Ny-Ålesund

Ny-Ålesund on Kongsfjorden is the northernmost permanent settlement open to visitors, once a coal mine and now an international research village where scientists from a dozen countries study the Arctic. Its old wooden houses stand below the peaks of the Tre Kroner and the glaciers of the fjord. The mast from which Roald Amundsen and Umberto Nobile launched their airship flights to the North Pole still stands at the edge of the village, next to a bust of Amundsen. Expedition and cruise ships call at the quay in summer, and visitors walk the village, send a card from the northernmost post office and look at the small mining museum.