Where to stay in Tønsberg
Base yourself in the old town. Tønsberg's hotels gather along the harbour and the medieval streets below Slottsfjellet, within a short walk of the Tunsberghus ruins and the Slottsfjellsmuseet, so a room here puts the fortress hill, the quay and the summer life of the eastern part of Vestfold at your door. This is the lively heart of the town.
The wharf is the place to be in season, when the harbour fills and Tønsberg draws weekenders down from Oslo. For art and the upper town, the galleries of Haugar kunstmuseum sit a few streets back, while quieter rooms can be found out toward the suburb parishes of Teie and Sem, served by Teie kirke and Sem kirke beyond the centre. The waterfront wins for first-timers; the outer districts suit those after calm.
Walk up the Slottsfjellet at dusk. The view over the fjord is the reward most visitors remember.
Things to do in Tønsberg
Ranked by global recognition; descriptions from Wikidata (CC0).
Museums & Galleries
- Slottsfjellsmuseet — heritage institution
- Haugar kunstmuseum
Churches & Religious Sites
- Solvang kirke Heritage-listed
- Sem kirke
- Søndre Slagen kirke
- Teie kirke — church building in Færder
Castles & Historic Sites
- Tunsberghus Heritage-listed
Stadiums & Sports
- Tønsberg Ishall — ice hockey arena
- Teie idrettspark
- Greveskogen idrettspark
About Tønsberg
What is Tønsberg known for?
Tønsberg is known as the oldest town in Norway and as Viking country. The ruins of Tunsberghus crown the Slottsfjellet hill above the centre, the medieval royal fortress that gives the town its skyline, and the Viking graves and museums of the eastern part of Vestfold draw history-minded visitors. The old town is the draw.
Below the hill the harbour life, the galleries of Haugar kunstmuseum and the heritage of Slottsfjellsmuseet make Tønsberg a summer favourite on the western shore of the Oslofjord.
What are the main landmarks in Tønsberg?
The Tunsberghus ruins on Slottsfjellet are the great landmark, the remains of the medieval royal fortress that once commanded the town and fjord. There is far more below. The Slottsfjellsmuseet at the foot of the hill holds the Viking and medieval finds of the eastern part of Vestfold, the Haugar kunstmuseum shows art in the upper town, and around the wider district the old parish churches stand: Søndre Slagen kirke, Sem kirke and Solvang kirke.
Sport has its place too, at the Tønsberg Ishall.
What is the history of Tønsberg?
Tønsberg claims to be the oldest town in Norway. Its roots run deep into the Viking age, when the eastern part of Vestfold was a seat of power and the burial grounds of the region were laid down, and the settlement at the foot of Slottsfjellet grew into a royal and trading town on the Oslofjord. The fjord was its making.
Through the Middle Ages the fortress of Tunsberghus crowned the hill, a royal stronghold that watched the town and the water below, and Tønsberg ranked among the chief towns of the Norwegian kingdom. Power sat on the rock. The medieval churches and the later parishes spread the town outward, among them Søndre Slagen kirke and Sem kirke in the surrounding country.
That Viking and medieval past is gathered now at the Slottsfjellsmuseet beneath the hill, while the Haugar kunstmuseum carries the town's cultural life forward and arenas such as the Tønsberg Ishall serve the modern suburbs. The long story of Tønsberg, from Viking seat to fortress town to summer resort of south-eastern Norway, still reads in the ruins on Slottsfjellet and the old streets below.
Where is Tønsberg?
Tønsberg lies on the western shore of the Oslofjord in the eastern part of Vestfold, built around the rocky knoll of Slottsfjellet. The hill commands it all. From the fortress rock the town spreads down to the harbour and out across a low coast of farmland, sounds and islands that runs south toward the open fjord and the skerries beyond Teie.
It is a gentle seaboard landscape of water, low ridge and island, set on the mild eastern coast of south-eastern Norway.
What is the climate of Tønsberg?
Tønsberg enjoys the mild seaboard climate of the Oslofjord, among the gentlest in Norway. Summers are warm and long. The sheltered coast of the eastern part of Vestfold draws holidaymakers down to the wharf and the islands in the bright season, when the town fills with visitors, while winters stay cool and damp rather than harsh, the fjord keeping the hard frost at bay.
The weather here is kinder than most of south-eastern Norway.
How do you get to Tønsberg?
Tønsberg is well connected. The town sits on the main rail and road line down the western side of the Oslofjord, a short run from Oslo and the rest of south-eastern Norway, so trains and the highway bring most visitors in. Boats reach it as well.
The harbour at the foot of Slottsfjellet has long been the town's door to the fjord, and in summer the wharf in the eastern part of Vestfold draws traffic by water as much as by land.