Tonsberg Wharf

Tonsberg claims to be the oldest town in Norway, with a founding traditionally placed before 900 and archaeology confirming an urban settlement from the ninth century, and it was a royal seat through the Middle Ages. Brygga, the wharf, is now a row of restored warehouses along the water converted to restaurants and bars, busy through the summer with boats moored alongside. Above the town, Slottsfjellet hill holds the ruins of Tunsberghus, once the largest castle in Norway, with a nineteenth-century tower built on the site and a modern museum at the foot covering the Viking-age and medieval town. The Oseberg ship was found nearby, and a full-size sailing replica is berthed at the wharf.

What you actually see

• The wharf - converted warehouses lining the water with boats alongside.
• Slottsfjellet - castle ruins and a tower on the hill above the town.
• The Oseberg replica - a full-size sailing copy of the Viking ship.
• The Slottsfjell Museum - the medieval and Viking-age town explained.

When to go

May to September, when the wharf is at its liveliest and the replica ship sails; the Slottsfjell music festival in July fills the town. Winter is quiet with reduced hours at the museum.

Honest expectations

The wharf is a restaurant strip and prices reflect that; it is busy and loud on summer evenings. The castle survives only as low ruins, with the tower a later addition. The original Oseberg ship is in Oslo, not here.

Nearby

Verdens Ende and Faerder National Park lie south on Tjome; Sandefjord and the Vestfold coast are close.