About Stavanger///

About Stavanger
Stavanger is Norway’s energy capital and elected European Capital of Culture 2008.
It is the centre of the third largest metropolitan area in the country. The city is a charming combination of new and old. Nearby you will find beaches, fjords and mountains.
The city has been characterised by the petroleum industry in the past 30 years and is Norway’s oil capital. 
A number of major companies in this industry are located in the region, as well as the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate. Offshore Northern Seas (ONS), which is one of the world’s largest exhibitions and conferences for the petroleum industry, is held in Stavanger every other year. The petro-maritime industries and the food industry are areas in which substantial commitments are made. The city has both an annual food festival, a gastronomic institute and also provides training in the hotel and restaurant trades at the highest level. Research, higher education and culture are important pillars in Stavanger’s infrastructure. At the same time the city has a lot to offer children and young people. 
Festivals and events include both the petroleum industry, food from the field to the table, humour, jazz and classical music. Cultural events flourish in a city with a long tradition and history, and with a city centre consisting of small houses and cobblestone streets.

Around Stavanger
From the astonishing Lysefjord in the east, to the moody North Sea in the west; from Sirevåg village in the south, to Tungenes lighthouse in the north – varied adventures and unforgettable sights await our visitors. Fjords and mountains, a myriad of islands, beaches and polished rockfaces, lighthouses, heather-covered hillsides, raging rivers and cascading waterfalls, golden grain fields, sheep and cows grazing on green pastures, ancient grave mounds and pulsating city life.
Imagine yourself perched on Pulpit Rock, peering down its sheer 600 metres into the blue-green fjord. Or imagine the waves lifting your surfboard into a sense of total flow and freedom.
The sea and the earth – elements that have been the basis for life ever since the first hunter-gatherers arrived just after the Ice Age. Thanks to skilled hands and wise heads, they are still the basis of modern prosperity. Fishing and agriculture, shipping, trade and industry. And culture, mind you – a thriving culture.
Rewarding experiences await you. Imagine a concert under the full moon at Orre, or strolling along the quay in Stavanger during the Food Festival, listening to the din of the crowd, catching a whiff of salty air, and sampling honest food and great produce. Or climbing the stairs of Tungenes lighthouse to face the open sea beyond the edge of Jæren. Or visiting Svartehola, a nine metre deep grotto, where our ancestors found shelter, or the 1400 year old Iron Age farm at Ullandhaug. Or imagine the Viking Age brought back to life all around you.