Welcome to Arendal

Pollen

"Norway's most beautiful outdoor café" reads the sign hanging in the corner of Pollen, Arendal's harbor basin. On a sunny day, it feels like a sober statement of fact.

Not only is the quay area beautiful. There are also people everywhere: With a glass and something to bite into in the many cafes and restaurants. On the benches between the linden trees. Or on the stone steps above the jetty, while they lick home-made gelato from Café Victor or SØD Konfekt og Gelato.

You could easily sit here for hours, enjoying the lapping of the waves and the sight of the small boats chugging in from the islands outside the city.

Vitensenteret

At Langbryggen, you will find an activity eldorado for the whole family! At the Science Centre, learning and fun go hand in hand, and here you can explore and try your hand at a large interactive exhibition. Every weekend and during school holidays, you can also experience the VitenShow and various activity workshops.

Kløckers hus - Arendal City Museum

At Pollen in Arendal, in the middle of the unique wooden house environment on Tyholmen, is Kløckers Hus - Arendal City Museum. The house was a private residence, with parts built over three different centuries. When Customs Inspector Johannes Nicolai von Kløcker built his residence here in 1826, he chose to incorporate the building from the 16th and early 18th centuries that already stood on the site into his new home. The house was then in the family's possession until it was bought by a private foundation and turned into a museum in 1982.

The Glass Lift

This glasslift has two lift chairs with a capacity of 42 people in total and there is space for wheelchairs and bicycles. Access is 50 meters inside the city tunnel. From here, the lifts run approx. 40 m in the mountains before they come up in a 20-metre-high glass shaft, where there is a spectacular panoramic view of the center of Arendal, Galtesund, Tromøy and Hisøy. From the lift, a footbridge will lead into the planned square area in front of the county council building.

Learn more about Arendal´s history

At Langsævannet you will find Norway's most modern museum and archive KUBEN. Here you can learn about the history of Arendal and the surrounding area. The museum often organizes exciting activities for the whole family.

Bomuldsfabriken Kunsthall 

Bomuldfabriken Kunsthall is one of the region's largest exhibition venues for contemporary art. The former textile factory from 1898 is located in scenic surroundings by Lake Langsævannet, between the E18 and the center of Arendal. Changing exhibitions are shown here on the first floor, as well as an exhibition focusing on central artistry and works from the collection on the second floor. On the third floor there is an exit to Kunstarena Torbjørnsbu mines with a walkway through the old open pit.

Tyholmen

Is the oldest and best preserved district in Arendal. It is full of small, charming wooden houses.

Torggata

This street is full of pleasant niche shops, and here you can get home-made chocolate, organic products and shop in Arendal's oldest shop.

Take a boat trip to idyllic Merdø

On car-free Merdø outside Arendal, there are beautiful old southern country houses and small paths that lead you from the Merdøgaard skjærgårdsmuseum and the museum beach, on to the bathing beach on the west side of the island, and to the pebble beach on the outside of the island. The island's sandy beaches are among the finest in the region and are very child-friendly, as they are shallow.

Feel free to bring a picnic basket or buy food at the summer-open Merdø Kro, and enjoy a day in beautiful and quiet surroundings - just outside the center of Arendal.  However, island walks are offered on Merdø this summer. There are separate island walks for children.

Idyllic boat trip in Arendal's beautiful archipelago

Join us on a boat trip in Nidelva around the island of Hisøy. Out in the archipelago, the boat passes Torungene lighthouse, Havsøysundet and Merdø. Departure from Pollen in Arendal twice daily in the summer season.