Tromsø sits at about 69.6° north, more than 300 km above the Arctic Circle, yet it is a lively university city of around 80,000 people with a cathedral, breweries, museums and a busy harbour. From late August to early April the northern lights can dance above its rooftops, and in the heart of winter the sun does not rise at all. Few places make the Arctic this easy to reach and this pleasant to explore.
Photo: Yngve Blomsø
Northern lights in Tromsø: when and where
Tromsø lies right under the auroral oval, the ring around the magnetic pole where the northern lights are most frequent. Visit Tromsø gives the aurora season as late August to early April; from late April to mid-August the sky is simply too bright. The lights are there on many nights, but you need darkness and a clear sky to see them, and coastal cloud is common.
Give yourself several nights. Look up from the city itself on a strong night, ride the cable car above town, or join an evening tour that drives inland or out to the coast in search of a break in the clouds. The Fjellheisen cable car, running since 1961, climbs to Storsteinen at 421 m in about four to five minutes, and its operator recommends aurora watching there between 6 pm and 2 am from September to April.
Polar night and the winter light
From about 27 November to 15 January the sun stays below the horizon. This polar night is not pitch black: around midday a few hours of blue twilight light up the snow, and the city glows with lamps and streetlights. In summer the reverse happens, and the midnight sun shines round the clock.
The climate is milder than the latitude suggests: the ice-free Norwegian Sea and westerly winds give Tromsø relatively mild, snowy winters for a city this far north. Pack proper winter boots and layers all the same, especially for evenings out of town.
For the photographic side of a northern-lights evening, explore Norway’s aurora landscapes. For a different Nordic city rhythm, browse Helsinki in winter.
Arctic history, the cathedral and the museums
In the 19th century visitors nicknamed Tromsø the “Paris of the North”, and it grew rich as a base for Arctic hunting and expeditions. Roald Amundsen recruited crews here, and in June 1928 he took off from Tromsø in a Latham flying boat to join the search for Umberto Nobile’s lost airship Italia. The plane disappeared without trace on 18 June.
- Arctic Cathedral (Ishavskatedralen): Jan Inge Hovig’s striking triangular church in Tromsdalen, consecrated in 1965. Its huge glass mosaic by Victor Sparre, The Return of Christ, was added in 1972.
- Polar Museum: housed in an 1837 wharf building on the waterfront, telling the story of trapping, sealing and polar expeditions.
- Polaria: an Arctic aquarium and experience centre opened in 1998, a short walk south of the centre.
- Mack and Ølhallen: the Mack brewery was founded in 1877, and its beer hall Ølhallen, open since 1928 and billed as Tromsø’s oldest pub, pours from 72 taps.
Winter activities and city life
Tromsø is a base for the full range of Arctic experiences. Visit Tromsø lists dog sledding, Sámi culture and reindeer trips, snowmobiling, skiing, snowshoeing and ski touring through the winter, plus whale watching from about early November to the end of January, when orcas and humpback whales follow the herring into the fjords north of Tromsø around Skjervøy and Kvænangen.
The city has a strong cultural life too. The University of Tromsø, opened in 1972, is often called the world’s northernmost university. In January the Tromsø International Film Festival and the Nordlys music festival fill the dark weeks, and the electronic duo Röyksopp grew up and started their careers here.
How to get to Tromsø
- By air: Tromsø Airport Langnes is about 5 km from the centre. SAS, Norwegian and Widerøe fly from Oslo in about 1 hour 50 minutes, and there are direct flights from several European cities.
- By sea: Hurtigruten and Havila coastal ships call twice daily on the Bergen–Kirkenes route, about 64 hours from Bergen.
- By rail and bus: Tromsø has no railway. The nearest stations are Narvik, linked to Kiruna and Stockholm in Sweden, and Fauske, linked to Trondheim and Oslo; buses continue to Tromsø.
Related reading
- Norway in Time-Lapse: The Landscapes of Rustad Media
- Jotunheimen, Norway: Mountain Country Beyond a Single Famous Ridge
- Preikestolen: Appreciating the View with Space Around You
- Ice Driving in Western Norway: Tracks Across a Frozen Surface
- Norefjell’s Electrical Flash: The Norwegian Caption Explained
- Trolltunga, Norway: The View and the Walk Behind It
- Split View Mountain Lodge: A Norwegian Home Shaped by Its Slope
- A Snowy Evening in Bergen, Photographed by Espen Haagensen
- Norway’s aurora landscapes
- Helsinki in winter
Sources
- Visit Tromsø: official visitor guide
- Visit Tromsø: Winter in Tromsø
- Visit Tromsø: Travel to Tromsø
- Fjellheisen cable car
- Tromsø (Wikipedia)
- Arctic Cathedral (Wikipedia)
- Visit Tromsø: Whale watching
- Mack: Ølhallen
- Svalbard Museum: Amundsen’s and Nobile’s airship voyages
- Photos: Yngve Blomsø, Tore Eriksen, Roslin Zuha, James Johns, Gerhard Zwerger-Schoner, Coffman, Bard Loken.
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