What's up guys, we're here in Tromsø. In this video, we're going to show you the
best things to do in and around the city. It's a beautiful city tucked in the Arctic
wilderness and surrounded by steep mountains and beautiful fjords. So I hope you enjoy this video!
We are Zac and Ine, full-time digital nomads from the United States and Belgium.
We met while studying abroad in 2018 and have been traveling the world together ever since.
We're here to inspire your next adventure, whether it's hiking in the Canadian Rockies,
a road trip through the US, or backpacking across Africa. On our channel, you'll find
unfiltered videos of hiking guides and the best things to do in destinations around the world.
The city of tromsø is located in Northern Norway above the Arctic Circle.
With over 75,000 inhabitants, it's the biggest city in Northern Norway and is often referred to
as the Arctic's Capital. It's a year-round travel destination thanks to its young,
vibrant city center and many cultural events. And while the summer season provides more nature-based
activities such as hiking in the surrounding mountains and boating in the beautiful fjords,
the winter season offers dog sledding, skiing, snowshoeing, and the Northern Light experiences.
We visited Tromsø during the summer and in this video we show our favorite things to do,
which can be done in both the summer and the winter. At the end of this video,
we'll also shortly highlight winter-only activities. So let's dive in!
To get a lay of the land, we recommend walking around the harbor and city center
first. The Tromsø city center is relatively compact and you can easily walk across it in
around 30 minutes. The main pedestrian street is packed with cafés, restaurants, and shops.
Here, you can pick up some souvenirs and local handicrafts. The harbour side has many cozy wooden
houses and is the gateway to the fjords, with many fishing boats and local tour boats docked here.
You can also decide to go on a guided city walk, during which you'll visit Tromsø's most iconic
places, statues, and historical buildings. Find a link for that in the description below.
The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø is a true icon of Northern Norway. There are regular church
services here and midnight sun concerts aimed at tourists during the summer. Another church is
located downtown, known as the Tromsø Cathedral, and is a wooden building surrounded by parkland.
The Mack Brewery claims to be the northernmost brewery in the world.
Although there is also debate about the Svalbard brewery taking that spot in recent years. It was
founded in 1877 and grew to be what is today one of the largest breweries in all of Norway.
And although the main production is not in Tromsø anymore, you can visit Mack's historical sites.
These include the beer shop, the pub where you can do beer tasting, and the Mack microbrewery.
When you're visiting Tromsø during the summer, you should definitely venture into its surrounding
nature and mountains. The small fishing islands of Sommarøy are only an hour drive from here,
while Kvaløya can be reached within 15 minutes. When driving through these islands,
you'll be rewarded with breathtaking views of the immense mountains, the crystal clear waters,
and white sand beaches. There are tons of hiking trails and water activities to enjoy here.
It's definitely easiest to rent a car to get here and you can find the best car rental deals via the
link in the description below. Our favorite hike in the Kvaløya area was Brosmetinden, which was
about four kilometers with 240 meters of elevation gain and took us one and a half hours total.
So about halfway up the hike now we came across a herd of about 30 reindeer,
which is pretty cool! We've never actually seen them in real life before.
Having such unique history in nature, the museums of Tromsø are more than your average
galleries. We highly recommend visiting the Polar Museum to learn about polar expeditions. Here,
you'll learn about the famous polar explorers such as Roald Amundsen. Another museum we really
enjoyed was Polaria, an Arctic experience center where you can see the Northern Lights on screen
as well as see the bearded seals up close. To see a list of all other top museums in Tromsø,
check out our blog link in the description.
Seals here are really playful. They come right over your head.
Another great day trip is the Lyngen Alps. You can reach the town of Lyngen within about a
two-hour drive from Tromsø. Home to about 140 glaciers, this mountain range is absolutely
outstanding. It's a true magnet for outdoor enthusiasts with plenty of hiking, climbing,
biking, and skiing opportunities. We hiked to the gorgeous Blåisvatnet,
which translates to "Blue Lake". It's about eight kilometers to get to the glacial lake and back,
with a very minimal elevation gain. This makes it a perfect hike for young and old alike. And
it took us about three hours total to complete. But if you're into something more thrilling,
you can also do a glacier hike in the summer and snowmobiling in the winter here.
A visit to Tromsø isn't complete without a beautiful view over the city.
You can hike the sherpa steps or ride the Fjellheisen cable car up to the mountain
ledge. The views from the top are truly breathtaking, especially during sunset.
In the summer, the viewing deck provides a great opportunity to enjoy the midnight sun,
while in the winter, it's an ideal place for hunting the Northern Lights.
We're here at the top of the cable car and you have a really beautiful
view of Tromsø, the island itself. But there's also other peaks that you can see.
Tourism in Tromsø outside the summer months is primarily focused around seeing the Northern
Lights. Chances of catching this natural phenomenon are usually high during the autumn
and winter, when it's the polar night season. The Northern Lights can be seen best when you're away
from the light pollution coming from the city. But besides the Northern Lights, Tromsø also offers a
wide range of fun winter activities, including reindeer or dog sledding, Sami experiences,
skiing, snowshoeing, and much more. We've included a list of winter experiences on the screen
and you can find tours for these activities via the links in the description below.
And that's it for our video on Tromsø, Norway. There's also many other things to do in and around
Tromsø that we didn't mention. You can also find videos about other Norway destinations and hikes
in our full Norway playlist, such as a complete road trip itinerary for Northern
Norway and the Lofoten Islands. For more information, such as how to get around,
the best time to visit, and to download the actual maps used in this video,
check out our blog link in the description. We'll catch you on the next adventure!