old houses overlooking the harbour, or being overlooked by one of the gigantic cruise ships which anchor right in the middle of town.
The Norwegian Petroleum Museum
The Canning Museum. There are many more interesting museums, check the Museum Stavanger website.
Go for a walk in the central parks, all situated around lakes. In rising size: Breiavatnet right in the centre, Mosvatnet 1.5 kilometres out or Stokkavatnet 3 kilometres out.
Visit Ullandhaugtårnet (tower) for 360 degrees view of the region. Walk downhill to the Botanical garden and on to the University or back in time to the Iron Age Farm nearby. Upon seeing the great views of the sea, imagine that it was from this area that a bulk of Norwegian Vikings set across the seas. One of them even fathered the discoverer of America.
Hold on to the Viking heritage feeling and visit Hafrsfjord. There the monument "Swords in Mountain" commemorates the unification of Norway into one kingdom i AD 872.

Outside Stavanger

If it is a particularly rainy and windy day, you may want to visit one of the museums in the region. They abound.
Or you can on any given day take a walk along the sandy beaches stretching for 60 kilometres down the coast. The waters will generally be too cold to swim in, but surfers and kiters do not care.
Mountains and fjords are a must for everyone! If you are lucky and know someone with a boat you can explore all the small islands in the Boknafjord, and anchor in one of the small, secluded bays.
The definitely biggest attraction to most visitors is undoubtably the Pulpit Rock. The cliff hangs a staggering 600 metres directly above the sea, giving you a good belly feeling. Don't be put off by the 1.5 hour mountain hike, as it pays off being on top instead of seing the small Pulpit high up there from one of the tourist boats coming from Stavanger.
To many the same fjord, Lysefjorden, offers an even more spectacular experience. At Lysebotn lies Kjeragbolten. There you will stand, or lie depending on your sense of security on spot, 1,000 metres above the boats down below. You will be able to step onto a rock jammed in between two mountain sides - but don't look down. Or, if you are experienced, do a base jump down to a waiting boat or parachute all the way to Lysebotn.
From Lysebotn, or from Stavanger, you can continue on to Sirdal. In winter it is the region's foremost ski resort, in summer it makes a starting point for wonderful mountain hikes to one of the many cabins run by Stavanger Tourist Association. From here it is possible to drive the mountain road over to Setesdal in summer.

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Events and Festivals

There are lots of festivals all year round. Check out this link to see what's On.

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Weather

Stavanger, due to its location along the southwestern coastal area, has a mild maritime climate. Precipitation is lower compared to Bergen, but with 1,200mm a year still high. Temperatures are mostly above zero during winter, with frost common at night and sometimes there is snow. Summers are around 20 °C from June to August with long days and generally good weather. Obviously the best time for a visit.

See what it's like the upcoming days.

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Getting There

By Plane

Stavanger Airport, Sola (SVG) is well connected to the major airport hubs within Europe - Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
Norwegian Air Shuttle has flights to Alicante, Bergen, Berlin, Dubrovnik, Krakow, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, London, Malaga, Moss, Murcia, Nice, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Salzburg, Split, Trondheim and Warsaw.
SAS flies to/from Aberdeen, Alesund, Alicante, Bergen, Copenhagen, Kristiansand, Kristiansund, London, Oslo and Trondheim.
Several other airlines serve cities like Amsterdam, Newcastle, Billund, Esbjerg, Gothenburg, Reykjavik, Frankfurt, Graz, Hannover, Innsbruck and Szczecin.

Charter Airlines fly to Crete, Antalya, Mallorca, Cyprus, Rhodes and Varna.

Getting to/from the airport
Airport buses connect the airport with the centre of Stavanger every 20 minutes fro around 90 NOK (150 NOK return). Bus number 9 goes every 30 minutes and costs only around 30 NOK, but is slightly slower.

By Train

Stavanger is on the end of the line connecting with Kristiansand and Oslo. Check out the national railway company's website (NSB).

By Car

Roads connect Stavanger both to the north, south and east.

By Bus

Bus connect Stavanger in all directions. Companies include Nor-way and Lavprisekspressen, which go to Oslo (about 8 hours), Kristiansand, Sandefjord and Arendal, among other places. Kystbussen goes to Bergen and Haugesund.

By Boat

There are ferry connections to Denmark on a regular basis. Ferries and speed boats also go to Bergen and the fjords in the region.

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Eat

Thanks to the large international influence, and a dynamic business life, Stavanger has more restaurants than you would expect from such a small town. The quality is also good, not least because Stavanger is generally considered to be the gastronomical capital of Norway. The town has the country's only Gastronomical Institute where several Norwegian world champion chefs have trained. The region stages Norway's largest annual food festival and the region is also home to some of the most fertile soils in the country.

Check out the list of restaurants at "What's On".

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Drink

Alcoholic drinks are expensive in Norway, so get used to that fact right away and then forget it. Stavanger has its good share of bars, pubs and coffee-shops. Read more on this link.

There are a number of hang-outs along "Vågen", the Harbour area. (Remember: Norway is generally a very safe place, with low crime rates.)
Also check out the Øvre Holmegate street.

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Sleep

Check out the accomodation section at the website of the regional tourist authority. In general prices are steep in Norway, and hotel rates given are usually per person.

Budget

Possibly the cheapest would be to bring your own tent and camp at Mosvangen Camping. Or simply check in at Stavanger Vandrerhjem next door.

Mid-Range

The hotels are generally three or four star on an international range. Quality.

Upscale

Stavanger offers no truly luxury hotel but some of the hotels listed may be knocking on that door.

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Work

Being one of the most lively and dynamic places in Norway, Stavanger has for 40 years had very low unemployment rates, plenty of jobs for skilled and unskilled labour and higher wages then elsewhere in the country. Getting a labour permit may however be tricky for foreigners.

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Learn

Norwegians have a right to 13 years of free education, 10 of them are compulsory. After that young people from the region usually continue their education at a university level, either at the University of Stavanger, at the BI Norwegian Business School or leave to study elsewhere. For foreign language students the University offers programs in English.

For children Stavanger has a British school, a French school and the International School of Stavanger. The latter gives the opportunity to take university prep examinations based on a mix of American and European standards.

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Keep Connected

Internet

Most Norwegian households are connected to the Internet in some way (often broadband), making cybercafés hard to find outside major cities, due to a relatively small market. Most public libraries have free public access to the internet, but a limited number of computers and limited opening hours.

However, if you bring a laptop with a wireless connection you will find wireless internet zones just about everywhere (gas stations, city centres, cafés, shopping centres, hotels etc.), sometimes free, but be prepared to pay for it though. It is not unusual for hotels to have a terminal for guest use. Well over half of the camp grounds have wifi internet, but if it's crucial for you, best to ask before paying for your camping space.

Phone

Post

Red mailboxes are found easily and post offices are plentiful, with opening hours on most being 9:00am to 5:00pm, with usually shorter hours on Saturday. Stamps can usually only be found at post offices although some popular tourist venues might carry them. Norway's postal system, "Posten", has a good website with a lot of English information including up to date prices and also details about the opening hours of the nearest post office. The most commonly sent format for travellers are letters and cards up to 20 grams, check their website for current prices. If you want to send packages, you might also use international courier companies lik DHL, UPS or TNT.

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