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Christmas market · Innlandet
An open-air museum dressed for Christmas, in a town that reliably has snow.
Maihaugen is one of Norway’s great open-air museums, with farmsteads and town houses from several centuries. For its Christmas market the houses are decorated as they would have been in different eras, with craft stalls and local food between them. The museum opens again for Christmas visits in the days between Christmas and New Year.
Why it is a winter thing: The houses are dressed for Christmas only for the market weekend and the days after Christmas.
The market is held on the first weekend of Advent (29–30 November in 2025); Christmas visits ran 26–30 December. This year’s dates are published in the autumn.
price: ask provider
Concerts, town-centre sleigh rides and markets through Advent.
Visit LillehammerDetails ↗
price: ask provider
Prices are indicative, from the season shown, and change every year. Confirm with the provider before you book.
Town hotels in Lillehammer, or cabins at Nordseter, Sjusjøen and Hafjell, all within half an hour.
Town hotelMountain cabinApartment
Christmas, the winter holiday (week 8) and Easter book out months ahead. How cabin rental works →
December here is typically −5 to −15 °C. Dress for standing outdoors for hours.
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A snow-sure plateau with hundreds of kilometres of groomed tracks.