Tromsø Things to Do

TROMSO: Northern lights: There are many excursion companies, but DO NOT book with Arctic Pathfinder. The woman who runs it is very unprofessional. First of all you have to send her many emails and reminders before she replies, then she sends you the wrong invoice. Also she charges 130 NOK (about 20 euros) just for paying with Paypal. On top of that her tours suck. There are many other excursion companies that are much better such as "Arctic guide service". Please don't get ripped off by Arctic Pathfinder, like I did.

You do not really expect to find a botanical garden when you look around Tromsø, but there it is, on the premises of the Tromsø University Museum. Like everything i Tromsø, this one is also labelled the northernmost in the world. You will find planmts from all continents.
You'll be surprised at the flora diversity and interesting plants here during the right season, anyhow. Forget it during winter. Self-exlanatory via boards and signs. Open 24 hours, no admission fee.
There is an old and defunct Planetarium nearby (at least defunct when I was there) which you aim at, then walk through some shrubs and hit a Geology Walkway and you'll be there.

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Polarmuseet i Tromsø - The Tromsø polar museum - is a little gem of a museum, and contains a lot of interesting and unique historical materials. This is the place to go to track the explorations of the Arctic (and to a lesser extent the Antarctica). The museum is housed in a longish old harbour warehouse, and outside is the little park-like fortress ruin Skansen, some lined up whale guns. You can spend a lot of time in this little museum, well worth it.
There is a small gift shop with some souvenir stuff and pedagogical materials as well as clothing items for sale.

Tromsø is in a perfect location to view the Northern Lights. You can come here and expect with a degree of uncertainty to experience this incredible phenomenon. Try to get away from the city lights, either by your own or join some kind or tour arrangement into the wilderness. I was in Tromsø now in early march and the lights were splendid.

The best way to see the northern lights is simply to make sure you stay as much as possible outside at night (all wrapped up of course).
Dog sledding is really good fun, and gives you the chance to get away from most of the light pollution in town.
Hiring some cross country skis and venturing out into the free lit slopes on the island is another cheap and fun activity.
If you are really set on the northern lights, and don't have much time, a guided northern lights hunt with someone like Guide Gunnar is a good option. They will take you out of town, and even go as far as the Finnish border with you to find the lights.

Otherwise - the best thing is to allow for more than one or two days- a week or longer obviously increases your chances.

Another good idea is to go on one of the many northern lights cruises. Onboard, the captain will let you know over the loudspeaker if there is northern lights activity - which means you don't have to stay outside in the cold all evening :)
Here's a good overview of what northern lights packages are available: http://iglobetrotter.com/norway/northern-lights/northern-lights-holidays

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You can see the striking architecture of the Artic Cathedral from across the river

We strolled across the bridge from the town centre, braving the icy roads and wind. We were lucky enough to catch some of the choral rehearsal for the festival of lights

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If you're lucky enough to be in Tromso during January, as we were, you get the chance to see the sunrise and sunset within a few hours. Great for taking photos, as the light changes every few minutes.

Here's a few shots taken from around the town centre.

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This is great museum to visit. To start with the building itself is interesting as it looks as though it is falling down, although it's supposed represent ice floes that have been pressed up on land by the rough seas of the Arctic.

Inside there is a cinema which shows you a great view of the landscape of the Tundra. Also there is a tundra walkthrough

There are also four seals, which are kept here for scientific research reason, although this sounds worse than it is. The seals put on a show with thier handlers.

Give yourself a few hours in here