Observe striking nature during the day and stay at the Snow Hotel at night
The small town of Kirkenes (pop. 3,300) lies just a few miles from the Russian and Finnish borders. Because of the town’s location, the Russian Revolution, Finnish immigration and World War II have all left permanent marks here. To learn more these periods of history, visit the Grenselandsmuseet (Border Country Museum), which tells the story of war and peace along the border, or the Andersgrotta Cave, a vast underground bunker that sheltered the town's residents during WWII.
The Snow Hotel, located just outside of town, is another of the town's biggest attractions with its remarkable architecture and hand-crafted ice sculptures. Kirkenes is also the northern end of the popular Norwegian Coastal Voyage, which cruises daily along the coastline to and from Bergen.
Here in the Kirkenes area you will also find an assortment of natural experiences awaiting you: fjords, mountains, forests, lakes, northern lights in the winter and the midnight sun in the summer. Visitors can also join a guided snowmobile tour into the Pasvik Valley, reaching the point where the three countries and three time zones meet, or participate in a king crab safari on the Barents Sea with local fishermen.
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