Skien

Skien is a town in the county of Telemark with a population of 70,000.

Get in

Train: From Oslo Central Station - 3 hours. Train often terminates at Larvik, and the last leg to Skien is then serviced by bus.

Air: Skien Geiteryggen Airport is serviced by flights to Bergen, Stavanger and Molde (daily), as well as three times per week to Stockholm, Sweden. For more information, visit Vildanden.

Get around

See

• The canal from Skien passing up to upper Telemark. Smaller cruise ships will take you all the way during summer season. Highly recommended!
• Ibsen's Venstøp. The house outside the city of Skien where Henrik Ibsen spent a few years of his childhood. The attic is said to be his inspiration to "Vildanden" (The wild duck).
• Brekkeparken. Nice park with old historic buildings, and a museum.
• Skagerak Arena. Hosting Odds Ballklubb, one of the greatest Norwegian football clubs and all-time winner of the Norwegian cup. It's also the arena for the longest goal scored with a header, performed by Jone Samuelsen during a Tippeliga match.

Do

• Skien fritidspark (Fritidsparken), Moflatveien 38. 3733 Skien, ☎ [phone]. One of the largest sports facilities in Norway, consisting of indoor and outdoor ice rinks, an artificial grass pitch, outdoor tennis courts, a full-size sports hall, a downhill/snowboard slope with a snow cannon system, cross country skiing, tracks in the woods for walking, a playground, beach-volleyball courts and beach-handball courts, a waterpark, an outdoor climbing park, a BMX track, a youth hostel and a hotel. 

Buy

Skien has four shopping malls.

• Handelsbyen Herkules (65 stores, 5 food places)
• Arkaden Skien Storsenter (44 stores, 6 food places)
• Lietorvet Senter (29 stores, 2 food places)
• Klosterfoss (10 stores)

Eat

As with most medium sized Norwegian cities, there is no abundance of restaurants in Skien. There is decent Chinese cuisine available, as well as Greek, Italian and pizza restaurants. The area around "Langbryggene" has the highest density of eating and drinking establishments.

Drink

Sleep

• Thon Hotel Høyers. Kongensgate 6. This unique hotel dating back to 1853 is known for its style and atmosphere and is Telemark’s oldest hotel. If you enter Skien from the south side, you will find that it has a central location and easy access. 

Go next

• If you are tired of the congested "big city" life in Skien, go to the nearby cosy small town of Porsgrunn.

Routes through Skien

Kristiansand ← Risør ←

W  E

→ Larvik → Oslo