Stavanger walking tour & city guide

The old town

Old Stavanger has around 170 white wooden houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. Øvre Holmegate, nicknamed the colorful street, is painted in bright colors. The Stavanger Cathedral is Norway's oldest.

Pulpit Rock

Preikestolen, Pulpit Rock, is a flat cliff 604 meters above the Lysefjord, reached by a hike of about two hours each way. Fjord cruises also sail beneath it.

A day in Stavanger

Walk through Gamle Stavanger, the old town of white wooden houses, then explore the colorful street of Øvre Holmegate. Visit the Norwegian Petroleum Museum by the harbor.

The next day, hike to Preikestolen, the Pulpit Rock, a flat cliff 604 meters above the Lysefjord. The hike takes about four hours there and back.

Good to know

Stavanger is Norway's oil capital. Fjord cruises from the harbor sail under Preikestolen into the Lysefjord.

Kjeragbolten, a boulder stuck between two cliffs, is a more challenging hike.

The old and the new

Gamle Stavanger has around 170 white wooden houses from the 18th and early 19th centuries, the largest such collection in Northern Europe, with flower boxes and cobbled lanes. Nearby, Øvre Holmegate was painted in bright colors and is now full of cafés and bars. Stavanger Cathedral, built around 1100, is the oldest cathedral in Norway still in its original form. In the summer, the harbor is busy with cruise ships, and the Gladmat food festival celebrates local produce.