The Far North - Norway - page 782

Vadsø Tourist Office TOURIST INFORMATION
( 78 94 04 44; www.varanger.com ; Tollbugata 16; 10am-6pm Mon-Fri, to 4pm Sat & Sun mid-

Jun-mid-Aug)
Summer only, and next to the Rica Hotel.

Getting There & Away
Vadsø is a stop only on the northbound Hurtigruten coastal ferry, which heads for Kirkenes
at 8am. There are at least two buses daily to/from Tana Bru (1¼ hours) and Vardø (1½
hours).

Vardø

Pop 2274
It's a pancake-flat 75km drive between Vadsø and Vardø, well off the beaten track for all
but the most die-hard travellers. But the ribbon of road has a lonely charm as it threads its
way between the shoreline, hardy grasses and tough, low shrubs.
Vardø qualifies as Norway's easternmost town. Although this butterfly-shaped island is
connected to the mainland by the 2.9km-long Ishavstunnelen (Arctic Ocean tunnel), locals
maintain that theirs is the only 'mainland' Norwegian town lying within the Arctic climatic
zone (its average temperature is below 10°C). Once a stronghold of trade with the Russian
Pomors, it's now a major fishing port and home to many Russian and, strangely, Sri
Lankan immigrants.

Sights & Activities

Vardøhus Festning FORT
(Festningsgate 20; admission Nkr40; 8am-9pm mid-Apr-mid-Sep, 10am-6pm rest of year)
The star-shaped Vardøhus Fortress - yes, of course, it's the world's most northerly - was
constructed in 1737 by King Christian VI. For a fortress, it's painted in unusually gentle
fairy-tale colours. Stroll around the flower-festooned bastions, past turf-roofed buildings