Stavanger Hire Car Tips, Experiences & Comparison

Discover Stavanger by Hire Car

Stavanger is considered the most expensive city in Norway – but its residents can afford it, thanks to the undersea oil fields not far away.

An understanding of the technical finesse of the extraction possibilities is awakened at the futuristic-looking oil museum, built halfway across the water.

Sights in Stavanger

There are other sides to Stavanger, however. The old town (Gamle Stavanger) enchants with its white wooden cottages from the late 19th century. Here lived the fishermen, sailors and craftsmen at that time. Also worth seeing is the cathedral church, whose origins date back to the 11th century.

The Maritime Museum tells its own stories about a nation always linked to the sea, while the Stavanger Archaeological Museum is devoted to natural and cultural history.

Those with limited time can instead visit the Stavanger Museum, which houses both a maritime and an archaeological section. A separate museum is also dedicated to what was at times the most important industry: the Canning Museum (Hermetikkmuseet).

Historically, Stavanger played an important role in the unification of the country under Harald Hårfagre.

The Stavanger hinterland

In Norway, a hire car is highly recommended as it is the only way to reach the truly beautiful views and spectacular natural spectacles.

The roads mostly meander along the edge of the fjords and offer plenty of variety for the eye. Near Stavanger, for example, is Prekestolen (Predigtstuhl): the 600m vertical rock jutting out of the Lysefjord can be admired from above and by boat trip.

Here the mighty forces of water and ice become particularly clear.