AI generatedLongyearbyen
Svalbard and Jan Mayen · Spitsbergen
Short description of Longyearbyen
Longyearbyen is the main settlement of Svalbard and the northernmost town of its size in the world, a former coal mining town of brightly painted wooden houses in a valley on Adventfjorden. Almost every visitor lands at its airport, flown from Oslo and Tromsø. The Svalbard Museum and the North Pole Expedition Museum tell the story of whalers, trappers and polar explorers, and the Global Seed Vault is dug into the mountainside above the airport. Outside the town limits polar bears roam, so anyone leaving the settlement goes with a guide. From here boats, snowmobiles and dog sleds head out to the glaciers, the fjords and the mining towns.
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Recommended length of stay
Travel seasons at a glance
Best time to visit: March – April or July
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All highlights and sightsBeta
- Svalbard Museum
- Svalbard Global Seed Vault (exterior view)
- The polar bear warning sign at the town edge
- Dog sledding in Adventdalen (November – April)
- Boat trips on Isfjorden (June – September)
- Snowmobile tours (February – May)
- North Pole Expedition Museum
- Galleri Svalbard
- The painted wooden houses of the old town
- Svalbard Church, the northernmost church
- Coal Mine 3 (Gruve 3) guided visit
- Ice cave on the Larsbreen glacier (November – May)
- Northern lights in the polar night (November – February)
- Midnight sun (April – August)
- Kayaking on Adventfjorden (June – August)