Why you should travel to Tromsø

A cultural hub and magical gateway to the Arctic, there’s plenty to discover in this buzzing Norwegian city

When the light is just right, Tromsø looks like something from an animated film. In the midst of an unpeopled hinterland of Arctic wilderness lies this sheltered harbour surrounded by majestic geological creations of mountain and fjord.

With a population of 75,000, the city is far bigger than any other settlement closer to the North Pole. The town stretches along the east coast of the island of Tromsøya, linked to the mainland by bridges and tunnels.

For two months from mid-November to mid-January, the city is bathed in a magical, eerie twilight as the Earth tilts away from a sun that never quite manages to climb over the horizon.

Student vibe

It’s not what you’d expect, this fun city with a student-vibe way up in the Arctic. Tromsø has been a vibrant frontier post ever since it started out as a fishing port in the Middle Ages.

By the 19th century it was a thriving trading station for the lucrative spoils of hunters of polar bears, walruses and seals. But it is historically best known as the departure point for Arctic explorers such as Roald Amundsen. Now the “Gateway to the Arctic” is a hub for a different type of expedition: the pursuit of the Northern Lights.

Locally organised tours cater for this and other ways of enjoying the Arctic scenery: dog sledding, whale-watching, ice fishing, snowshoeing and snowmobiling. Green Gold of Norway offers different combinations of these activities. Especially popular is its 24-hour Activity Stay package, which includes photography or snowmobile excursions during the day time and chasing the Northern Lights at night.

Explore the Arctic will drive you as far and as long as it takes to find those lights: along the coast, beside the fjords and mountains, even to the border of Finland. Likewise Polar Adventures provides “experienced aurora hunters” to chase lights and explore the awe-inspiring arctic wilderness. For those who would rather stay put to see this phenomenon, Din Tur can find you accommodation outside the city in prime Northern Lights-spotting territory.

But this most northerly of cities is far more than a gateway to a glimpse of a certain type of light. It’s a lively cultural hub, a buzzy university town with a student population of 12,000, art galleries, museums, restaurants, nightclubs, a brewery and 2,600 hotel rooms.

Tromsø is easy to navigate, even when dark. It doesn’t take long to walk around the compact centre. Storgata, the main street lined with traditional painted timber houses, and the waterfront with its boats and ferries is where most things happen.

One of the wooden waterfront houses is the Polar Museum, full of detail of Arctic trapping with a permanent exhibition of all things Roald Amundsen.

Along from here, the Art Museum of Northern Norway showcases work from the early 19th century to the present including works by Edvard Munch and David Hockney.

Striking architecture

You can’t miss the striking construct that is Polaria, the Norwegian national polar centre. The building is inspired by ice floes pressed up on land by the seas of the Arctic.

More striking architecture is found over the bridge on the mainland in the form of Tromsø’s most iconic building: the Arctic Cathedral (below).

To reflect on all you’ve seen enjoy a ride on the Tromsø Cable Car, which in four minutes soars to Storsteinen, a mountain ledge 1,381 feet above sea level.

Despite being 217 miles north of the Arctic Circle, Tromsø is surprisingly easy to get to. Year-round, it has frequent connections via Oslo on SAS, while in winter Norwegian flies non-stop from Gatwick in just three-and-a-half hours.

The Hurtigruten coastal steamer service calls daily, northbound and southbound. A long-distance bus service connects with the northern towns of Alta and Narvik.

Try to time your trip to coincide with one of the many winter festivals happening in the city: the Tromsø International Film Festival (15-21 January 2018); the eclectic mix of music that makes up Northern Lights Festival (26 January-4 February 2018); and Sami Week, based around Sami National Day on 6 February, where among a fair bit of whooping you’ll see a reindeer sledge championship as the indigenous people of the far north celebrate their traditions.

Or give it a go yourself: enjoy reindeer sledding through the wilderness with a Sami guide who will explain their fascinating culture at the Tromsø Villmarkssenter.

And if it's wilderness rather than city you want more of, then a 35-minute drive from Tromso airport is Lauklines Kystferie, an activity centre where you can overnight in cosy, renovated fishermen’s cabins and wake up in the middle of one of the most beautiful winter wonderlands on the planet.

For more inspiration click here - and to find out more and book your break to Norway, visit visitnorway.com