Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Sights & Activities
Gamle Stavanger
NEIGHBOURHOOD
Gamle (Old) Stavanger, above the western shore of the harbour, is a delight. The Old
Town's cobblestone walkways pass between rows of late-18th-century whitewashed
wooden houses, all immaculately kept and adorned with cheerful, well-tended flower-
boxes. It well rewards an hour or two of ambling.
Norsk Oljemuseum
MUSEUM
Nkr100/50/250; 10am-7pm daily Jun-Aug, to 4pm Mon-Sat, to 6pm Sun Sep-May)
You could spend hours in this state-of-the-art, beautifully designed museum, one of Nor-
way's best. Focusing on oil exploration in the North Sea, from discovery in 1969 until the
present, it's filled with high-tech interactive displays and authentic reconstructions.
Highlights include the world's largest drill bit, simulated rig working environments,
documentary films on a North Sea dive crew's work day, and a vast hall of amazing oil
platform models.
There is also an exhibition recreating millions of years of natural history and an interact-
ive display that teases out energy and climate policy dilemmas.
The museum nicely balances the technical side of oil exploration and extraction while
honouring those whose working lives have been spent in the industry. The latter is done
through fascinating archival material that highlights significant moments in the history of
Norwegian oil including coverage of the Alexander L Kielland tragedy in 1980, when 123
oil workers were killed, and the 1972 decision by Norway's parliament that Statoil should
be based in Stavanger.
You
will
spend longer here than you planned, especially if you have kids.
Stavanger Domkirke
CHURCH
11am-7pm Jun-Aug, 11am-4pm Mon-Sat Sep-
May)
