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Municipality in Troms, Norway
Photo: User: (WT-shared) Osopolar at wts wikivoyage, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Tromsø (Northern Sámi: Romsa, Kven and Finnish: Tromssa) is a city of around 78,000 people (2023) in the very northernmost part of Norway. It is almost 350 km north of the Arctic Circle and is one of the best places to view the spectacular Northern Lights in winter. Tromsø is a surprise to most visitors: Here you find art, history, sophistication, good food and infamous nightlife in a bustling, tiny city. All of it, though, is surrounded by spectacular scenery that is visible from everywhere in town.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Arctic cathedral
The city's most photographed building. The striking 1965 structure contains one of the biggest stained-glass windows in Northern Europe, and enjoys a fantastic location on the mainland, just opposite the city centre. Despite being commonly referred to as a cathedral, it is a parish church and is not the seat of a bishop.
Tromsø Domkirka
The world's northernmost Protestant cathedral, built in 1861. With 800 seats, it's one of Norway's major wooden churches.
Vår Frue Kirke
This tiny church is the seat of the world's northernmost Catholic bishop, and also dates from 1861.
Elverhøy kirke
Dating back to 1803, it's the oldest church in town. It was built in the city centre, but was moved to a residential area on top of the island.
Totus Tuus
The world's northernmost Carmelite nunnery. The nuns have recorded several CDs, and any mass in their chapel is a musical experience.
University Museum
A rather large museum with a number of different exhibits on the North. Look out for their Sami exhibits, the Archaeological Exhibit, Religious art and Northern Lights machine. Avoid Sundays, as weekend daddies let their little monsters run screaming through the exhibits.
Polarmuseet i Tromsø
The museum is housed in an old warehouse from 1830 and displays Arctic hunting from Tromsø and expeditions to the Arctic. A guidebook is provided for English and other languages, though many of the displays are in Norwegian, so you'll need a translation app to read them such as Google Translate.
A preserved seal hunting vessel, right next door to Polaria. Combined entry with Polarmuseet, Tromsø University Museum or Polaria available.
Has temporary exhibits on the North. Their location in an 1838 building in the main street is superb, and there is free admission.
Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum
Has art from Northern Norway from 1800 onwards, and Norwegian art in general. Look out for their temporary exhibits.
Tromsø Kunstforening
Has temporary exhibits of contemporary art.
Tromsø Forsvarsmuseum
It's in a wartime German bunker, and focuses on the sinking of the "Tirpitz" in 1944. It's open in summer only, because of the temperature.
Tromsø SeaTroll
The museum which opened in 2021 features Norwegian folklore traditions. A trip to the troll museum, which claims to be the only one of its kind in Norway, lets the audience view folklore from Norway with augmented reality tablets.
Macks Ølbryggeri
Offers guided tours of the brewery. Claims to be the world's northmost brewery, but Svalbard Bryggeri in Longyearbyen is further north. Established in the city centre in 1877, the brewery is still owned by the same family. Monday to Thursday, they offer guided tours at 13:00 if there are at least four visitors. So you risk coming there for your tour, and not getting it. This brewery is looking for an alternative place to set up a new factory, seemingly in Nordkjosbotn (Balsfjord municipality), 70 km (45 mi) to the south. But the city council is striving to keep the brewery in or near Tromsø, insisting on their ties with another famous place in Tromsø, Ølhallen — see below: Drink – Bars and pubs. The debate and the population's relationship with Mack is getting so passionate that some threaten to boycott the brewery’s products if they leave the city.
Arktisk-alpin botanisk hage
The world's northernmost botanic garden. Although not a particularly big garden, it has some interesting features:
Fjellheisen
On Mount Storsteinen. Offers a fantastic view from 421 metres above sea level. In summer, make sure you go up there at midnight. The view from the top is amazing in winter also. You can walk (less than 1h one way).
The city's ski station. It's not the best ski station in the world, but is more than steep enough for most people.
Operates mountain refuges in the mountains on the mainland side, from North to South Trollvassbu, Nonsby, Blåkollkoia and Skarvassbu. Non-members can stay here from kr 200/night. You just leave the sum there, and make use of woodfire and gas for cooking. Bring a sleeping bag.
Dog sled tours, glacier walks, kayaking expeditions and hunting. Your best bet if you are looking for more adventurous options.
Northern Lights chases with professional photographer and aurora hunter. The only company that provides personalized all-inclusive Northern Lights holiday packages including accommodation, airport transfer, dog-sledding, reindeer sledding, snowmobiling, fjords excursion, whale watching and ice fishing.
Northern Lights tours with a campfire dinner with MREs, roasting sausages and marshmallows. Depending on the conditions you may go over the border into Finland.
In winter, dog sledding, reindeer sledding and snowmobiling, along with Northern Lights visits are available at this dark location in a dry climate, good for Northern Lights watching. In summer, the adventurous can join glacier walks, mountain hikes, mountain biking and canoeing.
Reindeer sledding and Northern Lights visits. Their location to the north of the city lights means they are a good place to watch the Northern Lights.
Dog-sledding, hiking and sea kayaking. In winter, they run a smooth operation with two daily dog sleddings, in the morning and in the evening. They are a 25-minute drive from the city.
The best burgers in town with their infamous fried potato skins. Don't ask for a Diet Coke with it, it makes little difference.
Has fish casseroles and other local specialities.
has good deep-pan American pizza. Taco-pizza is unknown in Mexico, but is a normal pizza with shredded Chinese cabbage and a mustard dressing. You love it, or you loathe it.
Part of an international chain; the lunch specials are cheap.
Offers great food in a nice atmosphere, and has discounts for members of the student society.
It has thin, Italian pizzas.
has a lot of local fish specialities, as well as a humorous menu. Before Christmas, their lutefisk buffet is heaven for some, and hell for others.
It has excellent fresh fish, and a menu of modern Norwegian cuisine. Seafood is considered an aphrodisiac, and after their delicious seafood platters, you're ready for anything.
In a 1820s wharf house. Has thick steaks, but also specialises in goat meat. The waiters are humorous and professional.
Situated in a merchant's home from the 1830s. Doubles as a nightclub in the weekends after 22:00.
A fantastic restaurant that has got excellent reviews in the Oslo press. A main course is around 280 kr (Feb 2022), but compared to what you get and the standard of service, it's not that much. The restaurant is housed near the Tromsø Cathedral, in the house a red storefront. Look out for their excellently matched 5-course menus. The lunch menu isn't bad either, and comparatively cheap.
Cous
Restaurant and delivery kitchen. Italian menu.
Egon Jekta
Egon is a restaurant with vintage interior, with visible wood pillars and small nooks around the restaurant.
The place for burgers, lots of international beer, rock'n'roll and concerts. A piercing in your ear (or somewhere else) will make you fit in.
The Student House. An ambitious concert programme, quiz nights, karaoke nights. Excellent place for the 18–30 years old. The number of visitors varies drastically depending on the occasion. The bartenders are all student volunteers, and the kitchen serves burgers, sweet potato fries, and pizza.
It serves no alcohol, but serves up smart coffee, Italian ice cream, pain au chocolat and plenty of sandwiches. Minimalist décor and cool staff (occasionally too cool).
At the northern end of the city centre, is tiny, but manages to offer lunch specials, coffees and a sophisticated wine selection. Loud and full in the evening, so keep your stomach in!
Housed in the annex of the oldest house in town. In summer, they serve fantastic shells and other lunch specials, along with good wine and coffee. In winter, they close, though.
Another long-timer. Serves good food, including loads of fish (an welcome respite from the feta cheese and olive fare of the other cafés), and loads of beer way into the night in a 1920s margarine factory. The crowd is grown-up and well-heeled, but just as loud as the rest.
at the upper end of the Main Square is another example of the Tromsø receipt: A good lunch menu (with realatively good prices), coffee specialities and a cool bar in the evening.
For the 20- or 30-somethings, usually well-dressed. Their sheltered outdoor terrace with winter heating circumvents the smoking ban. Have some pasta with the after-office crowd, or taste some wine in the evening.
A friendly, sophisticated, ultra-modern place in the 1916 cinema "Verdensteatret", the oldest functioning cinema in Northern Europe. The sandwiches are good, but the main reason to come here is to hang about for a glass of wine and endless conversation. Thursday night has cheap drinks, with a Mack Pilsner for 55 kr. Friday and Saturday night, the place turns into a cool, crowded hangout. Mixed crowd, mixed ages.
serves tapas made of seal and other arctic foodstuffs. Nice way to try it out. Rather stylish hang-out in the week-end
In a cellar next to the Nerstranda shopping centre and offering one or two live concerts each week, a jam session every other Tuesday and showing English, Norwegian and European football. Bastard has a collection of international beers as well as Tromsø's own Mack.
A football place, and can be a fun pub for the not overdressed during week-ends; has a billiards table.
The Beer Hall
Both well-known and much cherished by the population, undoubtedly linked to the Mack beer.
Tromsø Railway Station
This bar established itself early as the cool place because of its complete railway thematic décor - especially since there is no train that comes to Tromsø. There are waiters in conductor uniforms and departures to places like Murmansk and Kautokeino are announced regularly through the speaker system.
Vastly popular with the 25–40 crowd, with lots of 1980s music. This is the place to get back in circulation after the divorce or break-up.
In the Scandic Grand Hotel. Caters for the more mature audience, and combines style and informality. Their heated smoking terrace with a view might tempt you to pick up the habit.
It has cabins from simple shacks to two-bedroom bungalows.
A few minute's walk up the hill from the main street offers tidy, spotless rooms with private or shared facilities. The east-facing rooms have a fantastic view.
A substantial step up, with rooms on the small side, but always private facilities. Excellent, central location.
Quaint hostel with shared dorm beds and facilities. Very close to the bridge to the mainland.
It doesn't look much from the outside, but has good-size well-equipped rooms.
Small, friendly and smart, and a favourite for many business people.
A hotel somewhere in between a hostel and a three-star hotel. Free Wi-Fi.
The oldest in town, but has been completely renovated. Some of the rooms are huge.
Spotlessly refurbished, with a friendly ambience.
Close to the city centre. Quality rooms with breakfast and wireless Internet included.
has the ambience of a small, continental city hotel, and has been renovated with lovely rooms. The breakfast room and the reception look more like a guest house, and the exterior is modest.
Decidedly smaller, with modern, stylish rooms, a restaurant, a lobby bar and an outdoor hot tub to kill for
Another full service hotel (bar, restaurant) with a lovely view from the rooms. Their "Skipsbroen bar" is a good place to wait for the Midnight Sun or the odd glimpse of the Northern Lights (the more you drink, the better the chances).
4 km out of the city centre, near the airport and the biggest shopping centre in town, has good-size rooms with a fantastic view, as well as a restaurant. If you drive your own car (free parking!), frequent week-end and summer offers can be a (relative) bargain
Steen & Strøm
Allows shopping until 20:00 at night.
The biggest shopping mall in Northern Norway.
Grocery store which offers a wide range of items. Cheese and Meat displays/booths as well. Parking space for customers. Staffed and Self-Service checkouts.
The world's northernmost glass factory makes original glass objects. They also ship.
The place to look for paintings and sculptures from Northern Norway.
Souvenir shop, offers glitzy kitsch with a wink. Great fun, and the place to look for a gift for the person that looks after your cat.
Part of a national chain of craft shops. The quality is high, and so are the prices.
The best place in town to look for books on Norwegian themes. Most books are in Norwegian, though.
By plane
Budget-conscious travellers should have the lower summer fares in mind, usually available in July/August.
By train
There is no train all the way to Tromsø. Take a bus from the railheads in Fauske, Narvik and Rovaniemi. Check the timetable.
By car
The roads up to Tromsø are in good condition, but it is a long drive from Southern Scandinavia. When in Tromsø, renting a car is an option.
By bus
There is one daily bus from Alta. There are three daily buses from Narvik. They might combine with the train from Sweden and buses from Fauske (Bodø, with train from Trondheim).
By boat
The legendary Hurtigruten ships stop in Tromsø. The northbound ships arrive daily at 14:30 and continues at 18:30 to Skjervøy, Hammerfest, the North Cape and Kirkenes.
By bus
Buses are plentiful, very reliable and generally run until midnight; some lines also operate around the clock for trips to/from the airport and on weekends.
By taxi
There are plenty of taxis all over town, however, you will probably have to wait in line if you plan on taking a taxi home after a long night out.
By train
There is no train, although there is a pub called Jernbanen (the train station), 3.48 metres above sea level. The project planned in 1872 has never been built.
By ferry
Note: Where the places above are not islands (øy in Norwegian bokmål and nynorsk, singular indefinite form, suolu in Northern Sámi) by themselves, the name of their island is given in brackets.g.
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