Tromsø, Norway: the Capital of the Arctic

Tromsø may be remote, located on a small island 344 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. But during the 19th century, visitors called it the Paris of the North. Finely dressed gentlemen strolled past grand townhouses. They owed their prosperity to the port, where merchant ships were loaded with fish, blubber and other wares.

Nowadays you're more likely to see people in Tromsø wearing waterproof outdoor jackets. Hikers and skiers use the city as a base for exploring the region and climbing the mountains on the nearby island of Senja or in the Lyngen Alps, which reach heights of over 1,800 metres. Kayakers come to paddle through the Sommarøy archipelago. And during the peak winter season, tourists from all over the world, in particular East Asia, come to Tromsø to see the Northern Lights and whales, and to glide through the snow on dog sleds.

What's Tromsø like outside of the winter season? It's a great destination for a city break - especially around mid-May, when the sun doesn't set and remains visible at night. Here are some recommendations for culture, gastronomy and outdoor activities:

Culture: Tromsø's museums showcase the city's Arctic heritage

The Polar Museum, located in a historic wooden house by Tromsø's harbour, may be rather stuffy and old-fashioned, but the photos, exhibits and anecdotes from Fridtjof Nansen's and Roald Amundsen's polar expeditions still fascinate to this day. The exhibition on the hunters who spent the winter on Svalbard and killed reindeer, seals, arctic foxes and polar bears spares no gory detail.

The Polaria Arctic Experience Centre, located in a building modelled on ice floes, is much more than a museum. At the end of 2023, the exhibition was updated in line with recent findings on climate change. Displays include the teeth of a Greenland shark and a thecosomata or sea butterfly, whose calcified shell dissolves in the increasingly acidic sea.

The panoramic cinema with a curved screen shows documentaries about the Northern Lights and the Svalbard archipelago. There is an open tank that's home to Northern species such as the spotted wolffish and halibut, while aquariums house starfish and translucent moon jellyfish. You can watch bearded seals and harbour seals as they hunt and pirouette through the green water. Feeding time is popular with the animals and visitors alike.

Gastronomy: Nordic beer and computer games for afters

Another landmark is Raketten Bar, the city's oldest kiosk located on Storgata, the main pedestrian street behind the harbour. Opened in 1911 by Margit Løkke, then 18, she sold newspapers, tobacco and fruit from the tiny pavilion for a quarter of a century.

The kiosk survived a fire that burned down dozens of surrounding houses, as Siri Therese Lier, 51, a former tour guide and current owner of the Raketten Bar, explains. Lier wants to keep the famous snack stand exactly as it used to look. In the winter she sells 350 hot dogs on some days, with customers waiting in line for up to an hour.

It's like the United Nations, Lier says. "People from all over the world come here and chat over food." Her bestseller is a reindeer and pork sausage, and there's also a vegan version.

If you're feeling peckish, you can head to the tiny restaurant Burgr for great hamburgers with names like Super Mario and Bowser. One of the walls is covered with Nintendo and Atari video game posters, and on the Commodore 64 computer next to it, you can play an old game with a joystick. It's pure video game nostalgia for generation X and Y (millennials) in the Arctic.

Tromsø is also home to some wonderful fish restaurants - you just have to be able to afford them. You can get a fish soup or fish and chips for a reasonable price at Dragøy, a restaurant inside Kystens Mathus, a modern addition to the Tromsø cityscape with a black facade. You can sit outside, directly at the water's edge.

And if you're looking for a caffeine fix after your meal, stroll over to Kaffebønna, the city's oldest espresso café on the main square, Stortorget. If you fancy it, you can order a cinnamon bun from the adjoining bakery. From the outdoor tables you have a view of the harbour, the curved Tromsø Bridge and the Arctic Cathedral on the other side of the water. With its glass facade and white tiered roof, it's one of the city's most recognisable landmarks.

You can also quench your thirst for beer. The Mack brewery, one of the northernmost in the world, was founded in 1877 by the German Ludwig Mack. At the Ølhallen pub next door, which features exposed brick walls and a vaulted wooden ceiling, historical photos on the walls and a stuffed polar bear, you can choose from 72 different beers. There are guided tours and brewing seminars which promise: "At the end of the course you'll know enough to be able to brew your own beer!"

Outdoors: Hiking, paddling and a floating spa

The best way to digest your meal and get a view of the city is to climb Tromsø's local mountain, Storsteinen. The 1,300 stone steps of the Sherpa trail take you to the mountain ledge, 421 metres above sea level. Alternatively, you can take the Fjellheisen cable car. Tromsø, the fjords and the mountain ranges on the horizon - you can see it all from the terrace of the mountain station.

Follow the winding hills up the meadow slope and it's a half-hour walk to the next summit. Fløya mountain offers even more stunning views. At the top you're likely to meet mountain bikers who come up here to wind down after work.

If you've worked up a sweat after your bike ride or hike, you might want to think twice about cooling off in Telegrafbukta (Telegraph Bay). Even in August, the warmest month of the year in Tromsø, the water in the popular bay in the southwest of the city never gets warmer than 10 degrees Celsius, and in May temperatures remain in the single digits.

But the view of the bay, which you can reach by taking bus 33 or walking three kilometres from the city centre, is always beautiful. The water is clear, shimmering in turquoise. Beyond the fjord are the mountains, which are covered in snow all year round. You see students playing beach volleyball; Tromsø is the northernmost university town in the world. Families barbecue in the wooded area next to it. A visit during the period of the midnight sun, when the sun doesn't set between the May 20 and July 22, is an extra special experience. Everyone is full of energy and in party mode, cycling, hiking and going on picnics until late into the night.

Or head out onto the fjord on the floating spa: On the former fishing boat "Vulkana" there is a sauna with a panorama window, a Turkish hammam with a cold pool and a wood-fired whirlpool on the deck. You can also book a midnight cruise that takes you through Tromsø's stunning fjords.