Tanumshede is the small administrative seat of Tanum Municipality and the practical base for visits to the rock carvings — it has a supermarket, a couple of cafes, the tourist office, and the closest railway station to the World Heritage sites (around 2 km from Vitlycke).
There is not much to see in the village itself. A handful of red-painted timber buildings, a 13th-century stone church (rebuilt), and the everyday life of a Bohuslän farming town. Use it for sleep and supplies; the carvings are why you're here.