Tromso: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Tromsø lies on an island about three hundred and fifty kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. In the nineteenth century, visitors were so surprised by its fashion and its manners that they called it the Paris of the North, and it became the starting point of polar expeditions. From late November to mid-January the sun does not rise; from late May to late July it does not set. An hour and a half.

A short history of Tromso

A church stood on the island as early as the 13th century, but Tromsø received town status only in 1794. In the 19th century it was a port for seal hunters and a starting point for expeditions to the North Pole, which earned it the nickname "Gateway to the Arctic". In 1928 Roald Amundsen took off from here to search for Nobile's airship expedition, and never returned. In 1944 the German battleship Tirpitz was sunk near the city. In 1965 the triangular "Arctic Cathedral" was consecrated, and in 1968 it was decided to establish the university, the northernmost in the world.

The ten best sights in Tromso

1
Storgata
The main street of wooden houses
2
Tromsø Cathedral
One of the few wooden cathedrals in Norway, 1861
3
Polar Museum
Trappers, sealers and the great expeditions
4
Perspektivet Museum
The town’s history in an old merchant house
5
Polaria
An Arctic aquarium shaped like toppled ice floes
6
Tromsø Bridge
A kilometre across the strait to the mainland
7
Arctic Cathedral
A white triangle of 1965 with a great glass wall
8
Fjellheisen
A cable car to Storsteinen, 421 metres over the city
9
Tromsdalen
The valley behind the mainland suburb, for walks and skiing
10
Tromsø Museum
Sámi culture and the science of the northern lights

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Tours in Tromso →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Tromso:

Free walking tours in Tromso

The Paris of the North

Storgata · The main street keeps a row of painted wooden houses from the nineteenth century, when Tromsø grew rich on fishing, trapping and the Arctic trade. Many survived because the Germans did not burn the town in their retreat of 1944, as they burned the rest of northern Norway.
Polar Museum · In an old customs warehouse on the harbour, the museum of the trappers and sealers who wintered alone on Svalbard, and of the explorers. In 1928 Roald Amundsen flew from Tromsø to search for the lost airship of the Italian Nobile; his plane vanished over the Barents Sea and was never found.
Perspektivet Museum · A museum in an old merchant’s house that tells the story of the town and its people through photographs, including the Sámi, the Kven Finns and the Russians of the old Pomor trade, who came every summer from the White Sea to trade grain for fish.
Tromsø Cathedral · A wooden Gothic-revival cathedral of 1861, one of the few wooden cathedrals in Norway and the northernmost Protestant cathedral in the world. Its pale painted wood glows in the blue light of the polar night.
Ølhallen · The Mack brewery was founded in 1877 and for many years claimed to be the northernmost brewery in the world; its beer hall, opened in 1928, was where the polar trappers drank when they came back to town. It still has its old tiled walls and dozens of taps.
Polaria · An Arctic aquarium in a building shaped like ice floes toppled against each other, with bearded seals that are fed and trained in front of visitors, and a film about Svalbard.

Across the bridge to the cathedral and the mountain

Across the long bridge on the mainland stand the Arctic Cathedral and the cable car up the mountain, and from the top the whole island city spreads in the fjord. In winter this is one of the best places to watch the northern lights from the city. Half a day; the bridge is long and windy on foot.

Tromsø Bridge · A cantilever bridge about a kilometre long, opened in 1960, which joins the island city to the mainland and rises high enough for ships to pass under. Walking across it gives a view up and down the sound.
Arctic Cathedral · Built in 1965 by Jan Inge Hovig, a church of eleven white triangles stepping down like the slabs of an ice floe or the shape of a Sámi tent. Its east wall is one of the largest glass mosaics in Europe, of Christ returning in light. Midnight-sun concerts are held here in summer.
Fjellheisen · The cable car climbs in a few minutes to Storsteinen, four hundred and twenty-one metres up, where a terrace looks over the whole island, the bridge and the snow peaks around. In summer you see the midnight sun circle without setting.
Tromsdalen · The valley behind the mainland suburb leads into the mountains, with trails to the summit of Tromsdalstinden, the sacred mountain of the Sámi, and ski tracks in winter.
Tromsø Museum · Back on the island, the university museum shows the life of the Sámi, the reindeer-herding people of the north, and explains the northern lights: particles from the sun caught by the earth’s magnetic field and glowing in the upper air, strongest in a ring around the pole on which Tromsø lies.
Telegrafbukta · A small beach and park at the southern tip of the island, where the town swims on the few warm days of summer and comes on winter nights to watch the auroras over the water.

Fjords, whales and the northern lights

West of Tromsø the big island of Kvaløya and the islands beyond reach out to the open ocean, with fjords under steep peaks and white beaches; east are husky and reindeer camps and the Lyngen Alps. In winter the classic night is an aurora drive away from the city lights. A full day or a night, with a car or a tour.

Prestvannet · A lake on the plateau at the top of the island, dark enough on clear winter nights to see the northern lights without leaving town. The auroras are best from September to March, from about six in the evening to two at night.
Ersfjordbotn · A narrow fjord between steep peaks on Kvaløya, half an hour from town, with a small beach at its head. On winter nights the auroras dance over the mountains and are reflected in the still water.
Sommarøy · A fishing village on small islands at the edge of the ocean, with white sand beaches and turquoise water that look tropical in photographs and are very cold. In 2019 the village made headlines worldwide by proposing to become a time-free zone, since clocks mean little under the midnight sun; it was a tourism campaign.
Skulsfjord · In winter, from about November to January, great shoals of herring come into the fjords north of Tromsø, and killer whales and humpback whales follow them close to shore. Whale-watching boats leave from Tromsø and the fjords of the north.
Villmarkssenter · A husky centre on Kvaløya with hundreds of Alaskan huskies, where visitors drive or ride sleds through the snow in winter and walk the dogs in summer.
Tromsø Lapland · East of town, a camp of Sámi reindeer herders, where visitors feed the reindeer, ride in a sled behind them and sit in a lavvu tent by the fire to hear joik, the traditional Sámi song.

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Getting to Tromso and getting around

Tromsø Airport · Ten minutes from the centre; flights from Oslo and direct from Europe in winter

Cheap eats in Tromso

Arctic Norway eats from the sea and the tundra: fresh cod in winter, when the great shoals come to spawn, often as mølje — boiled cod with its liver and roe; stockfish, cod dried on wooden racks in the wind; king crab; and reindeer, smoked, dried or in the Sámi stew bidos. Prices are high, as everywhere in Norway; a fish soup at a harbour café is the cheaper meal.

Ølhallen · Mack beer from many taps
Storgata · Fish soup and reindeer stew
Polaria · King crab and cod at the harbour
Tromsø Lapland · Bidos, the Sámi reindeer stew, in the tent
Sommarøy · Fresh fish at the edge of the ocean

Museums in Tromso

Tromsø’s museums tell the story of the Arctic: the trappers and explorers, the Sámi, the science of the auroras and the life of the polar seas.

Polar Museum · Trappers and Amundsen
Tromsø Museum · The Sámi and the northern lights
Perspektivet Museum · The town in photographs
Polaria · The Arctic aquarium

Nature and day trips near Tromso

Around Tromsø are fjords and steep peaks, white beaches on the ocean, whales in winter and the northern lights overhead from September to March. In summer the sun does not set for two months.

Ersfjordbotn · Aurora watching by the fjord
Skulsfjord · Whales in winter
Sommarøy · White beaches under the midnight sun
Lyngseidet · The Lyngen Alps
Botanic Garden · Arctic and alpine plants

Things to do in Tromso with kids

With children: husky sleds, reindeer, seals in the aquarium and a cable car up the mountain.

Villmarkssenter · Husky puppies and sleds
Polaria · Seal feeding time
Tromsø Lapland · Feed the reindeer
Fjellheisen · The cable car

Holy places in Tromso

Tromsø has two famous churches, a wooden cathedral in the town and a modern one of white triangles across the water; the Sámi held their own mountains sacred.

Arctic Cathedral · Midnight sun concerts
Tromsø Cathedral · The wooden cathedral
Tromsdalen · The Sámi’s sacred mountain

Nightlife in Tromso

Tromsø is a student town with a lively night for its size: pubs and bars along Storgata, the old beer hall, and on winter nights the aurora chase.

Ølhallen · The old beer hall
Storgata · Bars along the main street
Prestvannet · Northern lights from town

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Frequently asked questions about Tromso

What is there to see in Tromso?

The top sights in Tromso are Storgata, Tromsø Cathedral and Polar Museum. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Tromso?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Tromso without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Tromso?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Tromso, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The Paris of the North.

How do you get to Tromso and get around?

The main ways are Tromsø Airport. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Tromso, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Tromso that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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