Kristiansand – where cosy meets cool

Close to the southern tip of Norway, Kristiansand is one of the country’s sunniest cities and the country’s fifth largest. It’s an economic hub whose centre has retained a small-town charm famed for festivals, art, and Bystranda (its sandy city beach). Throw in the sunshine and it’s no wonder so many of us Norwegians move here!

Come snowy winter, a traditional Norwegian Christmas market dishes up storytelling and plates of pinnekjøtt, a lamb dish that we Norwegians love to eat on Christmas Eve.

A window into Kristiansand’s ancient past was uncovered by a beachcomber in 1994 when he unearthed the skull of a woman in Søgne, just west of the city. Carbon-dating revealed she had lived some 8,600 years ago, making it the oldest Stone Age skeleton found in Norway.

The remains of settlements and pre-Christian burial sites give other glimpses into the area’s early history, but it wasn’t until 1641 that King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway put it on the map and named it after himself. The ‘sand’ is in reference to the town’s naturally occurring beach.

One of the few areas to have oak trees, the area became a major centre for ship building. Relentless attacks from the British during the Napoleonic Wars halted trade and Kristiansand idled away in obscurity until building resumed in the nineteenth century. From then, industry continued to blossom, particularly during World War I.

Industry spans out from the town centre like a giant spiderweb, but the city at the centre preserves its original charm and grid-pattern streets. Norwegians love to staycation here and the influx of wealth has been invested into entertaining them, from summertime festivals and art galleries to a glut of good restaurants and bars, and sightseeing boat trips to the popular island of Bragdøya.

Temperate Kristiansand is touted as one of the sunniest cities in Norway and in summer locals flock to its palm tree-lined, sandy beach to sunbathe, celebrate with festivals, and sail around its sheltered coastline. From May onwards there’s a noticeable spike in warmth, with both air and sea temperatures leaping into the double digits and peaking around 20°C.

From October, the weather starts to switch, daylight hours dwindle to around six hours, and fronts of cloud and rain sweep across the exposed peninsula. The cold is nowhere near as penetrating compared to that experienced further north, but snow is still common. In December, there are around 6 hours 30 mins of daylight.