Lillehammer is small, snowy and outdoorsy, forever shaped by the 1994 Winter Olympics whose venues still surround the town. It hosts the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences and the Norwegian Film School, giving it a creative, sporty student community out of proportion to its size. If you love skiing, hiking and a tight-knit town over big-city bustle, few places beat it, with world-class slopes fifteen minutes away.

• The Inland Norway University (HINN) and the Norwegian Film School give the town a creative, sporty scene.
• Olympic ski venues and the mountains sit right on the doorstep.

Life here is small-town and outdoors-driven: the pedestrian Storgata has the cafés and bars, the student society runs events, and much of the social calendar revolves around skiing, cabin trips and the fadderuke welcome week. It is intimate rather than buzzing, so you quickly know people, and the film and media students give it a creative streak. As across Norway, bar prices mean a vorspiel before any night out.

• Storgata, the pedestrian high street, for the town's cafés and bars.
• Join the student society and fadderuke to plug into ski trips and cabin weekends.
• Pre-drink at home before going out, as Norwegian bar prices demand it.

Norway is pricey, but small-town Lillehammer is a little easier on the wallet than the big cities, so budget around €1,100–1,400 a month, within the national band. Rent is lower than in Oslo, but eating and drinking out and ski gear add up. Cooking at home, buying second-hand skis and using the free winter trails keep costs down.

• A room in student housing or a shared flat runs 4,500–6,500 kr (about €390–560).
• Buy second-hand skis and gear via Finn.no rather than renting all season.
• Shop at Kiwi or Rema 1000 and cook at home; a pint out is around 90–100 kr.

Apply for SiI (Studentsamskipnaden i Innlandet) student housing as soon as you are accepted, it is the cheapest and most practical option in a small town with a limited private market. What private housing exists is on Finn.no and Hybel.no, mostly in and around the compact centre. View before paying and watch for the usual deposit scams.

• Apply to SiI (Studentsamskipnaden i Innlandet) student housing early.
• Search Finn.no and Hybel.no for the limited private rooms near the centre.
• Ask the Lillehammer Studcasa group where students have found rooms.

Lillehammer is small enough to walk across, with local Innlandstrafikk buses reaching the campus, ski venues and Lake Mjøsa. The train station on the Dovrebanen line puts Oslo around two hours away and connects north towards Trondheim. In winter, buses run up to the Hafjell and Sjusjøen slopes, and many students simply ski or walk.

• Walk the compact centre; Innlandstrafikk buses reach campus and the ski areas.
• The Dovrebanen train reaches Oslo in about 2–2.5 hours.
• Winter ski buses run up to Hafjell and Sjusjøen.

The Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (HINN) has a big campus in Lillehammer strong in film, television, media, sport and social sciences, and shares the town with the prestigious Norwegian Film School. Teaching is informal, practical and hands-on, especially in the media and film programmes, with English-taught options for exchange students. The small campus makes it easy to know your lecturers.

• HINN's Lillehammer campus is strong in media, film, sport and social sciences.
• Expect hands-on, practical teaching and small, informal classes.

EU, EEA and Swiss citizens need no visa; they just register with the police online and in person if staying more than three months. Non-EEA students need a student residence permit from the Norwegian immigration directorate, UDI, applied for before or shortly after arrival, which requires proof of admission, housing and enough money in a Norwegian account.

The financial requirement is steep, around 137,000 kroner for a year, reflecting the cost of living, so plan your funds early. Exactly what you need depends on your nationality, so check UDI guidance and your host university's advice as soon as you are accepted. Processing can take weeks, so do not leave it late.

• EU/EEA/Swiss, no visa; register with police if staying 90+ days
• Non-EEA, student residence permit via UDI
• Must show around NOK 137,000/year in funds
• Apply early; processing takes several weeks

This is the Gudbrandsdalen valley, home of Norway's beloved brown cheese (brunost), so try it on waffles, alongside cured meats like fenalår and warming rømmegrøt sour-cream porridge. The Maihaugen open-air museum brings the valley's traditional life to the town. Eating out is expensive, so home cooking, cabin meals and bakery treats are the way, with a strong tradition of the matpakke packed lunch.

• Try local brunost (brown cheese) on waffles, as the valley is its home.
• Sample cured fenalår lamb and rømmegrøt porridge for a taste of the region.
• Visit Maihaugen open-air museum to see traditional Gudbrandsdalen life.

Lillehammer is a compact town rather than a city of districts, centred on the pedestrian Storgata that climbs from the lake. The campus and student housing sit a short way from the centre, Stampesletta holds the sports facilities, and the Olympic venues ring the edges. Where you live is mostly a question of how close to the centre or the campus you want to be.

• The centre around Storgata for cafés, shops and a short walk to everything.
• Near the HINN campus for the student community and quick lectures.
• Towards Lake Mjøsa for waterside walks and swims in summer.

Lillehammer is a launchpad for the Norwegian mountains. The Hafjell and Kvitfjell alpine resorts are fifteen to thirty minutes away, Sjusjøen offers world-class cross-country trails, and the Jotunheimen and Rondane national parks put serious hiking within reach. Oslo is a two-hour train ride for a city fix, and Trondheim lies to the north up the same scenic line.

• Hafjell and Kvitfjell ski resorts, 15–30 minutes away.
• Sjusjøen for cross-country skiing; Rondane and Jotunheimen for summer hiking.
• Oslo by train in about 2 hours for a city weekend.

Lean into the outdoor life, Lillehammer only makes sense if you ski, hike and embrace the cold, so get kitted out early and second-hand. Cook at home and pre-drink to handle Norwegian prices, and stock up at Vinmonopolet before the weekend. Join the student society straight away, because in a small town the organised trips are your social lifeline.

• Buy second-hand ski and outdoor gear on Finn.no before winter sets in.
• Buy alcohol at Vinmonopolet before it closes; supermarkets sell only weak beer.
• Ask the Lillehammer Studcasa group which cabin trips and ski weekends to join.