Three kilometres west of the centre, this folk museum is one of the best of its kind in Norway. The indoor exhibition, Livsbilder (Images of Life), displays artefacts in use over the last 150 years – from clothing to school supplies to ornate sleds. The rest of the museum is open-air, comprising more than 60 period buildings, many of which you can enter, adjoining the ruins of King Sverre's castle and giving fine views of the city.
Houses, the post office, the dentist and other shops splay around the central market square in the urban section. There are farm buildings from rural Trøndelag, the tiny 12th-century Haltdalen stave church – you can't go in it but, seriously, get up close and breathe in its delicious aroma of charred pine – and a couple of small museums devoted to telecommunications (some great old phones) and skiing (with elaborately carved wooden skis).
There are guided tours in Norwegian and English four times daily.