Longyearbyen

Longyearbyen, on the Arctic island of Spitsbergen far above the Norwegian mainland, is the largest settlement of Svalbard and one of the northernmost towns on earth, an extraordinary frontier community at the very edge of the inhabited world. A cluster of brightly painted wooden houses set beneath snow-streaked mountains and glaciers, it began as a coal-mining town and has become the base for exploring the high Arctic. Here the sun never sets in high summer and never rises in the depths of winter, polar bears outnumber people across the archipelago, and residents leave the town armed against them. With its museums, cosy restaurants and access to a spectacular wilderness, Longyearbyen is a genuinely unique and thrilling gateway to the far north.

What you actually see

• The colourful houses - the bright wooden town beneath the peaks.
• The Svalbard Museum - the Arctic nature and history displays.
• The midnight sun - the endless summer daylight.
• The frontier atmosphere - the world's northernmost town life.

When to go

March to May offers the magic of snow, dog-sledding and returning light, while June to September brings the midnight sun, ice-free fjords and boat trips; the deep winter is dark, extreme and for the hardy. Each season offers a completely different face of the high Arctic.

Honest expectations

Longyearbyen is a remote, extreme Arctic settlement reached only by air or by ship, where the weather is harsh, prices high and travel outside town requires guides and polar-bear precautions. As the world's northernmost town, a colourful frontier community amid glaciers and Arctic wilderness under midnight sun or polar night, though, Longyearbyen is a genuinely unique and unforgettable destination.

Nearby

The fjords, glaciers and wilderness of Spitsbergen lie beyond the town.