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Longyearbyen > Sights & excursions
Longyearbyen
Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway
Page 3
Continued from page 2
ABOVE: Modern houses in Longyearbyen, with a
school-bus stop in the foreground.
Sights and excursions
 Museums
The Svalbard Museum,
formerly housed in a converted pig barn, moved into the new Svalbard Science
Center in April, 2006. Its building, which is also home to the Norwegian Polar
Institute and the University Centre in Svalbard, is located just below Longyearbyen's
business district and the Radisson SAS Polar Hotel Spitsbergen.
The Svalbard Museum uses traditional exhibits, reconstructed environments, and
videos to present 400 years of Svalbard history and culture. An hour's visit
will teach you about whaling, trapping, coal mining, wild animals, geology, and
other aspects of Svalbard life. And don't worry about being bored: The new
museum was designed to be engaging, not soporific. (It also has a decent gift
shop.)
Excursions
 Longyearbyen
is the starting point for adventure and expedition travel in Svalbard.
Wilderness travel is by permit only, and you'll need to visit the governor's
office (where you may be required to show proof of insurance and a bank guarantee to cover
rescue expenses) before heading into the boondocks on your own. For convenience
and safety, most visitors use the services of local outfitters.
Outfitters in
Longyearbyen include:
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Basecamp
Explorer - Trips include winter and spring expeditions to a schooner
that's frozen into the ice at Tempelfjorden.
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Poli Arctici - A range
of trips in Spitsbergen, plus logistical support for science expeditions and TV
or film crews.
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Svalbard
Villmarkssenter - Short and long dogsled trips (on wheels in summer),
overnight stays at a trapper's hut, and--in winter only--a Northern Lights
evening with views and reindeer stew.
Note: It isn't uncommon for an outfitter to subcontract
services from its competitors, so don't be surprised if you book with one vendor
and find yourself heading for polar bear country with another. The level of
guide expertise is high, thanks to a training and certification program that was
introduced in the early 1990s. (Also, don't be surprised if your guide turns out
to be a master's candidate in Arctic biology or geology at the University Centre
in Svalbard.)
Next page:
Cruises and boat trips
Aerial photo copyright © Stefan Tordenmalm.
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