Must-see attractions in Svalbard

  • Exploration boat in front of Lilliehook glacier in Lilliehook fjord, a branch of Cross Fjord, Spitsbergen Island, Svalbard archipelago, Norway.

    Krossfjorden

    Svalbard

    This 30km-long fjord north of Ny Ålesund is a popular detour for cruise ships, partly for the scenic beauty of Lillehöökbreen (its grand tidewater glacier…

  • Magdalenefjord in northwestern Spitsbergen. Norway. Europe.; Shutterstock ID 1222385971; your: Sloane Tucker; gl: 65050; netsuite: Online Editorial; full: POI
1222385971

    Magdalenefjord

    Svalbard

    The lovely blue-green bay of Magdalenefjord in Nordvest Spitsbergen, flanked by towering peaks and intimidating tidewater glaciers, is the most popular…

  • Wild Photo Gallery

    Longyearbyen

    This gallery of stunning Svalbard photos by Ole Jørgen Liodden and Roy Mangersnes is small but filled with utterly unforgettable images. A book that…

  • Global Seed Vault

    Svalbard Global Seed Vault

    Longyearbyen

    Deep inside a mountain, down beneath the permafrost, a vast artificial cavern, already dubbed the Doomsday Vault or a vegetarian Noah's Ark, was opened in…

  • Virgohamna

    Svalbard

    One of the most intriguing sites in northwest Spitsbergen is Virgohamna, on the bleak, gravelly island of Danskøya, where the remains of several broken…

  • Svalbard Bryggeri

    Svalbard Bryggeri

    Longyearbyen

    Having opened for business in 2015, Svalbard's very own brewery makes the very quaffable Spitsbergen IPA, Spitsbergen Pilsener and Spitsbergen Pale Ale –…

  • Svalbard museum of Longyearbyen.

    Svalbard Museum

    Longyearbyen

    Museum is the wrong word for this impressive exhibition space. Themes on display include life on the edge formerly led by whalers, trappers, seal and…

  • Group of walruses on Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard.

    Prins Karls Forlandet

    Svalbard

    On the west coast of Spitsbergen, the oddly shaped, 86km-long, 11km-wide island of Prins Karls Forlandet is a national park set aside to protect breeding…

  • Galleri Svalbard

    Longyearbyen

    Galleri Svalbard features the Svalbard-themed works of renowned Norwegian artist Kåre Tveter (1922–2012), so pure and cold they make you shiver, as well…

  • North Pole Expedition Museum

    Longyearbyen

    This fascinating private museum houses a stunning collection of artefacts, original newspapers and other documents relating to the history of polar…

  • Wooden Steps

    Longyearbyen

    Some 50m south of Svalbard Kirke stand five weathered wooden steps, all alone, and a sign, 'Sykhustrappa' (Hospital Stairs). This is all that remains of…

  • Svalbard Kirke

    Longyearbyen

    The wooden Svalbard Kirke was first built in the 1920s but later rebuilt after being destroyed in the German invasion of WWII. It's a largely modern…

  • Graveyard

    Longyearbyen

    Southwest of the town centre lies a haunting little graveyard with simple white, wooden crosses. It dates from the early 20th century and includes the…

  • Pomor Museum

    Svalbard

    This simple, appealing little museum outlines (in Russian only) the historical Pomor trade with mainland Russia, plus Russian mining and history on…

  • Mine Museum

    Svalbard

    Ny Ålesund's neat little Mine Museum is in the old Tiedemann's Tabak (tobacco) shop. It recounts the coal-mining history of the area – it's a simple but…

  • Moffen Island

    Svalbard

    Gravelly Moffen Island is known for its walrus population, though the 300m boat-exclusion zone around the island means that any views of these great…

  • Kunstnersenteret

    Longyearbyen

    Attached to the Galleri Svalbard is the Kunstnersenteret, which serves as a workshop for local artists, with many of the works on sale.

  • Chapel

    Svalbard

    The small wooden Orthodox chapel above the football pitch commemorates the twin disasters of 1996 (a plane crash) and 1997 (a mine explosion).

  • Mine No 2

    Longyearbyen

    High on the steep valley wall south of the town centre, the crumbling, evocative ruins of Mine No 2 loom over the town.