8-night Polar Lights Cruise: From North Cape To The Lofoten Islands

Paris, world capital of art and culture, gathers some of the most famous museums and monuments in the world. Like all the world's great capitals, Paris lives at a fast pace, by day, by night and especially at rush hours. Bear in mind that museums and monuments are often less crowded during the week. Sights that should not be missed include: The Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. Visit any of the many others according to your tastes and interests: the Musee Picasso, Musee Rodin, Musee Carnavalet, Musee Marmottan and the Arab Institute are just a few. Essential Paris monuments are the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe or the Grande Arche de la Defense.

Destination Guide

Enjoy the appealing frontier atmosphere at this ancient whaling capital and base for expeditions to the North Pole.

Destination Guide

The world's northernmost village, Honningsvag, the gateway to the North Cape, is a completely modern fishing harbor set in a land of forests, fjord waters, and crashing waterfalls, everything bathed in summer by the eerie light of the midnight sun. Only the chapel withstood the German destruction of 1944. It's some 50 miles nearer to the North Pole than Hammerfest, on the Alta-Hammerfest bus route.

Destination Guide

Bear Island, also known as Bjørnøya, is the southernmost island of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago. The island and surrounding waters are a natural reserve. The island is basically uninhabited by humans, except for personnel working at the meteorological station. However, visitors can see wildlife such as, arctic foxes, ringed seal, bearded seal, puffin and other seabirds and some polar bears.

The Rock carvings at Alta, dating from circa 4200 BC to 500 BC, are on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. In additon, the Komsa culture was named after the Komsa mountain in Alta municipality, where the first archeological remains were discovered. In World War II, the German battleship Tirpitz used Altafjord as a harbor, and was damaged here by attacking allied warplanes. Altasaken in 1979 made headlines for weeks, as many people (especially environmentalists) demonstrated and used civil disobedience to prevent the building of a dam in order to produce hydropower. The dam was built, however, and the river still offers good salmon fishing.

Enjoy the appealing frontier atmosphere at this ancient whaling capital and base for expeditions to the North Pole.

Destination Guide

The small town of Harstad, 75 miles northwest of Narvik, sits surrounded by craggy, snow-topped mountains on the island of Hinnøya. Harstad’s greatest attraction is the Trondenes Church which dates back to the 13th century. This structure was originally built as a fortress church; its design incorporates massive walls, some 7 1/2 feet thick. At the time, Trondenes was also Norway’s northernmost stone church and one of the most important in the country during Roman Catholic times. As early as the Viking Age the church was used as a local gathering place, including the meetings of the Ting (local parliament). Serving as the breadbasket for northern Norway, this region provides seasonal fruits and vegetables for nearby marketplaces. Harstad’s pretty setting with hilly streets, rainbow-colored wooden houses, terraces and views of the mountains is especially appreciated by the summer crowd which flocks here to enjoy the North Norwegian Arts Festival and International Deep-Sea Fishing Festival, usually held in June and July.

The municipality´s centre of administration and trade, with about 1,600 inhabitants and well-developed services, including a hotel, cafes, restaurants, auto repair shops, specialty shops, a pharmacy, bakery, movie theatre, swimming pool, and other services. The newspaper "Lofot-Tidende" is published here.

Narvik is an ice-free port in northern Norway. This city fell to the Germans in World War II when they invaded Norway on April 9, 1940. Intense fighting broke out in the city and when the tide is right, you can still see the bow of the Gerrman destroyer, the Georg Thiel portruding from the harbor. Main tourist attractions in Narvik include Killer-Whale safaris in late fall and winter and various outdoor activities, such as hiking, fishing, cmaping and mountain climbing. Many also come to the harbor to scuba dive to explore the ship graveyard leftover from the war.

Destination Guide

Narvik is an ice-free port in northern Norway. This city fell to the Germans in World War II when they invaded Norway on April 9, 1940. Intense fighting broke out in the city and when the tide is right, you can still see the bow of the Gerrman destroyer, the Georg Thiel portruding from the harbor. Main tourist attractions in Narvik include Killer-Whale safaris in late fall and winter and various outdoor activities, such as hiking, fishing, cmaping and mountain climbing. Many also come to the harbor to scuba dive to explore the ship graveyard leftover from the war.

Destination Guide

Paris, world capital of art and culture, gathers some of the most famous museums and monuments in the world. Like all the world's great capitals, Paris lives at a fast pace, by day, by night and especially at rush hours. Bear in mind that museums and monuments are often less crowded during the week. Sights that should not be missed include: The Louvre and the Musee d'Orsay. Visit any of the many others according to your tastes and interests: the Musee Picasso, Musee Rodin, Musee Carnavalet, Musee Marmottan and the Arab Institute are just a few. Essential Paris monuments are the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe or the Grande Arche de la Defense.

Destination Guide