Tromsø Travel Guide

 toonsarah Says:  We had pre-booked a Northern Lights tour for our first evening in Tromsø, and on the recommendation of Simply Sweden chose one where photography instruction is included. There are many operators running very similar tours, which consist of an evening spent driving around... 

 toonsarah Says:  Although popularly known as the “Arctic Cathedral” this is not in fact a cathedral at all, but is the parish church of the Tromsøysund part of Tromsø. It was built in 1965, mainly of concrete, and is designed to look like slabs of ice, although it has also been likened to... 

 toonsarah Says:  This is another striking modern harbourside building, and indeed another whose design is intended to look like chunks of ice. Maybe the fact that the harbour in Tromsø is ice-free year-round drives them to design and build these substitute icebergs? It is hard to describe... 

 toonsarah Says:  Situated at the opposite end of the harbour from Polaria, the Polar Museum is an altogether different experience. Much more like a traditional museum, it tells the story of the Arctic region with an emphasis on the lives of early hunters, trappers and explorers. It is... 

 toonsarah Says:  Although the church across the water in Tromsdalen is often referred to as the Arctic Cathedral, Tromsø’s only true cathedral is here in the centre of town, and is made not of concrete but of wood – the only wooden cathedral in Norway. It was built in 1861 on a site where... 

 toonsarah Says:  The Perspekitivet Museum is unusual for a couple of reasons. Firstly, admission is free – a rare thing indeed here! Secondly, it is an odd mix of fairly traditional city museum (lots of old photos of Tromsø for instance) and adventurous gallery showing modern, even... 

 toonsarah Says:  When we had finished looking round the Polar Museum we were ready for a light lunch, but there is no café there so we went in search of one. As we walked up to the main road I spotted a sign for Tante Ingers Tehus so we went to investigate. This quirky little café is in an... 

 toonsarah Says:  By far the easiest way to reach the centre of Tromsø using public transport is on the Flybussen. These efficient buses go directly to town and then stop at a few useful points. The fare (January 2013) is 70 KR each way, the buses run every 20 minutes during the day and are... 

 toonsarah Says:  Most sights in Tromsø are within an easy walk of the centre, but there are a few which are better reached by bus, such as the Arctic Cathedral (walkable, but you may prefer like us to avoid the icy winds on the bridge if visiting in winter) and the Tromsø University Museum... 

 toonsarah Says:  The Mack Brewery in Tromsø claims to be the northernmost brewery in the world, although in practice it s trumped by another in the same country, a microbrewery in Honningsvåg. Incidentally, Honningsvåg seems to make a habit of trumping other Norwegian towns, as when were... 

 toonsarah Says:  Tromsø lies 350 kilometres above the Arctic Circle, and that Circle is defined as the line north of which there is at least one day when the sun remains above the horizon for 24 hours (Midnight Sun) and at least one on which it never rises (Polar Night). The further north...