Well known because of the Olympics, Lillehammer is a small town with a population of only 6,000 people. The city lies at the northern end of Norways biggest lake, Mjøsa at a distance of 160 km from Oslo. It is surrounded by farms, forests and small settlements. The intimate and cosy main walking street, Storgata, has well preserved wooden buildings and is located in the heart of Lillehammer.

Lillehammer was founded as a trading post in 1827 and granted full market town status in 1842. Lillehammer is an important year round tourist destination. During the winter, Lillehammer is a skiing Eldorado for ski enthusiasts. Here you will find one of northern Europes best cross-country ski resorts. In 1994, the city successfully hosted the Winter Olympics. During the summer Maihaugen, The Sandvig Collections, is Lillehammers main atttraction. Maihaugen is one of Europes biggest open air museums. It boasts 140 examples of working farms, a 13th-century stave church and a variety of houses. Other attractions are the Olympic Park, Norwegian Olympic Museum, Lillehammer Art Museum, the paddle steamer, Skibladner, and Hunderfossen Family Park.

Sights

Many of the facilities are defined as national facilities, resulting in annual national/international championships and/or World Cup events.

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 Norways 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" (womens sports).

Lillehammer Olympiapark - Olympic Experience - Hosting the Olympic Winter Games of 1994 enhanced the community's profile as a world-class travel destination, while showcasing Lillehammer area as an unspoiled, family-friendly destination. Lillehammer Olympiapark owns and runs the Olympic facilities in Lillehammer. They are responsible for post-Olympic use and commercial development of five Olympic facilities.

Lillehammer Bobsleigh and Lugetrack - Try out wheel bobsledding in the 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 authorized pilot. For groups, we can offer activity packages featuring a wide range of activities.

Ski Jumping Tower - Lysgårdsbakkene Ski Jumping Arena is an ulta 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 chair lift 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 panorama view of Lillehammer, Lake Mjøsa and the hill's amphi theatre. This is a popular stop for taking pictures.

Tobogganing - Kanthaugen Freestyle Area - Try one of the city's most popular winter activities - tobogganing. The sleds connect directly to the lift, so you can sit on the sled while you are transported to the top of the hill. Welcome to snow, fun and exicitement !

The wide variety of Alpine slopes at Hafjell provide a diverse range of skiing challenges. The Alpine facility is not about crisscrossing slopes, but about long and fast continuous runs. And due to the advanced and comprehensive on-site snow-making facilities, Hafjell is a resort with reliable snow and skiing conditions throughout the entire winter ski season.

All the slopes at the resort lead to the same final destination at the bottom of the hill - simple and easy. Black, green, red and blue-marked trails all cenverge and one and the same endpoint, making it easy to stay together and keep in touch throughout the day. If you prefer skiing fast and fancy, then Hafjell is the ideal destination, and after the sun sets, you can continue skiing into the night at Hafjell to the light of Norway's most extensive floodlighting system. If you like the snow and you like to ski, then let us welcome you to a fabulous, flittering winter wonderland.

Children Park at Hafjell Alpine Centre - In Hafjell we have given priority to the smallest children, offerring them child care in first class premises with lots of toys and activities. It is easy for the parents to go skiing, well aware of that their children have an excellent time togetether with our supernannies.

This indoor supervision- and play facility is open for children aged 2-7 years.

Chief nanny Ana Ullrich has run the child care for 6 years. Being an architect by profession, she has put great efforts in decorating and furnishing the center with bright colours and children-friendly interior.

A French family paid their visit to Hafjell for the first time this year, and they were totally impressed by the child care facilities. We don`t have anything like this in France. This is really a good reason for coming to Hafjell Looking through the guest book, we find the same responses:Our daughter loves staying in the Hafjell Child Care. This is why we keep coming back

Lillehammer is located at the northern end of Norway's largest lake, Lake Mjøsa, and is considered to be Norway's oldest winter sport destination. The Olympic Winter Games in 1994 once again put the Lillehammer region on the international winter travel itinerary.

Today, Lillehammer provides visitors with a combination of cherished traditions and modern attractions, with a host of popular museums, galleries, Olympic facilities, exquisite restaurants and excellent shopping. In addition to a wealth of music and theatrical events throughout the year, there is a wide range of festivals and sporting events that attract visitors from around the world and bring colour and spice to the downtown area. The Lillehammer region is famous for the spectacular local ski terrain and the many local winter sports activities. Close proximity to Northern Europe's best cross-country mountains at Nordseter/Sjusjøen, with 350 km of ski trails and the short distance to the Hafjell Alpine Centre, makes the region an exciting and all-round travel destination.

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 churches, homes, farm yards 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.

Maihaugen produces several exhibits a year. The museum exhibits should interest adults and children, provide experiences and knowledge.

Children enjoy exploring The Maihaugen Museum.

During summer you can find animals all over the museum. In the backyard of the Olsen home in The Old Town there are rabbits and hens. In the four lakes wild ducks (mallards) settle throughout the warm season. Farm animals like horse, cows, goats and sheep graze or work in the rural part of the museum, and the pig and hens are kept at the Øygarden farm.

Christmas is soon upon us and Lillehammer area in Norway is gearing up to greet Christmas visitors arriving from near and far. Christmas in Lillehammer will provide you with many memorable experiences during a time of the year when family, friends and delicious food are in focus.

Lillehammer area is the perfect venue to relax and enjoy quality time with your family and friends. If you are travelling alone you will also have ample opportunity to meet people coming to the area also looking to make new friends. There will be a wide range of activities for both young and old a place where all generations can enjoy the festive Yuletide spirit together.

When the nights grow long, and the cold sets in - then it won't be long before the city gets dressed up for Christmas again. CHRISTMAS MUSIC, SLEIGH RIDES, SANTAS WORKSHOP AND LOTS OF SANTAS HELPERS DOWNTOWN.