Drammen tourist information
Drammen is set in a beautiful valley, a wonderful touring area surrounding our town's “main street”, clean Drammen River with its abundance of fish. Drammen's wide range of attractions appeal to both domestic and foreign visitors, and it is also the perfect place for courses, conferences and meetings. Central Drammen is bustling with activity. Here you will find attractive shopping streets and centres as well as hotels and a host of restaurants and cafés. Or take a walk along the river, within five minutes of the unique touring area. To get up to the forest, you can pass through the world-famous Spiral Tunnel in the center or take a walk in the wilderness Kjøsterudjuvet in Åssiden, a suburb of Drammen. There are plenty of exciting things to see and do: art, culture, manor houses and museums. It is all in stored for you in Drammen, within just 40 kilometer from Oslo.
Drammen was founded in 1811 and has a long tradition as a meeting place and a commercial centre for a rich region. You will never be bored walking through Drammen. Starting from the two market squares, linked by a bridge, you are bound to have a great day. In central Drammen alone there are 40 eating places, ranging from small cafés to elegant restaurants whose menus will satisfy everyones needs, from simple dishes to Norwegian specialities and special menus from several countries. Central Drammen also holds more than 300 shops selling all kinds of commodities. Bragernes Torg provides the setting for numerous events, especially in summer when a colourful, fascinating market sells agricultural produce, flowers and plants. This square is the largest in Scandinavia and lined by several old, interesting buildings from the time after 1866, that was after the great fire had devastated the entire district.
Bragernes Market is the largest in Norway and also Drammen's “front parlour”. During the summer in particular, citizens and visitors gather in the market square enjoying its unique ambience. Here is bustling activity, stallholders selling fruits, vegetables, flowers and a lot more. The square market was laid out in 1866 when a fire had reduced 388 buildings to ashes. There are excellent shopping facilities round the square and several attractive restaurants, also with open-air service. You could start your city walk from the river and the city bridge. Here is the recently built Skutebrygga at the pier, a very special restaurant with a characteristic maritime appearance. From the city bridge, you have a fine view of Drammen's well-known townscape including the market square, the tower buildings and the magnificent Bragernes Church from 1871. With its footpaths and unique viewpoints, beautiful Bragernesåsen forms a decorative background.
Spiralen is a mountain tunnel in Bragernesåsen, opened in 1961 when Drammen celebrated its 150th anniversary. With six spirals, the tunnel goes through a massive of eruptive rock (granite porphyry below, basalt above), ending at Nedre Skanse, formerly called Breidablikk. The tunnel is 1650 metres long, 9 metres wide and originally had a height of 3.1 metres but it was extended later and today also large, modern touring coaches can pass. The rise is from 20 to 213 metres above sea level with a gradient of one in ten, and each spiral has a 70 metre diameter. Shortly after the turn of the century, the Spiralen started as an open quarry to provide road construction with materials. It was the city engineer Eivind Olsen's idea that the quarry could be developed into a spiral tunnel up through Bragernesåsen and this work commenced in 1953 after 70,000 cubic metres of rock had been blasted off. The road has been tolled from the beginning except for the period of 1987-1994.
Spiraltoppen is the name of the area round the exit at the top of the Spiralen, offeres a marvellous view of the city, the river, the fjord and the neighbourhood, the mountainous areas of Kongsberg and Numedal providing the background. A Cocherill cannon from 1904 can also be found here. Spiraltoppen is the starting point for several footpaths/ski slopes and a 2 km nature trail. Spiraltoppen is also the name of the road itself running from the tunnel at the top of Spiralen to the parking area. The road and the parking area got their names in 1986.
Drammen aerial map
Please click on any icon on the Drammen aerial tourist map, to find close by places, offering hotels and tourist information. You can zoom in and zoom out our touristical map as well as switch between satelite and map view of Drammen.
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