//
Photo: Dmitrii Rusanov, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
The Russian settlement of Barentsburg is accessible from Longyearbyen by boat. Organised tours are available. Accommodation and meals can be found at the Hotel Barentsburg, for prices somewhat lower than you would find in Longyearbyen.
Barentsburg is the second-largest settlement in Svalbard, Norway, with about 300 inhabitants (2025). A coal mining town, the settlement is now almost entirely made up of Russian nationals.
© OpenStreetMap contributors
Permanent exhibitions of Kåre Tveter, lithographies from the Recherche expeditions and a 'Svalbard collection' with maps, books and local currency. The adjoining café, shop and artists' workshops are free to visit.
This museum features many displays about the human history of the archipelago, especially whaling and mining, as well as various exhibits about arctic flora and fauna.
Svalbard Kirke
The world's northernmost church. Always open, and has coffee and cookies for the visitors. Also sells postcards, books, etc., – just leave the money in a bowl.
Not big, but it does 24 hours a day in the summer.
Spitsbergen Airship Museum
Displays materials and ephemera from the era of polar exploration using dirigibles and other aircraft, mainly by Norwegians, Italians and American explorers.
Across the Isfjorden (2-3 hours by boat). Scenic glacier across the bay, colored a striking blue. Drop a cube in your glass for an Arctic martini. Often combined with cruises to Barentsburg.