The Polar Museum

Some visitors have criticized this museum for being boring and lacking English. If it is entertainment you are looking for, this is not a good destination. This is a place for reading a small booklet in your chosen language about 19th and early 20th century life in Tromso for those that made their living from hunting and exploring while standing in front of displays of stuffed animals and artifacts from the time period with mostly Norwegian language descriptions. Arctic hunting is in the DNA of Tromso even if now it is just a niche activity. The museum is in three parts. One part talks about the groups that traveled to Svalbard, the islands north of Tromso, to live in small huts and hunt throughout the winter. The second is about the explorers that attempted against great odds to go to the north pole. And the third feels like an afterthought; A tribute to LGBT life in the Arctic in which any rumor or gender bending behavior is pointed to as evidence. The 3rd is worth a brief glance if you have time, but I wouldn't go out of my way. I spent over 2 hours here and walked away with a far clearer picture of how this was a frontier town on the edge of human habitability in the centuries past. If you have a habit of geeking out on things like this make sure you leave enough time.