Tromsø

A real city that happens to be Arctic

Tromsø sits on an island between the mainland and Kvaløya, linked by a bridge and a tunnel network drilled through the rock beneath the city (with roundabouts underground, which is disconcerting the first time). The centre is compact and walkable: Storgata runs the length of it, the harbour is at the eastern edge, and the wooden houses of the old town survive because the city was never bombed flat.

The reason most people come is light — or the absence of it. From late November the sun does not clear the horizon for seven weeks, producing a long blue-to-amber twilight that photographers travel for. From mid-May it does not set at all.

What to do

• Fjellheisen cable car. Four minutes to Storsteinen at 421 m, with the whole island and the sounds below. Open late; worth doing twice, once in daylight and once after dark.
• Arctic Cathedral (Tromsdalen Church). The 1965 concrete A-frame with an 140 m² stained-glass window. Midnight concerts run in summer.
• Polaria and the Polar Museum. The latter is the better one: sealing, trapping and the Amundsen story, told without sentiment.
• Aurora chase. Minibus tours leave around 18:00 and drive up to 300 km to find clear sky, sometimes into Finland. Budget NOK 1,300–1,900 and a six-hour night.
• Whale watching (Nov–Jan). Orca and humpback follow herring into the fjords around Skjervøy; boats leave from Tromsø harbour.
• Dog sledding and reindeer. Sámi-run camps at Camp Tamok and in the Lyngen area, 1–1.5 h from the city.
• Mack Brewery and the bar scene. Ølhallen, opened 1928, is the city's oldest pub and pours 70-plus taps.

Aurora strategy

Two rules matter more than anything else. First, stay at least three nights — single-night odds are poor and weather-driven. Second, be mobile. Tromsø's coastal climate is cloudy; the good nights are usually inland toward Skibotn, the Lyngen Alps or across the Finnish border, and a guided chase is the practical way to get there. The season runs roughly 20 September to 1 April, with the best statistical window in the equinox months of late September/October and March. Full detail in the northern lights guide.

Eating

For a city of this size the food is remarkable. Look for Arctic char, stockfish, king crab from the Barents Sea, reindeer with lingonberry, and cloudberries in late summer. Fiskekompaniet on the harbour handles the formal end; Bardus Bistro and Smak are reliable mid-range; Risø does the best coffee. Alcohol is expensive even by Norwegian standards.

Questions we get asked