Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway) Cruises

Longyearbyen, Svalbard (Norway) Cruise Port

Longyearbyen is named after an American, John Munro Longyear, who set up the Arctic Coal Company and the coal mines in the area. This is a city on the islands of Svalbard, which are north of the mainland of Norway. Longyearbyen, one of the most treasured Northern European cruise ports, has the largest population of the other towns in Svalbard. Up here the culture has some interesting quirks. For instance, most restaurants, museums and homes require guests to take their shoes off before entering. And citizens who venture outside of the settlements are required to carry and know how to operate a rifle, in case they come across a polar bear. Fortunately for us, cruisers don’t have to worry about rifles and polar bears when cruising to Longyearbyen. Featured below are a few of our favorite experiences for the cruise port of Longyearbyen in Norway:

• Take a dog sled adventure in the summer. Don’t worry, even in the middle of summer the average temperature is around 40 degrees.

• Examine an abandoned mine on a tour given by a former miner.

• Learn about the polar explorations by visiting the Spitsbergen Airship Museum, which has artifacts from Norwegian, Italian and American explorers.

• Have a sip of wine at Huset, the world’s northernmost gourmet restaurant. They boast a wine cellar with more than 20,000 bottles.