Plan to spend some time at the Gateway to the Arctic

At nearly 70 degrees north you will find Tromsø, nicknamed the “Gateway to the Arctic” and the “Capital of Northern Norway”. Despite its location 350 km (217 mi) above the Arctic Circle, northern Norway’s largest city (pop. 68,000) is accessible by just a two-hour flight from Oslo or four days’ sailing from Bergen.

Tromsø is especially well-known as a great place to view the northern lights, or aurora borealis. Situated right in the middle of the “northern lights zone”, this city and its surrounding wilderness areas are ranked among the best places on earth to observe this incredible natural phenomenon. To aid viewing conditions, this area is in “polar night” between late November and late January—a phenomenon that occurs when the sun remains under the horizon.

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