Lillehammer

Lillehammer is a town and municipality in the county of Oppland, Norway. The area has been settled since the Norwegian iron age. It is mentioned as a site for council in 1390, had a lively market by the 1800s, and obtained rights as a merchant town on August 7, 1827, at which point there were 50 registered residents within its boundaries. The basis for the town's commerce is its position as the northernmost point of the lake Mjøsa and as the gateway for the Gudbrandsdalen landscape, through which the historical highway to Trondheim passes. The Mesna river has provided the basis for several small industries through the years.

Lillehammer's strong traditions in art, music and literature, along with its exhibitions, have acted as a premise for municipal planning. A number of cultural institutions and organisations are to be found in the town: Maihaugen, Lillehammer Art Museum, Nansen School, Lillehammer College, Banken Cultural Centre, Lillehammer Art Association, Oppland Art Centre and Fåberg and Lillehammer History Association.

For more than 100 years, many of the country's foremost artists have either visited or lived in Lillehammer. The town and its surrounding landscape have provided a meeting place and an artistic motive. The spring and summer seasons offer a wide variety of musical and theatrical experiences. The Norwegian festival of literature, the "Sigrid Undset Festival", in May, and several theatrical performances/pageants at Maihaugen throughout the summer, are just some of the many cultural events in Lillehammer.

Located at the northern end of Norway’s largest lake, Lake Mjøsa, Lillehammer is recognized as the oldest winter sports destination in Norway. The first mountain hotels in Norway were built at Nordseter and Sjusjøen in the 1930s and 1940s, and in the 1950s winter tourists from Denmark arrived by charter plane and landed on the frozen ice on Lake Mjøsa. It was the Olympic Winter Games in 1994, however, that put the Lillehammer region on the international tourist map. Lillehammer today offers a combination of venerable traditions and modern-day attractions. Here you will find museums, galleries, Olympic facilities, unique restaurants and excellent shopping.

A wide-ranging selection of musical and theatrical performances, and not least all the many festivals and sporting events, are the basis for a dynamic and invigorating atmosphere in the centre of town. But the Lillehammer area is also known for its peaceful and beautiful rural landscapes, which are ideal for skiing, rambling and other sport activities.

Useful information
Distance from Oslo Airport:	145 km
Tourist Information:	Jernbanetorget 2, N-2609 Lillehammer
Web:	www.lillehammer.com/en/
E-mail:	info@lillehammer.com
Transport to / from Oslo Airport:	Click here

Sights and attractions

Lillehammer's strong traditions in art, music and literature, along with its exhibitions, have acted as a premise for municipal planning. A number of cultural institutions and organisations are to be found in the town: Maihaugen, Lillehammer Art Museum, Nansen School, Lillehammer College, Banken Cultural Centre, Lillehammer Art Association. For over 100 years, many of the country's foremost artists have either visited or lived in Lillehammer. The town and its surrounding landscape have provided a meeting place and an artistic motive.

Maihaugen
The city's biggest attraction is the Sandvig Collection at Maihaugen, which ranks as the largest open-air museum in Europe and houses 185 buildings plus more than 40000 objects. Maihaugen presents a rural society through churces, homes, farmyeards and tools from the Gudbrandsdalen valley which extends north from Lillehammer. Traditional farming methods and handicrafts are also on show. Guided tours are provided in several languages.

The Open air museum tells the story of people in the Gudbrandsdalen Valley the last 300 years, of life between the wars in the inland town of Lillehammer and of homes and domestic environments in the 20th century. The calm and spacious landscape of the museum provides insight and time for reflection.

The Norwegian Olympic Museum
The Norwegian Olympic Museum is the only museum in Northern Europe presenting the entire history of the Olympic Games, from their origin in ancient Greece in the year 776BC up to the present day. The museum is Norway’s largest and most important sports museum and is responsible for managing a national cultural treasure that has fascinated Norwegians for more than 100 years. The collection counts more than 7000 Olympic items in all.

The museum is divided into a Historical Section, Lillehammer '94 and the Olympic Room. On display in the Olympic Room is the Norwegian Sports Honorary Gallery. The Norwegian Olympic Museum also houses the exhibits "Telecommunications from Oslo 1952 to Lillehammer 1994" and "From Chamonix to Lillehammer" (women’s sports).

Lillehammer art museum
Downtown you will find the Lillehammer art museum, which many argue is the country's leading visual arts museum with significant works by Norwegian artists. The permanent collection includes paintings and drawings by J. C. Dahl, Hans Gude, Adolph Tidemand, Erik Werenskiold, Eilif Peterssen, Christian Krogh, Frits Thaulow, Edvard Munch and others. The Lillehammer Painters including Kristen Holbø, Thorvald Erichsen and Lars Jorde are well represented. The Lillehammer Art Museum served as a cultural venue during the XV11 Olympic Winter Games in 1994. The museum cafe serves Granum bakery's freshest baked good every day. New museum shop featuring handicrafts and art books.

Activities

Try out wheelbobsledding in this summer. With room for up to 4 passengers per trip (in addition to an authorised pilot), you risk speeding down the track at speeds reaches up to 120 km/hr and experience the feeling of 5G. Safe speed and excitement ! Or try a softer bob in wintertime - the bobraft with a speed up to 80 km/hr. The sleigh is always steered by an authorised pilot. For groups, we can offer activity packages featuring a wide range of activities.

Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena is an ultra modern facility. The ski jumping facility consists of a K120 and a K 90 ski jumping hill. The smaller of the two hills is fitted with a porcelain track and a special plastic landing area for jumping during the summer. A chairlift starting at the landing area of the ski jumping hill will take you up to the Ski Jumping Tower at the top of the largest hill. From the open-air-terrace in the Ski Jumping Tower, you can enjoy a spectacular porama view of Lillehammer, Lake Mjøsa and the hill's amphitheatre. This is a popular stop for taking pictures.
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Accommodation

Lillehammer, Nordseter and Sjusjøen have a large capacity for overnight visitors, with accommodation facilities ranging from hotels, mountain lodges, chalets, apartments, as well as winter camping facilities.
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Restaurants and nightlife

Food is not a problem in Lillehammer, unless you consider having a wide range of restaurants at your disposal to be a problem. Here, you will find everything from hamburger bars and pizzerias, to fine dining restaurants. You can eat Chinese, Italian, Turkish, International and Norwegian fare.

Most of the restaurants are located on the main street Storgata or Elvegata street. You will also find bars, pubs and night clubs in Lillehammer. The bars close at between 2 am and 3 am and the night clubs at 3 am.

The hotels in Lillehammer all offer a la carte restaurant. Nor do you need to go very far to visit a restaurant. There are fine and distinctive restaurants in the town’s surrounding district too - at Hafjell and Hunderfossen.
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Shopping

Lillehammer is the small city with the great options for visitors! The lively pedestrian shopping precinct at the heart of the town, Storgata, is lined with charming, old wooden houses. With a total of over 250 shops, Lillehammer should be able to satisfy the most demaning of shoppers.
Most of the shops are located on Storgata street, or within walking distance thereof. From Lilletorget square, you can take a detour to the old industrial area of Mesna Brug that today houses a number of shops and has been given the name Mesnasenteret - the Mesna Centre. In addition to ordinary gods you will find shops selling local handicrafts and knitwear. There is also a glassblower's cabin and a candle-maker's where you can see how the products are made.

Sports equipment
Lillehammer has probably the largest concentration of sports goods and outdoor gear shops in Norway. Oslo will have more, but very spread out. Fjallraven, the Swedish outdoor cloting store has their Norway office and outlet in Storgaten (north). Rustadstuen is on the other side of the street, a bit further north, with frequent sales and good service. Rustadstuen are specialists on ice fishing and fly fishing. Buy fishing licences here. Brusveen, in the opposite end of Storgaten specialize in extreme skiing. Mesna Sport near the Mesna Bridge is big on ice skating, hockey, alpine skiing. Sport og Fritid on Kirkegaten toward the railway station is big and has a good selection of camping gear, hiking gear, sleeping bags etc. They also have brand departments for Norrona, Bergans and Lowe.
Stock up on good quality outdoor gear. You really need a souvenir from Lillehammer? Buy Swix ski wax, it's even produced in town! If you live in Ireland, it will last you forever. The various stores in town sometimes have good buys on sleeping bags (Ajungilak, a Norwegian make), skis and bikes at the beginning and tail end of the repective seasons, fishing gear at the end of the season.
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