Making the most of Hammerfest
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
Hammerfest, the northernmost town in the world.
The dock is within walking distance of town or at Fuglenes, about a mile away. Rather than tie up at Fuglenes, ships sometimes anchor and tender passengers ashore to the dock in the town center.
"Hammerfest" means "mooring place" and refers to the natural harbor (remarkably ice free year-round thanks to the Gulf Stream) formed by the crags in the mountain.
Printable map to take along.
Hammerfest – the world's northernmost town – is one of the most important travel destinations in North Norway. Over 250,000 tourists visit the town annually. The borough has approx. 9200 inhabitants, and a surface area of about 844 km2. It covers parts of the islands of Sørøya, Kvaløya and Seiland, and since it was awarded city status in 1789, it has been the natural center of the region. Trade and industry is characterised by fishing, fish processing, the Snøhvit field (LNG), service industries and tourism.
The Royal and Ancient Polar Bear Society (Isbjørnklubben): Learn about Hammerfest's history with Arctic hunting and trading. Visitors can join the society and receive a certificate.
- The Meridian Column - This beautiful memorial was raised in 1856 to commemorate the first project to measure the exact size and shape of the earth. The memorial is in the Fuglenes area of Hammerfest.
- Music pavilion - An example of the great architecture of old Hammerfest, the pavilion was built by the local artists Eva and Knut Arnesen
- The reconstruction museum invites you to an exiting and modern exhibition of the forced evacuation and 'scorched earth' policy in Finnmark and north Troms during World War II and the post-war reconstruction of these counties
Money
The Norwegian currency is the Norwegian crown (norske krone), abbreviated kr. A 1/100th krone is called øre. 1.00 EUR = about 8 NOK
ATMs in Norway are called Minibank.
Nearly all stores accept major credit cards such as Mastercard and Visa (Bring your passport/driver's license, as you are required to identify yourself when using a credit card).
Staying connected
Norwegian is the official language of Norway. The language is very close and mutually intelligible with the two other Scandinavian languages, English widely spoken.
Most Norwegian households are connected to the internet in some way (often broadband), making Cybercafés hard to find outside major cities, due to a relatively small market. Most public libraries have free public access to the internet. WiFi is in many spots (not free).
Opening Hours and
Opening hours in Norway are better than they used to be, but many smaller stores still close early on Saturday (1 PM or 3 PM is typical) and nearly everything is closed on Sundays. You'll often see opening hours written as "9-21 (9-18)" on doors, meaning 9 AM to 9 PM weekdays, 9 AM to 6 PM Saturday.