Grimstad

Grimstad grew on shipbuilding and sail: in the nineteenth century it had one of the largest merchant fleets in Norway, and the town of white timber houses climbing from the harbour dates largely from that period. Henrik Ibsen arrived here in 1844 aged fifteen to work as an apothecary's assistant and stayed six years, writing his first play, Catiline, and the pharmacy building is now the Ibsen Museum with rooms preserved as he knew them. Knut Hamsun later farmed at Norholm just outside town. The harbour is full of boats in summer, the islands offshore are reached by small ferries, and the surrounding district is known for early strawberries and for the Fjaere church with its medieval stone cross.

What you actually see

• The Ibsen Museum - the pharmacy where the young Ibsen worked and wrote.
• The white lanes - narrow streets of timber houses above the harbour.
• The summer harbour - guest boats filling the quays through July.
• The island ferries - small boats to the skerries offshore.

When to go

June to August for the full harbour season, ferries and open museums; the town is quiet the rest of the year with reduced hours. Strawberry season in early summer is a local event.

Honest expectations

Summer brings large numbers of Norwegian boat holidaymakers and prices to match. Museums keep short seasonal hours. Outside the harbour and old lanes the town is ordinary.

Nearby

Arendal and Raet National Park lie east; Lillesand and the Blindleia channel are west.