In a nutshell

A complete tour to discover the most significant sights of Kristiansand, the fifth largest city in Norway located on the southern coast: from the open-air folk museum of Vest Agder and the oldest part of the city centre featuring a cathedral, market and high street to the Christiansholm fortress and the modern Kilden theatre. A perfect occasion to get to know this marvellous city and its most charming corners in an exceptional combination of ancient and modern features.

Main stops

Vest Agder open-air folk museum
Posebyen, the oldest part of the city, and Kvadraturen
Kristiansand Cathedral
Torvet market
Walk along the Markens Gate high street
Christiansholm fortress with views over the port and sea
Stop at the local fish market

The programme

We start our tour of Kristiansand on a coach headed to the Vest Agder open-air folk museum inaugurated in 1903 and located approximately 4 km from the city centre. Here, we have the opportunity to go on a journey through the history of the region among ancient wooden houses, farms and perfectly recreated scenes of everyday life. The museum, in fact, displays 30 buildings rebuilt in the Colonial style and is divided into sections reproducing the various districts of the city.
After visiting the museum, we get back on the coach for a panoramic tour of the suburbs and finally the city centre.
Kristiansand, with approximately 117.000 inhabitants, is the fifth largest city in Norway and was founded in 1641 by Christian IV. Located on the southern coast, it is considered the Norwegian holiday destination par excellence: it is in fact one of the Norwegians’ favourite holiday destinations thanks to its picturesque coast and is also a major access road to the villages along the southern coast and the inland Setesdal area.
We get off the coach in Posebyen, the oldest part of the city made up of characteristic right-angle alleyways forming the so-called Kvadraturen, i.e. “Quadrilateral”, and low wooden houses. The name “Posebyen” derives from the French ’reposer’, meaning to rest: at the time, in fact, French was the language used by the soldiers who used to live there. The district has preserved its characteristic Renaissance square layout.
We continue discovering the centre on foot and stop at the Kristiansand Cathedral for a guided tour. The cathedral is an imposing building in the Gothic style built in 1880 and is the city’s main place of worship.
Our next stop is the busy Torvet fruit and vegetable market with local producers also selling flowers, plants and honey.
We continue discovering the city with a stroll along Markens Gate, the city’s high street where we can find shops of all kinds.
We then reach the beach and Christiansholm fortress, erected between 1662 and 1672 to protect the coast against the pirates and the attacks from the Swedish. The building, which is stocky and circular, is made up of a closed bastion with 8 sealed bronze cannons. The top offers spectacular views overlooking the port and the sea.
After the fortress, another interesting stop awaits us: the local fish market with its lively restaurants, pleasant canals and countless stalls where we can also witness how salmon is smoked.
Before returning to the ship, we drive past the Kilden theatre and concert hall, the city’s new architectural symbol and an ultramodern example of design and technology that can seat up to 2,600 people.

Good to know

There is limited availability of Italian speaking guides; if none are available, the excursion will be conducted in English.