Sights in Kristiansand

Kristiansand at a glance

Most places to visit are close together. In the centre you can walk to Kvadraturen and its wooden-house district Posebyen, Kristiansand Cathedral, Fiskebrygga, Kunstsilo and Christiansholm Fortress, as well as the Baneheia woods. On the outskirts are Dyreparken, Kristiansand's zoo and amusement park, the Kristiansand Cannon Museum at Møvik and Kristiansand Museum at Kongsgård.

Walking around the centre

The centre, Kvadraturen, dates back to the founding of the town in 1641, and its right-angled street grid survives to this day. The street called Mølla separates Posebyen in the north from Murbyen in the south. Posebyen survived the town fire of 1892 and is made up of white wooden houses, some dating from the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Posebyhaven has cafés and small shops, with a market on Saturdays in summer.

On Torvet, in the middle of Kvadraturen, stands the Gothic Revival cathedral of 1885 with its 70-metre tower. It is open to visitors on weekdays, with longer hours in summer and a free organ concert on Tuesdays at 11:00. At the end of the pedestrianised Markens gate, turn right for Fiskebrygga on the Gravane canal, where you will find live fish and shellfish in tanks, a fishmonger and several restaurants.

From Fiskebrygga it is a short walk to the Odderøya quay. Here, since May 2024, Kunstsilo has shown 20th-century Nordic art in a converted 1935 grain silo, with a Panorama on the top floor. Christiansholm was built between 1662 and 1672 to protect the eastern harbour and stands on a skerry that is now joined to the mainland. North-west of the centre begins Baneheia, an area of woods and lakes with a 2.2 km illuminated circular trail and swimming spots at the 3rd Stampe lake.

On the outskirts

Dyreparken lies around 12 km east of the centre on the E18. City buses take 10 to 15 minutes from the centre and stop right outside the main entrance. The park is open every day of the year and includes themed areas such as Kardemomme by and Kaptein Sabeltanns Verden. The Badeland water park opens from May to August.

At Møvik, on the way to Flekkerøy, the Cannon Museum occupies the former Batterie Vara, with a 38 cm gun from the Second World War. You can get there on bus M1 towards Flekkerøy; the season runs from late February to early November, with daily opening in high summer. Kristiansand Museum at Kongsgård is an open-air museum with around 35 buildings and the Minibyen model town. It opens from May to early August, and buses M1 to M4 run to Bjørndalssletta.

More places to visit

Odderøya is an island on the edge of the centre, fortified since 1686. Since military use ended in 1992 it has been open to everyone. Around 3 km of waymarked paths cross the island, there are small beaches on the east side, and a café opens at the southern tip on Sundays. On the quay next to Kunstsilo stands the Kilden theatre and concert hall, which opened in 2012 and has a curving façade of local oak.

Gimle gård is a merchant's estate from around 1800 with an English landscape garden, open from late June to early August, Thursday to Sunday. The same grounds are home to the University of Agder's natural history museum and the botanical garden, which is open around the clock and free. At Bystranda you will find the Aquarama water park, with slides, a wave pool and a spa, open all year.

The Setesdalsbanen heritage railway runs on 8 km of narrow-gauge track from Grovane to Røyknes in Vennesla, on Sundays from June to early September and on selected weekdays in July. Buses 30 and 31 go to Grovane stasjon. For day trips along the coast to Lillesand, Grimstad or Mandal, see Around Kristiansand, and for the best days for the beach and excursions, see Weather in Kristiansand.