Tromso Norway - Northern Lights & Midnight Sun

Photo: Bard Loken/Innovation Norway

Photo: Bard Loken/Innovation Norway

Photo: Terje Rakke/Nordic Life/Innovation Norway

Photo: Frank Andreassen

Photo: Bard Loken/Destinasjon Tromso

Photo: CH/Innovation Norway

Photo: Terje Rakk, Nordic Life/Innovation Norway

Photo: Frithjof Fure/Innovation Norway

Photo: CH/Innovation Norway

Tromso is the largest city in the Nordic countries north of the Arctic Circle, and is home to the world’s northernmost University, brewery and cathedral. The city lives on education, research, administration, fishing exports and satellite technology.

Tromso has a population of more than 76,000, and covers an area of 2,516 square kilometres. Approximately 70,000 people live in the city, whilst the remainder are scattered throughout the municipality.

The population has Norwegian, Sami and Finnish origins.

Attractions
The city centre of Tromso is the largest wooden city north of Trondheim.

Polaria
Polaria has an arctic aquarium where the main attractions are the bearded seals. In large fish tanks you will find the most common species of fish in the Barents Sea and around Svalbard, and in a panoramic film you can follow the little auk flying across the Spitsbergen Archipelago.

The Arctic Cathedral
The Arctic Cathedral, built in 1965, is the city’s most recognizable landmark. This distinctive structure was inspired by Northern Norway's landscapes, and features an original glass mosaic. In summer, the cathedral’s Midnight Sun Concerts are an excellent prelude to viewing the midnight sun.

Fjellheisen Cable Car
The cable car up Storsteinen Mountain, 420 metres above sea level, offers breathtaking panoramic views over the city, the surrounding waterways and mountains, and, if you are lucky, of the midnight sun or the northern lights.

The Botanical Gardens
The world’s northernmost botanical gardens contain Arctic and Alpine plants from all corners of the globe, many of them too heat sensitive to grow in any other botanical garden. Blue poppies from the Himalayas, lewisias from the Rockies, local primroses and a tasty selection of traditional medicinal plants are among the highlights.

History, art and heritage: Tromso's museums
The University Museum of Tromso shows the depth of North Norwegian nature and culture, focusing on the indigenous Sami culture, as well as archaeology, religious arts, geology and the northern lights, all in a family-friendly manner.

Tromso’s history of daring explorers and tough arctic explorers is told at the Polar Museum, housed in a traditional wharf house from 1830 amid some of Tromso’s oldest buildings.

Seasons and climate
In spite of the location far north, Tromso enjoys a moderate oceanic climate.

Summer weather ranges from 5 degrees Celsius and rain to 28 degrees Celsius and fantastic swimming conditions for the undaunted.

Winter in Tromso is not especially cold; the average January temperature is minus 4 degrees Celsius. There is often a lot of snow, and the relatively mild winter is perfect for outdoor activities.

Polar nights & Northern Lights
Between 21 November and 21 January, the sun disappears below the horizon and you experience the polar nights. It is not completely dark during the middle of the day, and the light and colour of the sky can be really amazing when the weather is favourable. From appr mid October through March the spectacular Northern Lights may appear on clear days & nights.

WHAT are the Northern Lights?
Nothing else in the sky looks like the Northern Lights! While the sun, the moon and the stars are visible from everywhere and natural parts of our everyday life, the Northern Lights can only be seen in certain areas. They vary in color and intensity and as opposed to the moon, sun and stars they are unpredictable and unique. The Northern Lights in Norway are called the night-time Aurora because they are on the night-side of the earth. The Northern Lights - nature's own light show - are solar winds that meet the atmosphere in a zone around the magnetic North Pole, forming arches, waves and curls of light moving across the sky, with sudden rays of light shooting down from space.

WHERE are the Northern Lights visible?
In the Northern parts of Norway - the coastal areas from Troms and Finnmark -  the Northern lights appear with a maximum of frequency. The lights are best seen in rural areas where the sky is dark and not blurred by the city lights.
The Arctic city of Tromso is an ideal starting point.

WHEN are the Northern Lights visible?
The Northern Lights / aurora borealis activity takes place all year in all types of weather. However, to actually see the lights, the weather has to be dark and clear. The best chances of seeing the Northern Lights are between November and April, when there is limited amount of daylight. The display usually begins in the late afternoon or in the evening and continues with varying intensity into the night.

Read more about the Northern Lights here (external link)

Northern Lights tours to Tromso:

Tromso Winter Adventure
3 nights in Tromso, with adventurous Northern Lights evening trips, dog sledding & Arctic gourmet lunch. Add exciting activities at your choice, like snowmobile safari and reindeer sledding.

Northern Lights Safari
Starting & finishing in Oslo, with 3 nights in Tromso, adventurous Northern Lights evening trips, dog sledding & Arctic gourmet lunch. Add exciting activities at your choice, like snowmobile safari and reindeer sledding.

Ice hotel, Northern Lights & Tromso
Starting & finishing in Oslo, with 2 nights in Kirkenes and 2 nights in Tromso. Overnight stay at Kirkenes Snowhotel, Northern lights trips with dog sledding and reindeer sledding and an Arctic gourmet dinner.

Northern Lights cruise packages
We offer you a selection of adventurous Northern Lights cruise packages including Tromso, with dog sledding, North Cape excursion, snowmobile safari & overnight stay in a snow hotel.
 
View all of our Northern Lights tours

Tromso & the Midnight Sun

Tromso is located north of the Arctic circle, with the midnight sun period from mid May to late July. We offer you a selection of Midnight sun tours to Tromso:

Arctic Fjords & Coastal Highlights
7 nights round trip starting in Oslo, with flight to Tromso & an unforgettable Arctic gourmet dinner, then a 4 nights amazing Hurtigruten cruise to Bergen, with the Trollfjord, the Lofoten Islands & the Helgeland coast. Norway in a nutshell combination trip from Bergen to Oslo, with the Naeroyfjord and Flam railway.

Tromso, Midnight Sun & the Fjords
7 nights round trip from Oslo, offering you Arctic highlights along with the beautiful Western fjords. Starting in Oslo, then 2 nights in Tromso with an exceptional Arctic gourmet dinner, then flight to Bergen, cruises on the Sognefjord, 1 night in the beautiful fjord village of Balestrand & the Flam Railway.

Midnight sun break Tromso
A short holiday break starting and finishing in Oslo, with 2 nights in the arctic town of Tromso. Experience the spectacular nature of Northern Norway on a Midnight sun experience by RIB boat, and a scenic hike with the huskies from Tromso wilderness centre.

View all of our Arctic adventures & Midnight Sun tours