2 days in Tromsø

Day by day

1. Day 1: Arctic Cathedral and Fjellheisen cable car

   Arctic Cathedral, Fjellheisen cable car, Sherpa steps and Dog sledding, then Northern lights tours in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Arctic Cathedral

      Its east wall is filled with one of the largest glass mosaics in Europe, and the church hosts midnight-sun concerts in summer and northern lights concerts in winter.

   2. Late morning

      Fjellheisen cable car

      On clear winter evenings the aurora can sometimes be seen from the top, and in summer it is a popular spot to watch the midnight sun.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Arctic char

      Restaurants serving Arctic cuisine along the harbour and Storgata.

   4. Afternoon

      Sherpa steps

      It is a steep but well-made climb of about an hour, usually free of snow and ice only from early summer to autumn.

   5. Late afternoon

      Dog sledding

      Many also offer night trips under the aurora, and in summer some farms offer kennel visits and cart rides.

   6. Evening

      Northern lights tours

      Book on your first night, so a cloudy night leaves room to try again, and choose an operator that offers a retry if you see nothing.

2. Day 2: Polaria and Polar Museum

   Polaria, Polar Museum, Tromsø Cathedral and Reindeer and Sami culture visits, then Midnight sun in the evening.

   1. Morning

      Polaria

      Inside are aquariums of Arctic fish, a panoramic film about the Arctic and Svalbard, exhibits on climate and sea ice, and bearded and harbour seals with daily feeding and training sessions.

   2. Late morning

      Polar Museum

      In an 1830s customs warehouse on the harbour at Skansen, the Polar Museum tells the story of Arctic trapping, sealing and hunting on Svalbard and of the polar expeditions that set out from Tromsø, including those of Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen.

   3. Lunch

      Lunch: Skrei and mølje

      Seafood restaurants in the centre during the winter skrei season.

   4. Afternoon

      Tromsø Cathedral

      The yellow-painted church and its square sit right on Storgata.

   5. Late afternoon

      Reindeer and Sami culture visits

      Sami-run reindeer camps near the city offer reindeer feeding, short reindeer-sled rides and evenings in a lavvu tent around a fire, with joik singing, stories about herding life and often a meal of bidos, the traditional reindeer stew.

   6. Evening

      Midnight sun

      Take the cable car or climb the Sherpa steps around midnight for the sun circling low over the islands.

Before you go

• Northern lights tours: Popular small-group tours fill up in the peak months of December to March; book a few days ahead.
• Dog sledding: Book well ahead for December to March, when trips sell out.

Where to stay for this itinerary

Pace and daylight

The sights in this plan add up to roughly 21–31 hours of visiting over 2 days, before meals and getting between them. Daylight runs from about 0 hours in January to 24 hours in June, so in winter start early and keep museums for the afternoon.

Getting between stops: Walking. Storgata, the harbour, Polaria and the Polar Museum are within 10 minutes of each other; walking over the bridge to the Arctic Cathedral takes about 20–25 minutes.

More or fewer days

• One day in Tromsø
• 3 days in Tromsø
• 5 days in Tromsø

Questions travellers ask