Lillesand - municipality in Agder, Norway

Lillesand is a small town in Aust-Agder County, on the south coast of Norway.

Understand

The site's original name was "Sanden" (the sand, the beach). In 1641 the neighboring city of Kristiansand was founded. Lillesand received its present name to distinguish the two towns.

Get in

By bus

The bus-connections to Oslo and the towns along the western shore of the Oslo Fjord is excellent. Nor-Way Bussexpress has 9 daily connections to Oslo, Konkurrenten.no 4-7 buses while Lavprisekspressen runs twice daily. You are guaranteed a seat - if the bus is full, the bus company will add an extra bus. Lavsprisekpressen provides online ticketing only. Long term buses stops in the outskirts of Lillesand.

By car

E18 runs through the town in an east-west direction. Follow the signs at the exits towards Lillesand from the motorway.

By train or plane

via Kristiansand Railwaystation (dead link: January 2023) or Kristiansand Airport, Kjevik. Bus connections to Lillesand.

By ferry

via Kristiansand, where there are ferries from Hirtshals by Color Line and seasonal by Fjordline. Bus connections to Lillesand.

Get around

By bus

Nettbuss Sør (blue buses) operates local bus routes within the municipality of Lillesand (see time tables here). In Lillesand center are all within walking distance. If you go west, there are some local buses for example to Høvåg, but it may take a long time between buses.

By boat

Good moorings if you have your own boat. Or take a sight seeing boat from Kristiansand.

By taxi

• Lillesand Taxi, +47 37 27 03 15.

See

• Blindleia is a salt water fjord passage that is protected from the open sea by an elongated archipelago of skerries. Lots of boat traffic in Blindleia at summer time, and many rich Norwegians have their vacation house here. Blindleia pass many picturesque sites, such as Brekkestø, Kjøbmannsvik, Gamle Hellesund and Skottevik. Sightseeing boat at the summer time.
• Lillesand Town- and Maritime Museum in the town centre of Lillesand, shows the town's history as a center for shipping and trade.
• The Fish Market in Lillesand with a restaurant. Fresh fish and delicacies.
• Bronseplassen, 58.1495°, 8.1638°. Open May to September. Reconstructed houses from the Bronze Age and Viking times and is located in Høvåg, approx. 15 km west of the town. There are also bark boats, labyrinth, offering space and cemetery. 2018-02-16

Do

• Take a walk in the center of this rather sleepy but cozy small town!
• Lillesand offers the perfect setting for activities related to the sea: fishing (dead link: January 2023), sailing, swimming.

Buy

• In the heart of town

• Lillesand Senter. A shopping centre in the outskirts of town

• Sørlandsparken and Sørlandssenteret, a regional, large shopping centre at the border to Kristiansand

Eat

• Beddingen Restaurant, +47 37 27 24 22. Seafood and meat, prepared from local ingredients

Drink

• Strandgaden No1 Skjenkestue, taproom in the traditional Hotell Norge.

• Sjøbua (Strandgata 8), +47 37 27 03 66. Pub at the wharf, serves simple dishes.

Sleep

Camping

• Skottevik FerieSenter, +47 37 26 90 30. The most popular holiday centre in the south of Norway, located between Kristiansand and Lillesand. A family friendly vacation centre which offers several kinds of accommodation with the ocean on close reach.
• Tingsaker Camping, +47 37 27 04 21. Camping field not far from the town centre

Hotel & Guesthouses

• Hotell Norge, +47 37 27 01 44, lillesand@hotelnorge.no. The traditional, historical hotel in the heart of Lillesand
• Horisonten, +47 911 60 092. Newest guesthouse in town

Connect

Lillesand Public Library (dead link: December 2020)

Go next

• Birkeland, the forest village north of Lillesand
• Kristiansand, a larger town, but a small city. Kristiansand, Zoo and Amusement park east of the center and downtown that gives the experience of a small city west of Lillesand.
• Grimstad, the neighboring town in the east which is also a nice little town.