Trondheim Spots the Guidebooks Skip

Heads up: some links here are affiliate links. Book or buy through them and we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only point you to things we would actually use.

Trondheim’s smaller sights, all free or nearly free

Nidaros Cathedral and Bakklandet’s colourful wharves get most of Trondheim’s attention, deservedly, but a handful of smaller spots sit just past the main sightseeing list and cost little or nothing to see.

  1. Krana, the Bakklandet lookout. A short walk between the addresses Nedre Bakklandet 10 and 18 leads to a spot locals call Krana, which gives the best view of the row of colourful old wooden warehouses leaning over the Nidelva, better than most of the postcard shots taken from the Gamle Bybro itself. Free.
  2. The Trampe bicycle lift. Built in 1993 at Brubakken near Bakklandet, this is the world’s first bicycle lift: a footplate pushes cyclists up the steep hill instead of pedalling. Free to use and genuinely unusual, but most visitors walk straight past it without realising what it is.
  3. The trolley museum at Lian. The Gråkallbanen tram, the world’s northernmost, ends its roughly 21-minute ride at Lian, the gateway to Bymarka forest; a small trolley museum sits right at the terminus, an easy add-on most day-trippers skip on their way straight to the trails.
  4. The Ladestien coastal path. An 8-9km walk from Ladehammeren to Rotvollfjæra along the fjord, past old farms and historic churches, free and largely free of other tourists even in peak season.
  5. The Archbishop’s Palace’s sculpture museum. Most visitors to Erkebispegården head straight for the crown-regalia exhibition; a second museum in the same complex holds the cathedral’s original medieval sculptures and archaeological finds, quieter and included on the same grounds.
  6. The Haltdalen stave church at Sverresborg. Norway’s oldest medieval castle ruins anchor the Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum, but its centerpiece is the relocated medieval Haltdalen stave church, easy to miss among the museum’s 80-plus historic buildings if you’re rushing the visit.
  7. The Hell station sign. A genuinely odd, free five-minute stop on the local train line toward Trondheim Airport Værnes: a village called Hell, with a station sign and an adjoining “Gods Expedition” freight sign that photograph well and cost nothing.
  8. Walking a stage of the St. Olav Way. Nidaros sits at the end of Pilegrimsleden, the medieval pilgrim route once ranked with Rome, Jerusalem, and Santiago de Compostela. It’s a genuine long-distance trail today, not yet built up with Camino-level infrastructure, so a single free stage near the city is a quieter way to arrive at the cathedral than walking straight there from a hotel.

None of these need a museum pass or a guided tour, just knowing where to look. Pair a couple with the free list in the things to do guide for a full day that costs almost nothing beyond a tram fare.