Southern Norway compromises two counties: Aust-Agder (East-Agder) and Vest-Agder (West-Agder).

The hallmark of southern Norway is its coast with the grassy holms and skerries that guard the mainland from the harsh Skagerrak. This area has more sunny days per annum than anywhere else in Norway, making it a veritable holiday paradise for Norwegians. Many local communities gain a whole new life when their populations double several times over during the summer. That is when all the vacation homes, hotels and pensions fill up with happy vacationers who come to swim, sail, scuba dive, fish for crab and mackerel and listen to the screams of the seagulls. Others wander inland into the hills, do some mountain climbing or go river rafting.

Kristiansand is southern Norway's largest city, and its weathered old homes and pulsating summer atmosphere make it a very charming city indeed. Way out in the Kristiansandsfjord you will find Flekkerøy, Oksøy and other islands plus Grønningen lighthouse, besides the coastal skerries that teem with life in the summertime. Kristiansand's most popular attraction, for children especially, is the zoo and Kardemomme by.

With their white-painted houses nestled between flowering gardens and sun-bleached rocks, the little white southern towns of Lillesand, Tvedestrand, Risør, Brekkestø, Gamle- and Ny Hellesund are like pearls strung together on a necklace. When Norwegians mention the word «idyllic» it is usually this southern coastline they have in mind. Lyngør island at the edge of the open sea is peppered with closely-built wooden houses that line a cozy, sheltered harbour. It has been designated Europe's best-preserved village.

Shipping was the original economic base for this region. Many of its men were sailors, fishermen or boat builders. This traditional coastal culture is the foundation for Norway's leading position in today's international shipping. Shipwrecks and a monument to those who fell in the battle of Lyngør in 1812 are some of the many historical memorials here.

The typical southern Norwegian, allegedly born with webbed feet and a special kind of good-naturedness, is immortalised in the writings of two of the region's best-known authors, Vilhelm Krag and Gabriel Scott.