Gjøvik: Trails, Culture and Experiences

Gjøvik combines lakeside trails with museums, distinctive buildings and activities for a range of interests. The train station is in the city centre and offers train connections towards Oslo. There is also a specific place to start getting your bearings: a tourist information office in the old station building provides information about attractions in the district.

Getting to Gjøvik and finding your way around

If you want to plan your time in Gjøvik, you can start by exploring the city according to your interests: walks along Lake Mjøsa, viewpoints and urban forests, culture or activities in the mountain hall. The information at the tourist office covers attractions in the district and complements the orientation information at the station.

Gjøvik is also the home port of the paddle steamer Skibladner. There are connections from Gjøvik on all sailing days. If you are planning a trip, check the timetable for your chosen day so you can fit the lake journey into your own day’s plans.

Hiking trails and walks along Lake Mjøsa

Five marked hiking trails start at Gjøvik station. Together, they are about 13 kilometres long and run along the shore of Lake Mjøsa, to a viewpoint on Hovdetoppen and through the Øverby urban forests. The trails bring together different landscapes: lakeshore, viewpoints and forest. The hiking trail over Hovdetoppen and Fastland climbs the 258-metre-high Hovdetoppen and offers views over Gjøvik.

The Mjøspromenaden is a more precisely defined lakeside route. This 2.4-kilometre walking path runs from the mouth of the Hunnselva river via Fredvika to Rambekk harbour. The distances provide a guide for planning different routes: the Mjøspromenaden is shorter than the five hiking trails, which are about 13 kilometres long in total; their combined distance is divided among several marked routes.

For a longer cycling route in the wider region, Mjøstråkk is on a different scale: this well-signposted route is 245 kilometres long and circles Lake Mjøsa. This lets you distinguish between a lakeside walking path, several hiking trails starting at the station and a regional cycling tour, rather than treating them as a single route.

Museums, buildings and activities

Gjøvik Gård is in the city centre and is both a protected park and a museum. Eiktunet is the city’s open-air museum, where historic wooden buildings shape the cultural landscape. The two places offer different experiences: Gjøvik Gård combines a central location with a protected park, while Eiktunet features historic wooden buildings in an open-air museum.

Gjøvik Olympiske Fjellhall lies 120 metres beneath Hovdetoppen in the centre of Gjøvik. The mountain hall includes, among other things, an ice rink, a climbing wall, a swimming pool and rooms for martial arts. It also has a permanent exhibition featuring Norway’s largest display of rock carvings. The sports facilities and the exhibition are two different reasons to consider including the mountain hall in your plans.

Mathematics, science and technology are at the heart of Vitensenteret Innlandet. Visitors learn by experimenting themselves; it is the only centre in Innlandet with its own planetarium. If you are interested in discovering and trying things out, this offers a different kind of visit from a walk or a museum visit.

Fastland adds a free outdoor swimming pool to the selection. The pool is 200 metres long, and there is also a 10-metre-high diving tower. Along with the hiking trails and the Mjøspromenaden, it offers different ways to enjoy the outdoors in Gjøvik; the trails vary in route and length, while Fastland is a specific swimming facility.

Discover more destinations: Snertingdal, Hunndalen, Biri, Bybrua.

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