Polar Museum

Learn about famous Arctic explorers and their adventures at sea

Tromsø has long been a base for Arctic expeditions, and the Polar Museum (“Polarmuseet”) is a great place to learn about the region’s seafaring history.

The various exhibits offer an insight into the lives of famous explorers as well as the ships and equipment that were essential for life at sea in harsh Arctic conditions. There’s also an exhibit on seal hunting, which was of both economic and cultural importance for the city’s growth over the years.

The museum, part of the University of Tromsø, is in the old Customs House on the quayside in the historic Skansen area of the city. The exhibit hall is housed in the 19th-century Sea Warehouse (“Sjøhuset”), the oldest part of the complex. These historic buildings help to set the scene of the exhibits they house.