Things to Do

In Skien, there are many things to do for both young and old. Bustling cultural and festival life, modern activity and sports facilities, art exhibitions, events for children, concerts, theatre, children's theater and much more.

Imagine a relaxingtrip along the Telemark Canal or out into the archipelago in a 100% silent electric cabin cruiser with Canal Boats Telemark. The Telemark Canal, Norway's most beautiful waterway, starts in Skien, join one of the canal boats on day- or half-day trips. Talking about water, Skien also has 2 floating sauna boats, Leo and Frank, which are both located in the center.

As Norway's largest activity park, Skien leisure park guarantees speed, excitement and fun for all ages. Whatever the weather, what could be better than spending a few fun hours in a water park! If you like cycling or walking, you have the best opportunities in the area around Skien leisure park. The river and all the idyllic waters around Skien are perfect for fishing or paddling trips. By the way, did you know that you can fish for salmon "almost" in the center of Skien? Inside the living rooms of the old and venerable manor house in Brekkeparken, Søndre Brekke Gård, you can join Telemark Escape in the game "Brotherhood's secret". The park has an enormous number of flower and an open-air museum with old houses from Telemark. Every Thursday in the summer you can experience Parkjazz on the park's stage.

There is a lot of art and culture in Skien. You will find three major art exhibitors here and the city's main hall, Ibsenhuset, has both concerts, theatre, shows and much more on the programme. In the summer, they invite you to outdoor concerts in the park by the cultural center. Teater Ibsen offers drama in large and small formats. Henrik Ibsen was born and grew up in Skien, you can follow in his footsteps and, among other things, visit his childhood home at Venstøp, which is now a museum.

The food festival Mersmak in Skien takes place on the last weekend in August each year. A folk festival which is visited by approx. 50,000 food lovers since the start in 2008.