Tromsø, is located on the west coast of north Norway, 400 km north of the Arctic circle. Most of the city and the vibrant city centre is located on the island of Tromsøya. The beautifully arched Tromsø bridge connects the city to the mainland.
Surrounding the city are snow capped mountains and beautiful fjords.
Tromsø climate is very mild compared to other places so far north, this is due to the warming effect of the gulf stream.

Introduction to the city

We visited in November and the temperature didn’t drop below -2°C. Compared to when we visited Finland 100 km further south, temperatures averaged between -20/-30°C.
There’s plenty to do in and around the city. As its situated so far north, the northern lights can easily be seen, so tour operators are plenty.
Bars and restaurants are in abundance, but Norway is quite pricey. Every place we ate in the food was incredible.
Tromsø airport is 15 mins away from the city centre, due to the vast tunnels that run under the island. (and yes there’s roundabouts under there too!)
We stayed at Clarion the edge hotel, situated on the waters edge, with views looking over to the main land.

Things to do in the city include, a museum, Polaria, which is a mini aquarium and a botanical gardens. The city is worth just having a walk around and looking at all the beautiful buildings. As Tromsø is so far north, the daylight hours in the winter is short. So in November the sunrise was approx 08:30 and sunset approx 13:00!
By the end of November to mid January the sun never rises, so the days have a dusky feel.
The opposite in the summer though, as between mid May to end of July the sun never sets!

Northern Light hunt

The 2nd night we had planned an Aurora hunt. So after being picked up in mini bus, 5 off us headed out in search of the Northern lights. Eventually the guides found a spot. We waited once we got set up with tripods and instructions on what settings to use on our cameras. Huddled around a fire and toasting hot dogs they showed themselves. Not to complain, but we had seen the Lights in Finland before, and then they were quite concentrated. So then the green was visible to the eye. Here the Lights were spread out so all you could see was grey patterns in the sky.
The camera can pick up more colours than you can see, so that’s why photos look so great. The guide took these next photos (her camera was much better than mine)

Still it was a good night out, we sleepily returned to our hotel at 2 am! and finally fell into bed.

Fjellheisen cable car

The following day we were going to head up the cable car on the main land. So after walking through the city we arrived at the Tromsø bridge. This is the only car and pedestrian bridge across to the main land. It has wonderful views back to the city and ahead a great view of the stunning Arctic Cathedral.

Crossing the bridge was freezing, the wind was so cold, but rewarding with the views.
On the other side we headed to Fjellheisen the cable car, which ascends 420m up Mount Storsteinen. It runs all year and boasts views across the neighbouring mountains and fjords, it didn’t disappoint.

There’s a few hikes you can do up the top depending on the weather, but in the winter it’s pretty chilly. There’s also a nice cafe overlooking the city. It’s open all day for meals or snacks or just a hot drink after being in the cold.

Whale Watching

Next adventure was Whale watching, there are loads of companies running from Tromsø. We picked one that departed close to our hotel, and what a day we were to have. The large boat took us out through the fjords for about 2 hours. The trip itself was amazing just watching the stunning scenery go by.

The water was nice and calm, plenty of space inside should you want to stay there. But we braved the -8°C chill outside and watched the world go by.

After the 2 hours we came across a pod of Humpback Whales. We had to watch these feeding in the distance. Every now and then plumes of water from their blowholes shot into the air and occasionally tails were spotted.

On the other side of the boat appeared a pod of Orcas. They were so beautiful with their black and white bodies dipping in and out of the water.

After about an hour of watching these magnificent animals we headed back to the city. With the sun setting behind the mountains we reflected on how lucky we were to see both types of Whales swimming near each other.

Dining

Tromsø has its own brew pub, the Øhallen brewpub, which supplies Macks beer and cider, and other locally brewed beers. It’s really worth a visit.
There is an assortment of different types of restaurants from steak houses, Italians, fine dining to coffee shops. Everywhere we ate the food was so good. The prices are quite expensive but the food made up for it.

Trip into the middle of the island

The following day we decided to walk to the middle of the island. It was quite steep going up the hill, especially the higher we climbed. The higher we went there was more snow was on the ground. Finally we reached the top and it was mostly a large wooded area, with signposts for different tracks to take. The snow was quite thick up there and it looked so pretty. In the centre was a large lake that had frozen over, and as it was a Saturday families were everywhere. Men scraping the snow off the ice so the kids could skate on it. It was such a lovely sight.

We spent a week in this incredible city, and there were still so many other excursions we wanted to do. The locals were so friendly and helpful, we definitely will visit this Northerly city again.