Longyearbyen
The town of Longyearbyen was originally on the opposite side of the bay; it was moved and ultimately renamed to Longyearbyen after John Munro Longyear, who’s Arctic Coal Company ran the town before it was taken over by the Norwegian company in 1916 and then the Norwegian Government 1st January 1993.
Housing somewhere between 2000 and 3000 permanent residents, Longyearbyen is the largest settlement in Svalbard. Surrounded by snowy mountains and directly on the ocean in a bay, the landscape is beautiful. Most buildings are on stilts due to both the heavy snowfall in winter and the impact of that snow melting in the summer. Pipes run everywhere to direct the snowmelt back towards the ocean.
A near wilderness settlement, it’s not unusual to see animals wandering the streets. The most common being reindeer, but from time to time a Polar Bear can be spotted.
Sights & Culture
Svalbard Sign
Right outside the airport, the famous Svalbard sign.
Global Seed Vault
On the mountain slope, only a short distance from the airport, the silver Seed Vault can easily be seen once you adjust your expectations for perspective. I was told ‘99 times out of 100 you’d be fine going up there without a gun or flare gun. I wouldn’t do it thought’ So err on the side of caution and take a guide with you if you want to get a closer look as the 5km hike from town seems easily doable, especially in the Polar Summer.
Longyearbyen Harbour
A mix of personal craft, tourist boats and working vessels fill the harbour. Visitors to Svalbard will quickly come to know this location as most tours will depart from here. On one gangplank the ‘Svalbad’ sauna can be found.
Krigsminnesmerket
Svalbard’s monument to the fallen of World War II, this tall obelisk stands on a hill looking out over Longyearbyen.
Svalbard Kirke
The world’s northernmost church, and serves any nationality and anyone in Svalbard, so not just Longyearbyen, but Barentsburg, Svea, Ny-Ålesund, Hopen, Hornsund, Bjørnøya and the hunting stations are all part of this Church’s diocese. In theory, it also serves any religious affiliation, but there’s always a question of how well a specific religion can be inclusive, no matter how well-intentioned.
Constructed in 1921, it took only 50 days to be completed. Svalbard Church was evacuated during the second world war, but the building itself was burned down in the German bombing in 1943. The new building contains the original baptismal font and silver alter candlesticks which were carried to safety in England by the fleeting pastor.
Old Longyearbyen
The original buildings of Longyearbyen town can be seen past the Church. Wooden pillars sticking out of the ground, a few plinths. The stairs for the old hospital and the remains of John Munroe Longyear’s House.
Graveyard
The small graveyard south of the Church holds some of the early residents of Longyearbyen. A certain nervousness regarding the possibility of a resurgence of Spanish Flu, due to the permafrost reducing and the frozen bodies starting to thaw.
Gruvearbeideren
A sculpture of a minor in the centre of Longyearbyen, next to the shopping mall.
Museums & Galleries
North Pole Expedition Museum
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
The floor of the Polar Expedition Museum is laid to mimic the frozen ocean. Given you’re also shoeless, it’s a very unusual experience for a museum. In the back corner are a few welcoming armchairs, a little stove and a table, forming a cosy cafe if you’d like to stop for coffee or hot chocolate. Also downstairs is a reasonable-sized gift area and information on early exploration of the polar region. New screens with a wealth of information have just been added and exhibits, including a small boat, can be seen.
The focus of the upstairs is the explorations of Amundsen of Norway and Nobile of Italy, whose rivalry and friendship formed the basis for the NØRGE and later explorations of the North Pole, with Amundsen ultimately losing his life when he committed himself to the search for Nobile who was lost on his own Polar exploration after the pair reached the North Pole together in the NØRGE.
There are a lot of films from the NØRGE expedition and others playing upstairs, and it is a slightly strange experience when you later visit Ny-Ålesund and recognised the area where the airships docked.
The museum feels very personal, like a labour of love or family rather than the more ‘professional’ Svalbard Museum nearby.
Svalbard Museum
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
A modern, well-decorated museum, the main area is a large triangle with exhibits and text lining the walls, with taxidermied animals and items in the centre. The entrance has a wide reception, a library and a gift shop.
The museum tells the story of the inhabitants of Spitsbergen (or Svalbard) from the temporary trappers and sailors who came for hunting to the small communities built up for hunting and mining to the tourist and research centres today. A handful of locals are profiled.
Galleri Svalbard
Closed for the season.
Restaurants & Bars
Mary-Ann's Polarrigg
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
In converted miners' barracks, Mary-Ann’s is charming, most of the rooms are basic with shared bathroom facilities, but its clean, quaint and historic. Its a short walk outside of the main town area, but not in polar bear country.
Stationen
Shoe Removal Required? No
Reasonably priced restaurant at the back of the tiny shopping mall Lompen Senteret. The Whale Burger is unusual, more a steak sandwich than burger, but worth trying though the taste won’t be to everyones appetite.
Vinterhagen
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
The restaurant at Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg, surrounded by glass walls giving views of the mountains offers traditional arctic food in the evenings. Its worth checking with reception if you need to book or not as the business can vary. Whale, Seal and other local meats are on the menu and worth trying. Presentation is excellent.
It is also where the great breakfast for Mary-Ann’s is served.
Cafe Huskies
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
A newly opened cafe right on the edge of town in the same building as Wild Photo and Sportscenteret Svalbard (where you can buy guns). Cafe Huskies fills the niche of Cat Cafe for a town where Cats are illegal.
The coffee is great, the snacks are fresh and the souvenirs on sale are all high quality. Most importantly the Huskies are all adorable. Which ones are around seems to depend on who’s working and free to use fur rollers are scattered around the cafe. Its a chilled out vibe and I ended up going back late one afternoon to get some work done.
The opening hours were 12-20:00 every day except Monday when they close which makes them the cafe with the widest opening hours by a fairly large margin. A great opportunity for anyone who wants to be ‘out’ but doesn’t want to be ‘out out’.
Fruene
Lovely cafe with home made cakes and coffees as well as all the yarn and knitting supplies you could ever need. If you go on any tours you’ll likely get a cake or bread baked here. It gets very busy over lunch as until very recently with Cafe Huskies opening it was the only Cafe in town.
Svalbar
Shoe Removal Required? No
Closest thing to a divebar you’ll find in Svalbard, there’s a pool table and a really strong pizza menu. Food comes to the table fast and the reindeer pizza was great.
Huset Svalbard
Not a restaurant I had time to visit, its outside of the main town area but has fantastic reviews.
Restaurant Kroa
Shoe Removal Required? No
Leaning into the mining theme, Kroa is a faux-mining camp of wood beams, wood tables and paintings of wildlife. A diverse bar of beers and a solid menu.
Restaurant Nansen
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
One of the fancier restaurants in Svalbard, Nansen is in the Raddison hotel and has large windows giving views north towards the mountains. The food was excellent, though the final bill was quite expensive.
Barentz Gastropub
Shoe Removal Required? No
A relaxed bar, the ‘northernmost pub in the world’ Barentz is part of the Raddison hotel and a hotspot for live sport matches and the venue fills up with locals cheering on their teams. I stopped in for lunch and had one of the best burgers I’ve had in years.
Shoppping
Norway Post
Shoe Removal Required? No
Beaten by the ‘Post Office’ of Ny-Ålesund, this is not the northernmost post office in the world, but it is the northernmost one if you’re sending anything more substantial than a postcard. Bear in mind both the cost to ship and the cost of any import duties may be substantial.
Really helpful staff though.
Lompen Senteret
Shoe Removal Required? No
Offering a chemist, a convinenece store, Fruene Cafe, Stationen Restaurant, a few souvenier shops ranging from the simple to the upmarket and a couple of winter clothing stores. Upstairs a spa and hairdresser can be found.
The Svalbard Store
Shoe Removal Required? No
The one and only supermarket in Longyearbyen selling normal food, drinks and household products as well as a wide selection of Real Turmat food for campers, accessories for electronic goods and souvenirs. In the same building but with controlled access is the Systembolaget where you can buy alcohol. The cost is surprisingly reasonable for Scandianvia.
Skinnboden Arctic Products
Shoe Removal Required? No
Offering a range of items made by animal products, it’s worth noting the majority are produced in Canada rather than locally, so the polar bear skins, reindeer rugs etc are all imported. Prices are reasonable at first glance but be aware that Svalbard is tax-free, but you may not be exempt from import duties when you b ring it with you.
Longyear78 Outdoor & Expeditions
Shoe Removal Required? No
Sharing a building with Spitsbergen Sport, Longyear78 offers a wider selection of products, but less fashionable clothing and more practical gear. A fancier option than Sportcenteret Svalbard.
Spitsbergen Sport
Shoe Removal Required? No
Upmarket spot for winter clothing facing the Supermarket.
Svalbard Tourist Information
Shoe Removal Required? Yes
Marking the end of Longyearbyen town, the Tourist Information centre as, as you’d expect, information for tourists on all the tours and activites available as well as a small selection of curated souveniers.
Sportscenteret Svalbard
Shoe Removal Required?
A bit more overloaded and with more of a vibe that it caters for locals, Sportscenteret, not far from Cafe Huskies, offers winter clothes, hiking and camping equipment, fishing and hunting gear and based on my eavesdropping, advice and assistance with lost baggage at the airport as the guy working there also helps unload the aeroplanes when they land.
Good option if you need something warmer than you brought along.
Svalbardkiosken (Airport)
Shoe Removal Required? No
A small 7/11 style Kiosk in the airport once you are through security, it offers a small range of souveniers from the main stores in town as well as a selection of snacks. Good if you realise you’ve forgotten someone in your gift list.
Sports & Activities
Hvalross safari to Borebukta
A four hour excursion, picking up from a smaller selection of hotels than most tours, but given how small the town is, this really isn’t an issue. I got a call during the day that the start time had moved out by an hour, but that was no issue for me. We were collected promptly at our new time by the guide who’s originally from Geneva and taken down to the docks where we boarded an extremely modern speedboat powered by some advanced Penta tech.
We cruise out towards Borebukta Bay, which takes about an hour, and then spent an incredible two hours moving about the bay, with a particular focus on an iceberg with several walrus lazing about on it.
In the distance we also saw two walrus battling with each other for dominance.
Warm cinamon or vanilla buns and coffee were handed around as we continued to watch the walrus in the water and on the ice.
It was then a hour’s cruise back to the dock before we were dropped off at our hotel. The guide offered to take me direct to my hotel, but I decided to eat in town instead.
Fjord cruise
towards the Nordenskiöld Glacier & Pyramiden
A much bigger boat than the Walrus Safari, it actually reminded me a lot of the Swedish archapelago ferries. I spent most of my time on deck watching out for birds, whales and anything else that came up.
It took two to three hours to reach Pyramiden, passing by some small cabins for people who felt Longyearbyen was too metropolitant. Thousands of birds fly past, many incredibly close to the people on deck.
Just before we reached Pyramiden, lunch was served, a delicious salmon, with pasta salad, ribs and sausages. When done, we found out we were unable to dock at Pyramiden (We were told before boarding we would not be able to, but there is always a small hope things have changed) and so we looked out at it over a distance.
To the right of Pyramiden, Nordenskiöld Glacier stands, smaller than it was, suffering in the increasing arctic temperatures.
Between us and the ice, a family of five or six Baleen Whales played in the waters. diving down and surfacing. They kept their distance but it was still incredible to see.
Off to the starboard side, a Bearded Seal popped up to look at us, giving us a glance over his shoulder.
Briefly the fin of a Minki whale was spotted.
And at various points along the trip we saw reindeer far in the distance grazing on the barren landscape.
The return was a few hours and most people migrated inside once we left the coastline and so were just crossing the ocean to get back to Longyearbyen, though we briefly saw a puffin launching itself into the air.
The landscape around Svalbard is beautiful, though the unseasonable warmth has melted so much snow that the are waterfalls cascading down the terrain and into the ocean almost everywhere.
Ny-Ålesund
The northernmost town in the world
The Ny-Ålesund trip is different from many of the other tours, due to the sheer distance you have to travel. Many of the other tours will spent time showing you the scenery and sights, blending a destination with entertainment, but the journey to and from Ny-Ålesund is long. Four or five hours each way on a fast boat means you aren’t stopping for the view…
…but you will see a lot of birds.
Leaving early in the morning, we reached Ny-Ålesund by 13:00, and had an hour or so exploring. We were escorted the whole time due to the location and the risk of polar bears. When our tour was done, we briefly took the boat further north to the upper end of the Kings Bay where we crossed the 79th Parallel and made ourselves some of the most northern people in the world. With Ny-Ålesund below us, almost no one in the worth was further north than we were.
On the return journey, a brief stop to watch a colony of Walrus asleep on a peninsula before we finished the trip home.
Catch of the DAy
Operated by the same team as the Ny-Ålesund trip, I knew what to expect for the boat. The hope was to see some more whales or Polar Bears, though both are rare. I was a week or two early to really have a chance to see the Polar Bears.
The boat headed out to Nordfjorden, directly to the north of Lonyearbyen and cruised around looking for wildlife. We naturally saw a large number of birds.
But once again it was the Walrus that took centre stage to our tour. Unlike some of the other tours I’d been on, this time we met singluar Walrus. (Walri??) relaxing on ice flows. Seeing just one, you get both a sense for how comical they look with their Wilford Brimley mustaches, long tusks and massive weight, but you also get a sudden sense of their power.
