Sarpsborg

Sarpsborg was founded by St. Olaf in 1016, making the city one of the eight Norwegian cities of today with a Viking age origin, together with Trondheim, Bergen, Stavanger, Skien, Tønsberg, Oslo and Hamar. St. Olaf founded the city at Sarpsfossen falls, because it was not possible to sail further up river Glomma. In fact Glomma is Norway's longest river, and only beaten by a few EU rivers in terms of flow rate: Danube, Rhine, Rhone, Po, Vistula, Loire and Elbe. In 1567 the King of Denmark relocated Sarpsborg 14 km further down the river, closer to the river mouth in Skagerrak. That place is now a separate city called Fredrikstad. The river falls made perfect conditions for industry, so Sarpsborg regained its city status in 1839. The riverside was the perfect place to locate industry, which made Sarpsborg grow together with Fredrikstad to form the 6th most populated urban area in Norway, with 111,000 inhabitants in a contiguous built-up area surrounding both sides of the Glomma. Sarpsborg is still a very industrial city, with above 10 km of the riverside contiguously covered with industry. The industry was to a large content built up by British factory owners, and the British traditions is still visible via British townhouse architecture and a strong interest and achiements in football and golf. Another proof of the city beeing industrial, is that Labour Party have had the mayor since 1913, making it the only major city they never have lost an election in.

By train

Sarpsborg is served by the Norwegian State Railway. The fastest trains make the journey in 1h 21 min from Oslo and 2h 29 min from Gothenburg. The trains from Oslo depart every hour from 06:01 to 00:01, and stops in Ski, Moss, Rygge, Råde and Fredrikstad on the way to Sarpsborg and Halden. Three daily trains connect Gothenburg, Trollhättan, Vänersborg and Ed in Dalsland with Sarpsborg. Departure time from Gothenburg is 06:55, 13:00 and 17:55. Around 550 passengers a day use the train station in Sarpsborg.

By bus

Sarpsborg is served by the Timekspressen. This bus line departs Oslo every hour from 07:05 to 20:05, plus 22:05 on weekdays and 23:15 on Saturdays. Travel time to Sarpsborg Bus Terminal is 1h 30 min from Oslo, 58 minutes from Ås and 37 minutes from Moss. While the Timekspressen goes to the city centre, the GoByBus line from Oslo to Uddevalla and Gothenburg only stops at Quality Hotel Sarpsborg by the E6, 3 km north of the city centre. GoByBus operates 5 times a day. 4 of the daily schedules also stop in Strömstad and Tanum in Bohuslän. 3 of the daily schedules are prolonged to Helsingborg, Malmö and Copenhagen. The most popular bus line in Sarpsborg is Glommaringen with 8 departures to Fredrikstad every hour, and around 2,800 daily passengers. It is also daily bus connection between Sarpsborg and the smaller towns Askim and Mysen in northern Østfold.

By plane

Copenhagen's Kastrup Airport (CPH) is the only airport with a direct bus line to Sarpsborg. But with only 3 daily routes and almost 7 hours travel time, it is a poor alternative. More usual is to travel to Oslo's Gardermoen Airport, Torp Airport or Gothenburg's Landvetter Airport and take a train or bus to downtown, and find a bus or train to Sarpsborg there. Doing this the travel time from the airports to Sarpsborg usually will be between 2 and 3 hours.

By car

Arriving from south use Exit 5 or Exit 6 on the European Route E6 motorway. Exit 5 passes Sarpsfossen, the largest waterfall in Europe on the way into the city centre. Exit 6 passes Amfi Borg, a large shopping mall with over 70 stores. Arriving from north use Exit 7, where the Quality Hotel Sarpsborg is situated. Above 20,000 vehicles a day use the E6 through Sarpsborg. By car the travel time from Sarpsborg is 15 minutes to Fredrikstad, 20 minutes to Moss and Halden and 30 minutes to Askim, Mysen and Strömstad. Sarpsborg is a popular transit station for tourists going further north in Norway, because it is half-way between Denmark and the most spectacular fjords and mountains of Norway, around 6 hours from both Copenhagen and Sognefjorden.

The town centre itself is small enough that it is easy to get around on foot. Between Sarpsborg and Fredrikstad buses are frequent. In other directions buses are infrequent, and getting around without driving your own car can be inconvenient.
When driving, try to avoid the bridges across the river during rush hour (7.30 - 8.30 AM and 3.30 - 5 PM), as they are major bottlenecks and congested.

• Sarpsfossen

• Idyllic city park with an amphitheatre, playground and bandstand

• Hafslund manorFarm, park and conference center. Home of the climate conferences CC8 and CC9, with several former head of states participating. The park is open to the public year-round, guided tours of the main building from 1762 available on Sundays from June-August.

• Borregaard manorFarm, park and conference center. Home of the peace negotiations between Israeli and Palestinian leaders leading up to the Oslo Accords.

• Storedal kultursenterPark and experience centre for the blind, centered around the sound sculpture "Ode to Light" by Arnold Haukeland and Arne Nordheim.

• Borgarsyssel museum

  phone: +47 69 11 56 50
  address: Vollgaten 10
  Østfold's county museum with 36 historical buildings, built around the ruins of the 12th century St Nicholas church.

• Soli Brug Galleri

  phone: +47 916 35 560
  address: Aagaardveien 177
  One of Østfold's most visited galleries, spread out in farm buildings beside a tributary of river Glomma. They also sell the award-winning Soli apple juice, produced by the inventor of the design language CSS, a neighbour to the gallery.

• Høysand

• Golf courses

  Borregaard(9-hole)

  ,
  and

• SuperlandActivity centre at Quality Hotel & Resort Sarpsborg with an indoor water park, climbing, skating track and several other activities

• EventyrfabrikkenLarge indoor play centre for children

• Kjerringåsen AlpinsenterSkiing centre with 4 slopes and lighted cross-country courses

• Inspiria science centerInspiria science center is provides an adventure in mathematics, science and technology, whereby visitors learn by experimenting themselves. In science, children and adults explore the phenomena of nature, the environment, health and technology through their own activities and in collaboration with others.

• TunevannetPopular fresh water bathing spot near the town centre.

• Storbyen

  address: Roald Amundsensgate 36
  Shopping centre in the town centre. Contains 75 shops and restaurants and the town's bus terminal.

• Amfi Borg

  phone: +47 69 16 67 00
  Shopping centre with 70 shops 3 km outside town centre

• TunejordetRetail area west of the town centre. You will find Sarpsborg's first shopping centre, Stopp (30 shops); two garden centres, electronics superstores Expert and Elkjøp, supermarkets and several car retailers.

Sarpsborg has 15 year-round open restaurants with service by the table, all listed here. No restaurants are among the 28 Norwegian restaurants outside Oslo to be listed in White Guide Nordic, but 3 restaurants have the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence. Most of the proper restaurants are situated in or near the pedestrian street in downtown Sarpsborg. Another category of eating is chain restaurants where you order at the counter, including McDonald's, Subway, Egon and Dominos, with Burger King to open later in 2018. The city also have a wide range of lunch cafes, pizza restaurants and take-away places, including Kafésøstrene, Paradis Pizza (famous for kebab), Tui Wok, Foyns, Pizzabakeren, Rich Bar (famous for mashed potatoes) and Høk Kro. A final category is the archipelago resturants, of which some are only open during summer time. Listings updated in March 2018, unless stated.

Trip Advisor Certificate

• Festiviteten

  phone: +47 69 13 30 00
  address: Sandesundsveien 2
  Fine dining on the corner of the city park.

• Sarpen

  phone: +47 450 64 500
  address: St. Marie gate 101
  Specialized in lunch and coffee, turns into a pre-party bar in weekends.

• Libanon Palace

  phone: +47 409 92 232
  address: St. Marie gate 70
  One of the newest restaurants, introducing the concept of middle east meze.

A La Carte

• Edo

  phone: +47 69 12 11 35
  address: St. Marie gate 74
  The high-class brasserie in the pedestrian street.Median main course: 239 NOK.

• Østfoldstuene

  phone: +47 69 10 15 00
  address: Bjørnstadveien 20
  Hotel restaurant at Quality Hotel by Exit 7 from the E6.

• O'Learys

  phone: +47 480 00 101
  address: Roald Amundsens gate 36
  50 TV screens in this sports restaurant, only 2 minutes by bike from soccer stadium, and 4 minutes from the hockey arena.

• Henry's

  phone: +47 69 14 90 53
  address: Per Gyntveien 16 B
  Typical suburb restaurant serving mostly Norwegian food.

Asian

• China Plaza

  phone: +47 69 15 04 22
  address: St. Marie gate 93
  Long-running and popular Asian restaurant. Serves Chinese, Thai, Korean, and Nordic meals, sushi and takeaway. Has a large outdoor garden and playroom for children.

• Lykkens Mathus

  phone: +47 69 15 25 52
  address: St. Marie gate 49
  Chinese restaurant in Eastern Sarpsborg.

• Kampan

  address: Torget 4
  Thai restaurant by the town square.

• China House

  phone: +47 69 16 98 88
  address: Hafslunds gate 41
  Suburban Chinese restuaurant at Hafslund, east of the river

Mediterranean

• Fratelli

  phone: +47 69 15 25 00
  address: St. Marie gate 95
  Greek food in a restaurant with a good view to the pedestrian street.

• Pizzanini

  phone: +47 69 15 00 91
  address: St. Marie gate 76
  Urban style chain restaurant with a good view from some of the tables into the kitchen.

Steaks

• Big Horn

  phone: +47 69 12 22 00
  address: St. Marie gate 103
  Chain restaurant with steaks served with bernaise sauce, corn and different sorts of potato.

• Dickens

  phone: +47 69 15 28 92
  address: St. Marie gate 109
  Longest running restaurant in Sarpsborg, famous for large steaks, and in particular its horse beef steak, the "Stablemaster Steak"

Archipelago

• Salt

  address: Nancy Johannessens vei 5
  Hillside restaurant with beach club sessions and a great view of the Hvaler archipelago.

• Ramsalt

  address: Høysandveien 211
  By Sarpsborg Marina, just across the road from a ice cream bar with pink soft ice, officially opened by the mayor every spring.

• Kaptein Kaos

  address: Ullerøyveien 628
  Situated midway between Norway's largest marina and the tip of South Karlsøy, the most remote island reached by bike.

• Bukten

  address: Delebekkbukta 12
  The Asian alternative in the archipelago, situated at a large beach and camping site.

Sarpsborg have the best selection of pubs between Oslo and Gothenburg, and some of them have a impressive selection of beers. The nightlife scene is boosted with some clubs that are only open during weekends. Serving is allowed until 1.30 AM in Sarpsborg, and all places must be closed at 2 AM. In the summer months the drinking places are allowed to serve for half an hour extra. In addition to the mentioned drinking places here, Dickens and O'Learys converts from restaurants to clubs during late hours. Norway's second largest brewery group is from Sarpsborg. Be sure to taste the Borg pilsner or bock during your stay.

• Sportspuben

  address: Kirkegata 51

• Bar 1016

  address: St. Marie gate 105

• Førtito

  address: St Nikolas gate 16

• Karma

  address: Pellygata 68

• Nittende

  address: Bjørnstadveien 20

• Nye Blå

  address: Hafslunds gate 41

• Edvarts Nye

  address: Pellygata 78
  The place you should go if you want to meet locals rather early in the day. Often live-music during weekends.

• Olavs

  address: Orebekkveien 5
  Suburban pub in Greåker, midway on the frequent bus line to Fredrikstad.

• Neptune

  address: Jernbanegata 14
  Basement pub with outdoor area and above ten beers on tap, neighbour to the cinema.

• Oppe & Nede

  address: St. Marie gate 82
  Tight two-storey night club. Only open in the weekends.

• Quality Hotel & Resort Sarpsborg

  phone: +47 69 10 15 00
  address: Bjørnstadveien 20, 1713 Sarpsborg
  Located by motorway exit 7, about 2 km west of town centre

• Scandic Hotel Sarpsborg

  phone: +47 69 12 42 00
  address: Sandesundsveien 1, 1706 Sarpsborg

• Sarpsborg Vandrerhjem Tuneheimen

  phone: +47 69 14 50 01
  address: Tuneveien 44 - 1710 Sarpsborg

• Hotell 1016

  phone: +47 69 15 20 55
  address: Glengsgata 21
  Small hotel in town centre

• Utne camping

  phone: +47 69 14 71 26
  address: Desiderias vei 41
  Camping site with rooms and cabins for rent, 10 km west of town centre.

Sarpsborg makes a good base for exploring the Oslofjord archipelago as well as the Swedish West Coast and Bohuslän region.
For day trips from Sarpsborg, the followings are popular:

• Tusenfryd — Norway's biggest amusement park, only 40 min from Sarpsborg by car.
• Halden — neighbouring city 20 min to the south, with a remarkable fortress above the city centre.
• Fredrikstad — Sarpsborg's twin city 15 min west, by the outlet of Glomma, with a fortified Old Town.
• Strömstad — Sweden's western-most city. Only 30 min away. Fishing village grown into shopping eldorado.
• Hvaler — archipelago with over 800 islands - of which the 4 largest are reached by car. 30-45 min away.