Longyearbyen: A Visit to the World’s Northernmost Town
This visit guide covers the sights of Longyearbyen in Svalbard, which is the most northerly town in the world.
A visit to Longyearbyen
After a good night of sleep I was ready to explore the sights of Longyearbyen, the main town on the island of Spitsbergen in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago.
Longyearbyen is the northernmost town with a population larger than 1,000 in the world and is actually located much closer to the North Pole than the Norwegian capital of Oslo.
I stayed in the outskirts of Longyearbyen at a place called Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg, which is a collection of converted wooden miners’ barracks that now function as a hotel.
Upon leaving the building I was instantly reminded how cold it was when I took my gloves off to snap a picture of the hotel.
At -20 degrees Celsius, you really had to dress up in several layers of clothes in order to stay warm outside if you visit Svalbard in winter.
Adventfjorden
The Polarrigg hotel is situated on the outskirts of Longyearbyen in a small industrial area consisting mainly of warehouses.
However, as Longyearbyen is a rather small town with a population of just 2,000 inhabitants, all the sights can be easily reached on foot no matter where you are staying.
Before heading into town I first walked down to the shores of the Adventfjorden, the fjord on which Longyearbyen is located.
Although the blue skies and shining sun made it look like a pleasant day, the weather was deceiving as it was freezing cold due to the icy wind blowing by the shoreline of the Adventfjorden.
The stunning views of the deep blue waters and sky set against the snow-capped mountains did however make for a magnificent sight.
Into the town centre
The town of Longyearbyen doesn’t have a built-up feel to it, as residential houses and hotels are generally spread out across the area thanks to the abundance of empty space on the island.
The residential houses on the mountainside next to the disused aerial ropeway of an old mine look particularly picturesque.
As I made my way towards the town centre, I couldn’t help but notice the difference between the actual temperature and the perceived temperature.
The wind chill made it freezing by the fjord, while inland the temperature was much more bearable.
Longyearbyen is essentially comprised of two main roads: One running parallel to the fjord, and another running uphill from the University Centre in Svalbard (UNIS).
The University Centre is home to both a research centre as well as the Svalbard Museum, which is well-worth a visit.
Apart from coal mining and tourism, the main industry on Svalbard is actually arctic research.
Longyearbyen is also home to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which safely stores over one million seeds representing one-third of the world’s most important crop varieties.
Stores and restaurants
The University Centre in Svalbard marks the beginning of a pleasant pedestrianised street that runs uphill.
Along this pedestrian street you’ll find most of Longyearbyen’s stores, bars and restaurants, as well as a post office and bank.
In the shops you can find everything you need for your stay on the island.
There is a surprisingly large, well-stocked supermarket and a plethora of stores specialising in outdoor equipment and clothing.
Although you can see a couple of 4WD cars and pick-up trucks parked in front of the shops, most people on Svalbard actually use a snowmobile (in winter) or ATV (in summer) to get around the island as there aren’t actually any roads outside of Longyearbyen.
Miner
Mining has always been the biggest economic activity on Svalbard, although historically the archipelago was known for whaling as well.
Longyearbyen was established as a coal mining town in 1906 by the American John Munro Longyear, after whom the town is named.
A statue commemorating the coal mining history of Longyearbyen can be found along the town’s pedestrian street.
Beer time
As Longyearbyen is light on sights, you can pretty much see the entire town and visit the museum in a few hours.
After my tour around Longyearbyen, I stopped at a pub for a burger and some locally brewed craft beer from Svalbard Bryggeri.
There is a good selection of bars and restaurants in Longyearbyen, which is surprisingly multicultural due to the status of Svalbard as a special economic and visa-free zone.
For example, you’ll find many Thai people living in Longyearbyen, which means you can get a great Pad Thai or curry if you want!
As alcohol is expensive in Norway, you may want to save some money by buying some beers in the supermarket and drinking them in your hotel room instead of hitting the pubs in the evening.
Back to the hotel
Since I had a long and intensive day ahead, I made the decision to take it easy for the rest of the afternoon and headed back to my hotel.
On the way back, I enjoyed the mid-afternoon sunset views.
If you are lucky, you can catch the northern lights (aurora borealis) when you visit Svalbard in winter.
Although some specialist apps I consulted gave a favourable forecast due to high magnetic activity, there were however some clouds getting in the way during the evening.
Unfortunately, despite seeing some green hues in the sky right after sunset, I didn’t have any luck seeing the northern lights.
Conclusion
Longyearbyen is a fascinating town located in the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard.
Its history as a coal mining town is evident when you see the disused aerial ropeways and statue of a miner on the main pedestrian street.
There aren’t actually that many sights to see in Longyearbyen besides the museum and the beautiful views of the fjord and mountains.
However, Longyearbyen does offer a surprising range of amenities, such as a large supermarket and outdoor equipment stores.
There are also plenty of bars and restaurants to enjoy while you are in town.
While there may not be many tourist attractions in Longyearbyen, the real draw of Svalbard is of course the stunning natural beauty, which I was excited to explore the following day.
Trip report index
This article is part of the ‘Snow Seeking in Svalbard: A Winter Trip Into the Arctic‘ trip report, which consists of the following chapters:
1. Low-Cost Travel to Norway: Oslo on the Cheap
2. Review: SAS Business and Gold Lounge Oslo Airport
3. Review: Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg Hotel, Longyearbyen
4. Longyearbyen: A Visit to the World’s Northernmost Town (current chapter)
5. A Svalbard Snowmobile Ride to Barentsburg
6. Barentsburg: A Visit to a Unique Russian Coal Mining Town
7. Pastel Winter: The Famous Blue Sunset Skies of Svalbard
8. The Long Way Home: Three Flights From Longyearbyen
It must get warm enough at some point to paint those houses?
Summer temperatures are on average 5° Celsius and the snow will have disappeared!
We are headed to Longyearbyen in three weeks, and I was delighted to find your reviews of several components of the trip we have ahead of us! I was looking for information relative to the SAS Lounge at Gardermoen which led to that article you posted with the links to not only this review of Longyearbyen, but also Mary-Ann’s Polarrigg where we are booked as well. Your insight into where to find the connecting flight to Svalbard is very much appreciated! Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and comments about your January trip! Kind regards
Thanks for the kind words, and good to hear you found the articles useful. Wishing you a great trip, Grandma G!