Culture, night-life and outdoor activities

Art and applied arts & crafts
Trondheim has a thriving artist community and has long been a major centre of contemporary art. Our high-quality cultural institutions and galleries proudly exhibit some of the very best in Norwegian art. The teaching at the Arts Academy is internationally acclaimed, perhaps especially for its use of technology.

Theatre
Theatre is very much alive in Trondheim, spanning from amateur theatre and independent stage groups to the venerable Trøndelag Theatre from 1816. Trøndelag Theatre has recently been refurbished and expanded with a state-of-the-art theatre complex that has five different stages.

Music
The roots of much of the city's music go back to Nidaros Cathedral's position as a church music centre for virtually 1000 years, a position that has only grown in stature with the newly restored baroque organ. The city regularly hosts a number of annual music events.

In Trondheim you'll also find Norway's only institution offering jazz music instruction on an international level, the jazz studies at the Trøndelag Conservatory of Music.

Trondheim's musicians have reaped great international acclaim, including the Trondheim Symphony Orchestra, TrondheimSolistene, the Cathedral Boys' Choir, the Vertavo Quartet, Tango Consertino, Cantus and Embla. Trondheim also has its own home-grown world-class musicians, such as Arve Tellefsen and Randi Stene.

Sports
Trondheim is a sports city. Its citizens participate in great numbers, indeed every third citizen is a member of a sports club. The city has excellent facilities and arenas for all interests and ambitions, from demanding sailing on the Trondheim fjord to championship in our special and quite different version of horseshoes (skotthyll).

Football, skiing and handball are especially popular sports with many arenas and top-level athletes. Trondheim's top football club, Rosenborg, was one of 16 European teams in the Champions League in 1995/-96, 1996/-97 and 1997/-98.

Exciting restaurants
Downtown Trondheim has a swinging nightlife. Intimate pubs and cafes lie side by side with unique continental restaurants, including the elegant Palmehaven. With its many cafes and pubs the student centre Studentersamfundet is the place to party. The Erichsen Konditori (bakery) on Nordre gate is a popular meeting place but beware their cakes are irresistible! Tavern, the traditional inn at Trøndelag Folk Museum, serves good old-fashioned Norwegian fare. Trondheim has about 200 cafes and restaurants for you to choose from.

Recreation and the great outdoors
Summer and winter you'll find the local outdoors on the superb and plentiful nature trails in the hills around the town. Here you can walk in tranquil solitude, meet friends or discover new trails. If the rugged life doesn't appeal to you, you might choose the special path along the fjord in Lade or perhaps go to the Trondheim Public Library for a cup of coffee while reading the papers, not to metion all the art galleries you could visit.

A simple day trip from Trondheim can offer the best in Norwegian nature: Trollheimen, the skerries at Hitra and Frøya, and hunting grounds and fishing sites are all close at hand. And surely no other city can offer a visitor such an opportunity to go salmon fishing on a warm summer day.