Spitsbergen
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Why Spitsbergen?
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Upcoming departures, new experiences, interviews, exploration or scouting stories... All brochures can be ordered or downloaded in digital format.
Discover the destination
See all Arctic cruises

Upcoming departures, new experiences, interviews, exploration or scouting stories... All brochures can be ordered or downloaded in digital format.
Discover the destination
The Svalbard Island marking the border between the Greenland Sea and the Arctic Ocean, Spitsbergen represents one of the last European lands before the Far North. It is here that Longyearbyen and Ny-Ålesund are located, the closest inhabited villages to the North Pole in the world. What to know about this piece of Norway with polar vibes?
Best practices
Even though Norwegians easily use informal language from the first encounter, they do not kiss on the cheek. During a first meeting, it is customary to shake hands. Norwegians are very respectful of rules. For example, no one breaks the law prohibiting smoking in all public places. It is also customary to take off one's shoes when entering houses.
Unusual
The cemetery in Longyearbyen has only about thirty graves dating back to the 1920s and 1940s. As early as the 1950s, the municipality passed a law prohibiting deaths in the city. The reason behind this is actually quite rational: the negative temperatures preserve the bodies and diseases. Researchers have thus found and studied the virus of the Spanish flu that had survived on bodies buried in 1918. Similarly, births are not recommended in the city. Due to the lack of necessary infrastructure, pregnant women go to give birth on the mainland.
Essential vocabulary
Hello/good evening: Hallo Goodbye: Ha det Please: Vær så snill Thank you: Tusen takk Yes/no: Ja/Nei You're welcome: Vaer så god My name is...: Jeg heter...
Gourmandise
Contrary to what one might think, fish is not very common in restaurants in Svalbard. Longyearbyen surprises with the diversity of its culinary offerings. The northernmost brewery in the world opened there in 2015: it offers several types of beers made with the pure water from the glaciers. The old shack that used to accommodate miners in the early 20th century has been transformed into an inn offering burgers made with Norwegian beef. Lastly, Huset (the house, in Norwegian) has a cellar with 20,000 bottles, including fine wines from around the world.
Myths and legends
Pyramiden is one of the four "ghost towns" of Svalbard. The only legend that persists about it is that the inhabitants all suddenly left the town. The stacks of clean dishes, the furniture left in place, a forgotten pack of cigarettes, a children's playground with swings, a swimming pool missing only water... all suggest this. However, Pyramiden actually experienced a gradual decline. A former Soviet mining town, it had up to 1,000 inhabitants at its peak after World War II. The last residents left in 1998, as the site was no longer profitable. Today, visiting Pyramiden, with its large buildings of austere architecture and the bust of Lenin still overlooking the main square, is to immerse oneself in this Soviet past.
We're talking about it.
Near Longyearbyen, in the depths of the permafrost, over 120 meters deep, a global seed vault has been protecting and preserving since 2006 the seeds of all the world's food crops. This secure facility, a true botanical Noah's Ark, can hold over four million seeds, ready to be used in case of natural or human-made disasters.
Culture
Book She was 19 when she embarked on La Recherche, the French scientific exploration ship that set sail for the Arctic in 1838 to discover the North-East Passage. Against everyone's advice, Léonie d'Aunet followed her lover and future husband, the painter Auguste Biard, who was to illustrate the adventure. The result of this polar expedition was ‘Voyage d'une femme au Spitzberg’, a collection of letters sent by the young woman to her brother. An invaluable documentary and ethnographic account. Show Inspired by the city of Pyramiden, which they photographed and filmed, and whose sounds they recorded during several trips, composer Jérôme Combier and film-maker Pierre Nouvel have created the show Campo Santo. Combining theatre, music and video, this iconoclastic piece, halfway between an installation and a concert, aims to bring the ‘ghost town’ back to life and to open up a reflection on the wear and tear of time and the perception of the ruins of our societies. Film October 1995. Aboard the Antarctica with his crew, French explorer Jean-Louis Etienne knowingly allows himself to be trapped in the ice of Spitzbergen. The aim of his wintering was to study the ice, the polar fauna and the great cold ocean currents that influence the climate. Marc Jampolsky's documentary ‘Nuit blanche sur la banquise’ (Sleepless on the ice floe) illustrates this unique experience and the difficult conditions of survival in these extreme environments, during the polar night.
The number: 113
In Longyearbyen, a reference point for Svalbard, the polar night lasts 113 days, which is nearly four months, between October and February.
Discover the destination
The largest island in the Svalbard archipelago, Spitsbergen offers the opportunity to discover the Arctic and its treasures. Polar bears, seabird colonies, glaciers and magnificent landscapes punctuate a cruise in Spitsbergen, providing you with an extraordinary adventure. Here are some experiences that you absolutely must have in the Greenland Sea.
Few travellers venture to the Arctic without hoping to catch a glimpse of its most iconic inhabitant: the polar bear. With its thick insulating fur, it rules over the icy wilderness of Svalbard. Whether it's a solitary male or a mother with her cubs, encountering this majestic predator is always a profoundly moving experience.
At 79° N, Magdalena Bay is one of Spitsbergen’s hidden gems. The jagged mountains that frame the bay gave the island its name – Spitsbergen, or 'pointed mountains'. In this dramatic landscape of glaciers and fjords, shades of white, grey and blue blend into a striking natural palette. Mist drifts across sheer cliffs, ice creaks and cracks, and raw nature reigns. It’s here, at the edge of the world, that whales, walruses, seals, eider ducks, terns, polar bears and Arctic foxes find refuge.
Here, the soundscape echoes with crackling ice, creaking pressure ridges and crashing blocks that shatter the calm surface of the water. Named after Prince Albert I of Monaco, who led two expeditions to Svalbard in the late 19th century, this glacier is one of Spitsbergen’s most iconic. Its dramatic cliffs and vivid hues of blue complete a breathtaking polar tableau.
Kongsfjorden, or King’s Fjord, takes its name from the three majestic peaks – known as the 'crowns' – that overlook it, symbolising the kingdoms of Denmark, Sweden and Norway. The nearby glacier feeds calm waters with drifting icebergs, creating a serene Arctic scene where bearded seals, reindeer, barnacle geese and Brünnich’s guillemots are often spotted.
It’s always a magical moment – one that takes your breath away. A reminder of nature at its purest, most powerful and awe-inspiring. As the ship weaves between icebergs towering up to 60 metres high, a deep sense of humility sets in. Step aboard a zodiac with our naturalist guides to get closer to these sparkling giants, their bluish hues and sculpted forms drifting silently across glassy waters.