Polar Museum

Tromsø


Fittingly for a town that was the launch pad for many pioneering expeditions to the North Pole, Tromsø's Polar Museum is an old-fashioned romp through life in the Arctic, taking in everything from the history of trapping to the ground-breaking expeditions of Nansen and Amundsen. There are some fascinating artefacts and black-and-white archive photos; though the stuffed remains of various formerly fuzzy, once-blubbery polar creatures are rather less fun...and there are lots of them.

The museum is in a harbourside building that served as Tromsø's customs house from 1833 to 1970.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Tromsø attractions

1. Perspektivet

0.1 MILES

Dating from 1838, Perspektivet houses a permanent photo exhibition illustrating Tromsø's history and mounts quality temporary displays too.

2. Tromsø Catholic Church

0.13 MILES

The Tromsø Catholic Church was built in 1861 and is the world's northernmost Catholic bishopric.

3. Bibliotek

0.22 MILES

Tromsø's library is a wonderful example of contemporary Norwegian architecture, airy and streaming with light. There's also free internet access here.

4. Domkirke

0.29 MILES

Domkirke, the Lutheran Church of Norway's cathedral, is one of Norway's largest wooden churches. Its opening hours are erratic, but you can take a photo…

5. Art Museum of Northern Norway

0.29 MILES

The Nordnorsk Kunstmuseum displays mainly 19th-century to present-day sculpture, photography, painting and handicrafts by artists from northern Norway.

6. Roald Amundsen Statue

0.31 MILES

This statue to Norway's most famous polar explorer sits just uphill from the tourist office.

7. Blåst

0.52 MILES

Pass by the world's most northerly glass-blowing workshop to see the young team puffing their cheeks and perhaps to pick up an item or two.

8. M/S Polstjerna

0.59 MILES

Between 1949 and 1981, this historic seal-hunting ship killed (or 'brought home', as the literature euphemistically expresses it) nearly 100,000 seals. It…