Urban Nature Break™

The culinary region - Two Michelin stars in Stavanger! Restaurants and ingredients in this part of Norway have received excellent reviews from both national food critics, as well as from the Michelin guide, where Stavanger became the first Norwegian city, except for the capital, to have this highly sought after Michelin star in 2016. It was the restaurant RE-NAA that could boast this magic star, og another star followed the next year, to the highly praised restaurant, Sabi Omakase. Do book ahead if you wish to challenge your taste buds at one of these two restaurants. Seafood, lamb, vegetables and fruit from local producers can be enjoyed in world class restaurants. The largest food festival in the Nordic countries, Gladmat, is one of more than 30 festivals organised every year, and attracts more than 200,000 guests to the Stavanger region every year in the end of July. 

For the architecturally interested, there are several buildings and attractions of remarkable design. In Sauda, the architect, Peter Zumthor from Switzerland, has created a striking art piece near the ancient zinc mines in Allmannajuvet. At Sand in Suldal, the architects Rintala Eggertson Arkitekter AS, have designed the bridge Høsebrua, a special and powerful gangway overpassing the river Suldalslågen. At Nesflaten in Suldal, the well-known architect Geir Grung, has designed a power station, housing and the hotel Energihotellet – all in the functional style. The design was made in connection with the power development to Røldal - Suldal power in the 60s. Old Stavanger has northern Europe’s largest concentration of listed wooden houses with its 173 whitely painted houses. The area is one of the most photographed tourist spots in the city of Stavanger. Sogndalstrand in Sokndal, is the only community in Norway where both the wooden houses from the 17-1800’s as well as the surrounding cultural landscapes are listed. Attractions such as the Norwegian Oil Museum and the Stavanger cathedral are furthermore prime examples of outstanding, architectural pearls. 

Stavanger and Sandnes were chosen as European capital of culture in 2008, a testament to the cities’ wide-ranging and rich cultural life. As a visitor, you can choose among cultural delights such as museums, galleries, a pioneering musical environment, cabarets and theatre shows. World famous artists have given fantastic concerts in the iconic building Stavanger Concert Hall beautifully located in the harbour of Stavanger. Open air concerts with Tungenes lighthouse as the closest neighbour, full moon concerts at Klepp or concerts on a hilltop. The possibilities are many. The what’s on calendar gives you the complete list of events in the region at all times.