Stavanger is a small but seriously cool city. It may be known as Norway’s oil capital, and it may be home to swathes of historic fishermen’s houses, but it’s also got street art, hipster cafes and even its own Indie movie festival. Add to that its proximity to the dramatic beauty of the Lysefjord, and there’s no denying that Stavanger cruise port has something for everyone.
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Updated 2026.
Considering it’s a tiny city, there’s no shortage of things to do in Stavanger. This quiet city in the south west of Norway is home to a picturesque harbour and filled with old wooden houses and colourful street art. And although Stavanger is Norway’s third largest city (after Oslo and Bergen), it’s got more of a hip small town vibe about it, than a bustling metropolis. I really appreciate its massive selection of independent coffee shops, and boutique and vintage shops; plus, the Old Town is great for a wander.
(In fairness who doesn’t doesn’t love an Old Town, for goodness’ sake!?)
Although Stavanger has been in existence officially since the 1100s, it was over the last couple of centuries that it really began to prosper. First with the fishing industry and then with the far more lucrative product of oil.
(Not fish oil, in case you’re wondering. Oil oil.)
I’ve been docking at Stavanger cruise port regularly for several years, and have loved getting to know this surprisingly colourful city. Even in the less-than-colourful weather.
Where is Stavanger cruise port?
Stavanger cruise port is perfectly located Vågen harbour, right in the centre of the city, and mere footsteps away from Gamle Stavanger- the old town. In fact, chances are that when you dock your view will be wooden cottages and smoking chimneys. It couldn’t be more picturesque.
To walk into the city from Stavanger cruise port just follow the harbour’s edge (and keep your eyes peeled for jellyfish). It’ll take about 5-10 minutes.
The port is so close to the city that there’s no terminal building, although this means I’ve never experienced any crazy queues for security. And for crew members, if you need Wifi or somewhere free to chill, there’s a Seaman’s Mission very nearby.
Here’s the location of Stavanger cruise port on Google Maps.
* A couple of times, my ship has docked near the Norwegian Petroleum Museum, which is also within 5-10 minutes walk from the city centre, just on the opposite side of town to Stavanger’s main cruise port. This isn’t officially listed as ‘Stavanger cruise port,’ in fact it’s just an overspill location, but it’s worth noting just in case you arrive and are slightly confused about why you can’t see the old town.
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The best things to do in Stavanger cruise port
Explore the picturesque lanes of Gamle Stavanger
Gamle Stavanger – or ‘Old Stavanger’ to English-speaking folk- is the largest preserved group of wooden houses in the whole of Europe. Although don’t be fooled into thinking that means it’s a massive area.
One hundred and seventy-three 18th century wooden houses, which were originally home to factory workers and fishermen, line the cobbled higgledy piggledy lanes of the area. Gamle Stavanger is right next to Vågen Harbour in the shadow of the cruise ships docking daily in Stavanger cruise port, and it normally takes around fifteen minutes to explore. Unless you’re addicted to photographing doors like me, in which case- the possibilities are endless I tell you!! ENDLESS!!!!
The highly picturesque posse of white clapboard houses, colourful doors and bursts of flowers all combine to make Gamle Stavanger one of the most-visited parts of town. Even on a rainy day I appreciate having a wander over the slippery cobblestones just to get some fresh air before retreating into a cosy coffee shop.
Find Gamle Stavanger on Google Maps
Head out on a guided walking tour with Local Tours Expert
Stavanger is a city best explored on foot, but if you’ve only got a day in port and want to do more than just scratch the surface, the best solution is to head out with a local expert. Walking tours really are a brilliant way to discover a city, and if you’re on a ship I’d always advise using a local guide as opposed to a guide from the cruise company; local guides have far more expertise and also tend to be much better value for money.
Local Tours Expert offers guided walking tours of Stavanger, led by- you guessed it- local experts! Their tours are highly rated and also run in smaller groups than typical cruise ship walking tours, with a maximum of 15 participants per group. And call me old fashioned, but learning from a local is the best way to truly understand a place, wherever you are in the world.
Walking tours of Stavanger with Local Tours Expert last two hours, and lead you on a full tour of the city, including the cathedral, Gamle Stavanger, Fargegaten and the Museum of Archaeology. (Ticket for the museum not included). If I was docked in Stavanger cruise port for one day only, I’d probably head out on walking tour in the morning to get my bearings, but also get a few recommendations from my guide for a local lunch. (It’s tried and tested pals, always ask a local.)
Chill out in a cozy coffee shop
As mentioned above, a good coffee shop is very much in need on a rainy day in Stavanger. Over the few months I spent visiting, I quickly discovered my favourites and stuck to them.
There’s a plethora of quirky coffee places to choose from around the centre of town, although my favourite is Kafé Go Nok on a tiny corner in Gamle Stavanger. There’s something about the unassuming but ramshackle exterior of that little corner-cafe that reminds me of The Giraffe,The Pelly and Me, and I’m always drawn to it on dull rainy days, when the good soups and warm glow of the candles inside give the whole place the vibe of a day in late Autumn. And the bonus is that it’s mere footsteps from Stavanger cruise port, so it’s easy to reach even if I’ve only got an hour or two to spare.
For a true hipster coffee experience, head to Hanekam on Øvre Holmegate (see below). This colourful institution is a cafe by day and a bar by night, and not only do they do a banging coffee, but their cakes are downright exquisite. The eclectic mixture of furniture, decor and even the paraphernalia in the bathrooms will also help to make your entire trip an exciting experience. I bloomin’ love it here.
Time your visit around one of Stavanger’s festivals
Don’t you worry pals, it’s not all rainy days and cozy coffee shops when it comes to finding things to do in Stavanger, oh no! Occasionally the sun does actually shine (in fact once it shone so much that I even got sunburnt which was rather a shocker). Luckily one of these miraculous sunshiney days I witnessed was when Scandinavia’s biggest food festival happened to be taking place. VICTORY!!!
Gladmat is a ginormous annual celebration of food in all its glory, which occurs every July in the area around Vågen and up to the city’s cathedral. On the day we arrived, the city was heaving with people- I’m pretty sure the entire population of Norway must’ve been there, as up until that point I swear I’d barely seen a soul throughout the country- and the smells coming from every stall were a TRUE DELIGHT.
There are plenty of other big festivals to take your pick from in Stavanger, whether it’s rock or folk music, indie movies or even roller-skiing that you’re after. Yep, roller-skiing is a thing, and in Norway they take it very seriously indeed.
Find the full list of Stavanger’s festivals here.
Go shopping on the most colourful street in Norway
Fargegaten is a wonderful street pals. It looks as if a giant has been let loose with a paintbox to spruce the place up a bit; bringing some colour to the many grey days that Norway experiences.
In actual fact it wasn’t the handiwork of a giant after all. This brightly-coloured pathway is all thanks to a local hairdresser who thought it would be brilliant to just make the street a bit more cheery. When the go-ahead was given, every building was given a specific palette of colours which coordinated with those around it. Apparently there were a few problems when male-owned businesses were against having an overly pink building, or female-owned businesses wanted as much pink as possible.
It strikes me as a bit crazy that the colour pink is still that controversial. But eventually it worked out and now the paint job is done it’s one highly photogenic location.
Filled with coffee shops galore and a whole load of vintage and new boutiques, Fargegate is just as interesting on the inside as the out. My favourite shop is Syvende Himmel, which is packed to the rafters with colourful chaos in the form of vintage clothing and beautiful gifts. Obviously as it’s in Norway you should be prepared to spend a fair bit in order to purchase anything.
Other parts of Stavanger are almost as colourful; street art plays a big part in the aesthetic of the whole city and gives a bit of a modern twist to an otherwise very quaint-looking location, particularly any art which involves tattooed trolls and other fairy-folk.
Get out onto the water
One of the most popular activities for passengers to do in Stavanger is to head out on a rib boat tour of the Haugesund islands. The meeting point for this rib safari is only a few minutes walk from Stavanger cruise port, so it’s also in a great location for passengers.
This is definitely something for the adrenaline lovers; rib boats travel fast, and the tour is more about the adventure and coastal scenery than getting in-depth to the history of Stavanger. Wrap up warm, but bear in mind you’ll be provided with a life suit, life jacket and gloves (it doesn’t matter where you choose to sit, pals: you will get wet.)
Visit a quirky Stavanger museum
Who would have thought the success of an entire city would depend on some tiny oily fish and a bunch of tin cans? During the 1920s, with the export of fish from Norway already a Massive Deal, the canning of sardines is what propelled Stavanger towards big time prosperity.
At the height of the industry’s success there were a grand total of 59 canning factories in Stavanger. Which is rather a lot considering the size of the place. And the factory workers mainly resided in Gamle Stavanger.
Back then, Gamle Stavanger was actually not-so-desirable to live in. The pungent aroma of fish was somewhat overpowering, you see. But if you fancy seeing how the workers lived throughout time, it’s worth taking a trip to The Workers Cottage, which is right next to The Norwegian Canning Museum. That’s right, there really is a museum in Stavanger dedicated to canned fish and it’s incredibly interesting, would you believe it?
The workers cottage is downright adorable, with the ground floor designed to look like a worker’s cottage from the 1920s and the top floor kitted out with all the 1960s retro mod cons. Throughout summer the downstairs kitchen doubles as a cafe serving up coffee, cake and waffles with brown cheese (a Norwegian speciality), which makes it all the more worthwhile. And a visit to the workers cottage is one of the few free things to do in Stavanger, with an added bonus being that it’s so very close to Stavanger cruise port.
Eventually the popularity of tinned sardines waned somewhat. But luckily for the city of Stavanger, oil suddenly became all the rage after it was discovered offshore in 1969, allowing the city to remain a hugely prosperous place to reside and work in. Nowadays Stavanger is known as the Oil Capital of Norway, and many an oil company has their headquarters in the region.
The best excursion from Stavanger cruise port
Don’t get me wrong here pals, Stavanger is a lovely little city, filled with numerous things to do. But when I discovered how close the city is to the Lysefjord and Preikestolen- the ominous cliff that towers over the water- I was desperate to go and have a look.
Although it’s possible to book an actual official tour, public ferries leave from the harbour throughout the day. With the help of the friendly folk at the Tourist Office (which is just minutes away from Stavanger cruise port), we figured out which combination of ferry and bus we would need in order get from Stavanger to Preikestolen and start our climb to the top.
It. Was. Stunning.
(I thought I was going to plummet to my death in the fjord a couple of times, but it was totally worth it for that view.)
If you’d rather join an organised tour, there are some great shore excursions to Preikestolen with local operators available on Viator.
Having joined tours through my own cruise ship company and with local operators, I’d almost always recommend using a local company over a cruise ship excursion. Local operators are almost always far better value, and they’re very used to getting passengers back in time for their ship’s departure. Plus, through a website like Viator or Get Your Guide, a tour is fully cancellable with no risk of losing your money.
Before you visit Stavanger cruise port:
- Stavanger city centre is tiny, so if you stay central you can see everything on foot.
- Be prepared to cough up a fair bit of cash for anything you buy. Stavanger is one of the most expensive cities in the world, the cheeky little bugger.
- The closest international airport is Stavanger International Airport Sola, with a shuttle bus conveniently connecting passengers to the city in around half an hour.
- Whilst it would be nice to learn a few Norwegian words at least out of courtesy, the vast majority of Norwegian folk are really great at speaking English, so there shouldn’t be too many lost in translation moments if you’re lucky.
- Currency in Norway is the Norwegian Krone.
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