Stavanger: the gateway to the Norwegian fjords

A former fishing village turned Norway's petroleum capital, Stavanger remains the most convenient departure point for reaching the famous Pulpit Rock overhanging the fjord.

The centre is explored on foot; Pulpit Rock requires a hiking excursion of several hours.

The Gamle Stavanger district, with its over one hundred seventy wooden houses from the eighteenth century, remains one of the best-preserved wooden settlements in Northern Europe.

A short walk away, the Norwegian Petroleum Museum tells the story of the discovery of oil in the North Sea in the 1960s, which radically transformed the Norwegian economy.

In the afternoon, an excursion leads to Preikestolen, the Pulpit Rock, a natural rock platform overlooking the Lysefjord for six hundred meters straight down.

In the evening, Stavanger's old harbor, among the most photogenic in southern Norway, closes the day among sailing boats and restaurants on the waterfront.

The discovery of oil in the North Sea in 1969 transformed Stavanger from a quiet center of fishing and fish preserves into one of Norway's wealthiest cities in just a few decades.

Preikestolen, without any protective barriers on its edge, requires approximately two hours of hiking on a marked trail to reach the panoramic platform overlooking the fjord.