Vestfold, Norway: A Viking History Travel Guide

Vestfold, Norway: A Viking History Travel Guide to the Kingdom of the Ship Burials

Vestfold, Norway is where the Oseberg and Gokstad ships were found, and it packs more Viking history into a single drive than anywhere I know. The core sites are the Borre mounds and Midgardvikingsenter in Horten, the Oseberg mound and the Klåstad ship in Tønsberg, the Gokstad mound in Sandefjord, and Kaupang near Larvik, all between Borre in the north and Mølen in the south, about 60 km apart. I'm a Viking historian, author and YouTuber, a Vestfold native, and I guide Viking history tours here that tie in with the Midgardsblot festival. 

One thing up front, because older guides still get it wrong: the Oseberg and Gokstad ships are in Oslo, not Vestfold, and the museum that holds them is closed until 2027. This guide is clear about what you can see here and what you can't. It runs north to south along the natural driving route, town by town, with the saga stories and the archaeology behind each stop.

Why Vestfold, Norway, Is the Place to See the Viking Age

Calling anywhere the best Viking region in the world is a big claim, so here's the evidence.

  • Ship burials. Two of Norway's great ship burials, Oseberg and Gokstad, were dug out of mounds in Vestfold.
  • A real ship on display. The original Klåstad ship in Tønsberg is currently the only Viking ship you can see on display in Norway.
  • Replicas: There are typically replicas of the Gokstad and Oseberg ships on display in Sandefjord and Tonsberg(depending on the season)
  • The first town. Kaupang, in Tjølling near Larvik, is Norway's first town.
  • Royal mounds. Borre is the largest collection of monumental grave mounds in northern Europe.
  • Sacred sites: Ancient places of gathering where temples and holy ground were
  • Stone ships. Nearly half of all Norway's ship settings are in Vestfold.

Then there are the sagas. Snorri Sturluson places the seats of the Yngling kings here, which is why you'll see the region called the kingdom of Vestfold. In Snorri's telling, the Vestfold Vikings weren't a footnote. They were the royal line itself.

Other places have a strong case. Rogaland on the West coast of Norway has a few notable Viking attractions, Denmark has Ribe and Jelling, Sweden has Birka and Uppsala, and England has York. What none of them offers is ship burials, a royal mound cemetery, a trading town and saga royal seats all within about an hour's drive. That concentration is the argument, and it's why a Vestfold Viking trail works so well as a road trip: in a day or two, you can drive the whole of Vestfold county, Norway, from one end to the other and see all of it.

Horten, Vestfold, Norway: The Borre Mounds and Midgard

Start in the north, at Borre. If you only have half a day in Vestfold, spend it here.

  • The Borre mounds: The largest collection of monumental Viking-Age grave mounds in northern Europe, and according to Snorri, the burial place of kings. Few places show you Viking burial mounds on this scale, and the size only really lands when you walk between them. 
  • Midgard Viking Centre: Open since 2000, the center sits above the mound field and gives you the archaeology behind what you've just walked through.
  • Gildehallen: A reconstructed hall about 30 meters long, finished in 2013 after traces of possible halls turned up in the area in 2007. Traces of a building as long as 63 meters have been found here. It reconstructs a feast hall and gathering place, not a home, which is a different thing from the longhouses people often expect.
  • Midgardsblot: The festival is held here at Midgard in Borre. If you can time your visit to it, do. Check the festival's official site for this year's dates.

Tønsberg, Vestfold, Norway: The Oseberg Ship and Norway's Oldest Town

Tønsberg is Norway's oldest town that is still a town (Kaupang came first but didn't survive as one). It deserves the most time of any stop on this route.

The Oseberg Mound at Slagen

  • Where it is: At Slagen, about 3 km north of Tønsberg's center.
  • What it held: The Oseberg burial is often described as the largest Viking find in Europe.
  • Where the Oseberg ship is now: In Oslo. The old Viking Ship Museum at Bygdøy has closed so it can reopen as the Museum of the Viking Age, currently planned for 2027. Until then, Oslo's Historical Museum displays other Viking-Age objects, and the mound itself is here to visit at this sacred old site.

Slottsfjellsmuseet and the Klåstad Ship

This is the stop most visitors don't know about, and right now it's the most important one.

  • The ship: The Klåstad ship, sometimes called Norway's fourth Viking ship, is the only preserved Viking ship on display outside Oslo. With the Oslo museum closed, it's the one original you can actually see.
  • Its story: A merchant ship carrying a cargo of whetstones from Eidsborg, which sank around the year 1000.
  • How long it's there: The exhibition is scheduled to run until the end of 2030.
  • Slottsfjellet: Walk up the hill above the museum to the ruins of Tunsberghus, the largest medieval castle in the Nordic region.

Side Trip: Tjøme, Vestfold, Norway

Tjøme isn't a Viking stop, but if you want a coastal afternoon while you're based in Tønsberg, it's close by. The island lies south of Nøtterøy, between the outer Oslofjord and the Tønsbergfjord, and has been part of Færder municipality since 2018, which is useful to know when you're reading a map. Its beaches draw summer crowds, and Verdens Ende sits at its southern tip.

Sem and Farmannshaugen: Where the Saga and the Spade Disagree

This is a small detour with a big story, and it's a good lesson in reading sagas carefully.

According to the sagas, Eirik Bloodaxe attacked and killed his half-brother Bjørn Farmann at the royal estate of Sæheim, today's Sem, probably around 930. Snorri says Bjørn was buried in Farmannshaugen, a mound about 30 meters across.

  • What you'll see: Jarlsberg Manor, the direct successor of the royal estate, with Sem Church beside it, and the mound itself.
  • The twist: When the mound was excavated in 1917 and 1918, no grave was found in it. The saga names a burial the archaeology never turned up, and standing there, you have to decide how much of Snorri to trust.

Sandefjord, Vestfold, Norway: The Gokstad Ship

  • The Gokstad mound: The mound where the Gokstad ship was buried. Like Oseberg, the ship itself is in Oslo and will go on display in the new museum.
  • Saga Gokstad: Part of the work on the new Gokstad ship replica happens at the whaling monument in Sandefjord, so you may be able to see it in progress.
  • Elgesem: A bonus stop. Its ship setting is the largest preserved one in Norway.

Larvik, Vestfold, Norway: Kaupang, Istrehågan and Bøkeskogen

The Larvik area covers the widest span of time on this route, from before the Vikings to their trading heyday.

Kaupang Viking Town

  • What it was: Norway's first town and a Viking trading center, in Tjølling.
  • Why it matters: Excavations suggest Kaupang may be Sciringes heal, the trading place named in written sources from the late 800s. Walking the site, you're looking at the place a ninth-century text may have been describing.

Istrehågan

Locals like to compare it to Stonehenge, and the comparison isn't as silly as it sounds.

  • What you'll see: Two of Norway's best-preserved ship settings and three round stone settings. The largest ship is 24 meters long, with four-meter stones standing at the prow and stern.
  • The honest bit: These graves are older than the Vikings, dating to around 400 to 600 AD. They're worth it anyway. They show the ship-grave idea was here centuries before Oseberg.

Bøkeskogen

  • What you'll see: Around 85 known graves, 66 of them visible, mostly from 800 to 950 and never excavated.
  • The beeches: The trees themselves may have a Viking connection. The usual explanation is that they were brought over from Denmark in the Viking Age.

Mølen and the Brunlanes Coast

Mølen marks the southern end of the route, and it's the most dramatic landscape on it.

  • What you'll see: At least 230 burial cairns built during the Iron Age and Viking Age, on a ridge of stone by the sea. The largest is 35 meters across.
  • The saga link: In Ynglingatal, the skald Tjodolv says the Vestfold king Øystein Fret lies under the cairn at the tip of the ridge. 
  • Nevlunghavn: A short coastal add-on, not a Viking site. It was settled in the late 1600s by pilots and fishermen. The one Norse hook is the name: the farm name Nevlungen goes back to Niflungar, and the same first element turns up in Old Norse as Niflheimr.

Practical Tips for Visiting Vestfold

  • Route: Drive from Borre down to Mølen, or the other way round. A car makes this much easier, since several sites are outside the towns.
  • Getting there from Oslo: Tønsberg is about an hour from Oslo by train on the Vestfold line, or about an hour's drive on the E18. Torp Sandefjord Airport also has domestic and international flights.
  • When to go: Summer is best for events and for catching the replica ships on the water.
  • Seeing a ship: Until the Museum of the Viking Age opens in Oslo, the Klåstad ship at Slottsfjellsmuseet is the original Viking ship to see.
  • Hours and prices: These change, so check each site's official page before you go.

Take the Tour with a Local

A lot of what you'll see in Vestfold is mounds and stones in open fields, and they make far more sense with the story attached. If you'd like to see Vestfold with a local historian, my Viking history tours cover the Borre mounds, and the Oseberg and Gokstad sites, with the saga stories and the archaeology filled in. Details are here: [TOUR LINK]

I typically host tours around the Midgardsblot festival in mid-August but send us an email if you may be interested in tours during the rest of the year!

 

 

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