Tromso, buzzy star of Northern Lights country
But Will Hide discovers there’s much more to do in the Arctic city than gaze at the winter sky
SOME guidebooks refer to the Norwegian city of Tromso as the Paris of the North – but apart from a frozen baguette in a local supermarket, I failed to see any Gallic connection. But then in midwinter here it is dark for 21 hours a day, so perhaps I missed the Viking version of the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe.
However, those long nights do make this buzzy university city one of the top locations for spotting the Northern Lights. And getting here is now easier, thanks to non-stop flights from London.
But don’t worry if the Aurora Borealis fails to appear during your visit because there is much to keep visitors occupied. For example, as the light started to spread across the picturesque harbour one morning at about 9.30am, I was on the deck of a former whaler, the Vulkana, dressed only in shorts and flip-flops. The ship has been converted into a luxurious floating sauna.
I was on board with a Norwegian family and they somehow convinced me it was the done thing to have a dip in the harbour, while studiously refusing to do so themselves.
My brief icy plunge did make the delicious brunch afterwards all the more rewarding.
The next day I set out on another converted fishing boat, this time aiming to spot orcas and humpback whales in the fjord. Our hopes were kept in check by the captain, who warned us that our chances weren’t good. Still, the beautifully bleak, snowblanketed scenery was definitely compensation as we stood on deck, dressed in thermal romper suits and clutching mugs of steaming hot coffee.
But then the cry went up and we spotted a pod of eight orcas breaking the surface. We followed, spellbound, for half an hour until the light began to fade.
Back in Tromso there were plenty of restaurants, cafes, shops and museums to while away time, but I kept looking at the skies, hoping to see the night burst into vibrant swathes of green and red. For the best chances of seeing the Northern Lights, you need to escape urban light pollution, so with two fun guides I set off on a seven-hour Aurora safari. After we’d roasted venison sausages over a spitting fire in a forest, the Lights suddenly appeared. They were utterly mesmerising.
I completed my adventure with two nights at the resort of Malangen, a 90-minute drive from Tromso, though the journey took longer as I kept asking the driver to stop so I could photograph the sublime scenery.
With only three hours of daylight, you have to take advantage of the limited opportunities for hiking and cross-country skiing while you can. But at least night time brings with it the chance to wrap up warm, gather around a crackling fire and turn your gaze to the heavens, waiting for that spectacular show to begin again.