Lillehammer Things to Do

Check out the moose as it comes out of hiding in the evening. Moose do not react much to vehicles, so in a bus you will be able to come much closer than on the ground, visible as a human being. I have done this trip on a private basis, but I know that the trips are quite successful in giving participants a fair view of the moose without undue disturbance, and bringing on a perspective on moose/people interaction, mountian culture etc.
This is organised through Øyer Tourist Office in concjunction with wildlife authorities who provide the rules and regulations for this, and the timing so as not to disturb in the calving season and inexplicably, the hunting season...
From the Øyer Tourist Office building (13 km north of Lillehammer) at 20:00 hrs on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays there are four-hour bus trips with a "moose guarantee", organised with a guide - includes a break with some snacks, coffee. The tour takes you on forest and mountain roads north of Lillehammer.
Binoculars will be on loan at no cost.
Tour cost: Adults NOK 200, children 100. Under three years free.
Booking: Øyer Turistkontor phone 61277000 or 98893363. You may also just show up and register. Prebooking necessary for larger groups. Check for timing. July may be the best time (light nights, presence of moose).

Maihaugen Open Air Museum

Get to know Norwegian culture and history in a nutshell.
Maihaugen provides you with different exhibitions like:
The Open Air museum with all kinds of buildings of Norwegian history.
A museum with all kinds of workshops,studio's shops etcetera of past time. Such as an old Dentists practice, an old Photo Studio and so on.
One museum varies in exhibits, when we attended it, the title of the exhibition was 'Norway trough the ages, from Ice age till 1997.

For those interested, and I count in many small and big boys - the Norwegian Vehicle Museum right in the centre of Lillehammer is a good investment. Starting with sledges and carriages, the museum shows the development of Norwegian vehichle transportation.
A bit of alphabet soup: Norsk Kjøretøyhistorisk Museum is the official name of the museum.

For day hikes from Lillehammer you can generally head eastwards. The western hills are less accessible, even if they also can be attractive. There is an office of the DNT (Hikers' Association) in town, as well as a helpful tourist office at the railway & bus station.
The best thing to do is to get on the bus and head for Nordseter some 15 km east of town at 800 meters and start hiking from there in any direction you fancy. No major mountains here, merely rounded hills and ridges up to 1030 meters. The treeline is at about 850 meter. The hike up to Neverfjell is good, offering great views around, and easily done in a day, summer as well as winter (with skis, though). Just consult your map, find the trailheads and off! The hike back to town could easily take the whole day if you spend some time in the Gropmarka area. Some small lakes there, tussocky marshes, stunted pine trees, some old-growth spruce forests and maybe a chance to see some moose.

A lot of artists have been drawn to Lillehammer due to the special light which you can find if you view it from above the city down towards the lake Mjøsa. Painters like Frits Thaulow and Erik Werenskiold was part of the artist coloni of the early 1900s. Authors like Bjørnstjerne Bjørnsom and Sigrid Undset was also part of this vibe. More recently Jacob Weidemann frequented the town, where he lived until 1999. He died in 2001. There have been vast donations to local art galleries and exhibits of Weidemann can be seen at www.ringebuprestegard.no during summertime and some of the others at www.lillehammerartmuseum.com, which is one of Norway's most noteworthy art museums.

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I wonder if they have to cut the grass on there roof ;-)

Anyway, ... nice place. Enjoy the architecture of these Norwegian houses over the last 500 years. Stroll around this park and inside the houses are people who will explain the things you see and what people used to use ...

Forget the simulator .... go to the bobsleighing track 12 km from Lillehammer and join the team for a ride!

Great experiance
but ...

the bobsleigh has wheels ... and steering is not allowed by yourself ;-)
also ... bout 30euro (for 1 minute andrenaline rush.)
and my ass hurts 2 days.

The town centre of Lillehammer consists of two main parallel shopping streets, of which Storgaten is the most important, and a number of grid streets connecting the two and the villa area beyond.
A number of events and activities are staged by the various town volunteer associations and commercial interests and they are listed in a web page (below). The web page gives you an updater overview of what you can expect.