Tromsø is a city and municipality in the county of Troms, Norway. The municipality of Tromsø covers large districts outside the town.

Attractions in Tromsø

The city center is the biggest concentration of historic wooden houses north of Trondheim. A multitude of historical wooden houses dating from 1789 to 1904 (when building wooden houses was banned in the city center), co-exist with modern architecture. The oldest house in Tromsø is Skansen, built in 1789 on the remains of a 13th c. turf rampart. The little Polar Museum presents Tromsø's past as a center for Arctic hunting and starting point for polar expeditions, and is situated in a wharf house from 1837. The Tromsø Cathedral (Norway's only wooden cathedral, built in 1861) is right in the middle of town, and so is the little Catholic church of Vår Frue. Norway's oldest cinema is still in use; Verdensteatret, built 1915-16, lies in Tromsø and is featured with large wall paintings, picturing scenes from Norwegian folk lore and fairy tales, made by the local artist Sverre Mack in 1921.
Outside the compact city center, there is the Arctic Cathedral (a striking modern church from 1965), and the Polaria aquarium and experience center from 1998 is a short walk south from the city center. The Tromsø Museum is a University museum, presenting culture and nature of North Norway. The museum also displays the Arctic-alpine botanic garden, the world's northernmost botanical garden. A cable car goes up to Mount Storsteinen, 421 m.a.s.l. (meters above sea level), with a panoramic view over Tromsø. The mountain Tromsdalstinden, 1238 m, on the mainland, which is easily spotted from the city center, is also a major landmark.