'''Porsgrunn''' is a town in the county of Telemark with a population close to 35.000 inhabitants. Porsgrunn is a well known industrial town, and among other industries here you find Porsgrunds Porselansfabrik, a porcelain factory established in 1885.

Get in

By train

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

By bus

Both Nor-way busexpress[http://www.http://web2000.reiseinfo.no/Nor-way/Nor-way/Grenlandsekspressen/eng/default_eng.aspx] and the slightly cheaper, but less frequent Konkurrenten[http://www.konkurrenten.no/] operates busses between Oslo and Porsgrunn.

By plane

'''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[http://www.vildanden.no]. There is frequent busses between Skien and Porsgrunn, and the trip with a Taxi should not be too expensive either.

Get around

There's a well functioning bus system that can take you to all parts of the municipality. Recommended trips are going to nearby Brevik or why not go bathing at the lovely old captains villa '''Mule Varde''' in the summertime, where you can go bathing in the Eidangerfjord and take a stroll in the 100 year old park.

See

'''Porsgrunds Porcelansfabrik''', a porcelain factory establised in 1885. The factory has a riverside cafe, a shop and a factory outlet where you can buy high quality porcelain at low prices. The factory is open for tours Monday to Friday 10 am, 11 am and 13 pm. Always preorder your tour on + 47 35 56 21 00, or e-mail: fabrikkutsalget@porsgrund.com. The factory also included '''Gallery Porsgrunn''' with art exibitions.

'''Porsgrunn bymuseum''' is the cities local museum. It's located close to the '''Down Town''' shopping mall. Here you will find many interiors and exhibits from the Porsgrunns 500 year history as a growing town with trade and industry. The museum has a near complete collection of all products manufactured by the porcelain factory.

'''Porsgrunn sjofartsmuseum''' Also close to the Down Town shopping mall. The city has a long and proud history as harbour town and shipping, and was one of Norways largest. A lot of tall ships belonged to the city. This museum contains many objects from this period, including models of ships, as well as the fully restored towboat '''Hans Martin''', built in concrete using a special technique developed in Porsgrunn.

Do

'''The city'''. Take a walk along the river where you can visit numerous small shops, restaurants and cafes. Porsgrunn is known for its

'''Porsgrunn International Theatre Festival (PIT)''' is a weeklong festival with lots of indoor and outdoor theatre, arranged in June every year. The festival is arranged by the local Grenland Friteater[http://www.grenlandfriteater.com]. The festival is varied, with The Street of Fools where you can stop by and watch for free or give the artists a dime, go to the festival cafe, Kafe K, and have a conversation or go to concerts, or you can visit the many performances for all tastes. Late and early. For young and old. Indoors and out. Check out the festival here[http://www.pit.no].

Buy

Porsgrunn has a long cosy shopping street with lots of small cafes and stores. If you prefer shop indoors, you can go to the shopping mall '''Down Town''', located south in the city, by the bridge. The porcelain factory across the bridge has two factory outlets, where it is possible to buy both expensive and cheap porcelain.

Eat

As with most medium sized Norwegian cities, there is no abundance of restaurants in Porsgrunn. There is decent Chinese cuisine available, Italian and Pizza restaurants. But up along the river you can find small high quality restaurants, like '''Friisebrygga Mat & Vin''' (a nice place to meet and talk to locals) [http://www.friisebrygga.no] or the slightly more exclusive '''Michel Seylmagers''' restaurant, located by the City Hall staircase.

Drink

There are numerous bars up along the main street. You can drink beer and enjoy one of Norways numerous copies of an Irish pub at '''The Dubliner''', zip a beer or enjoy your espresso among the younger clientele at '''Kaffecompagniet''', the cultural alibi '''Kafe K''' or the calmness of '''Cafe Osebro''', where you can dine down by the river in a cosy garden - everything is cosy in Porsgrunn!

Sleep

Porsgrunn is not abundant with hotels, and there are more options available at the nearby Skien.

  • '''Hotel Vic'''[http://www.vichotel] is the largest hotel, located in very central at Skolegata 1. Online booking or book at +47 35 56 98 00.
  • '''Korvetten''', [http://www.korvetten-hotell.no] is located 15 km south of Porsgrunn by the pittoresque seaside town of Brevik.