The old town was built in tiers on a slope to the west of the old port at the end of the 18C when Stavanger's sardine industry was flourishing. It was a neighbourhood housing workers, and 170 houses dating from the 18C and 19C have been restored. The narrow cobbled streets lit by old-fashioned streetlamps contribute to the nostalgic atmosphere. Plants enliven the thresholds of the white-painted timber houses (all of which are lived in and some of which have little gardens). In Øvre Strandgate, an old canning factory illustrates the process of canning sardines in the 19C.