Norway & Svalbard North Cape
A 307-metre cliff at 71° north where Europe’s road network ends and the Barents Sea begins — reached from the fishing port of Honningsvåg.
Kirkenes: things to see
A frontier town, two borderlands and the wild Varanger coast.
1. Kirkenes town and its war history
The Borderland Museum tells the story of the war, the Soviet liberation and life beside the Iron Curtain, and houses a gallery of work by the Sami artist John Savio. Andersgrotta, an air-raid tunnel under the centre that sheltered thousands of townspeople, opens for guided visits. A Soviet soldier’s monument stands on a rise in the town.
2. The Snowhotel
A complex beside the fjord about 10 km from town, with an insulated snow hotel kept frozen all year, an ice bar, a husky kennel, reindeer and cabins with glass roofs. Day visitors can tour the carved rooms; overnight guests sleep in expedition sleeping bags at around minus 4°C.
3. King crab safari
Red king crabs, natives of the North Pacific, were released near Murmansk by Soviet scientists in the 1960s and have since spread along the Barents coast, where they support a valuable fishery. They can span more than a metre across the legs. Trips combine hauling the pots with a crab feast.
4. The Russian border and Grense Jakobselv
Storskog, 15 km east of Kirkenes, is Norway’s only road crossing into Russia; it is open to restricted traffic and you need a visa to cross. The road continues about 60 km to Grense Jakobselv, where a stone chapel of 1869 stands at a river mouth on the Barents Sea, with Russia a stone’s throw away. Crossing the border line, even by a step, and photographing Russian personnel or installations are offences that are fined.
5. Pasvik valley
A 100 km finger of pine forest, bogs and lakes running south between Russia and Finland — the westernmost edge of the Siberian taiga and home to Norway’s densest brown bear population. Øvre Pasvik National Park lies at its end, near the cairn where the three countries meet.
6. Vardø
Norway’s easternmost town, on an island reached by an undersea tunnel about 250 km from Kirkenes. See the eighteenth-century star-shaped Vardøhus Fortress and the Steilneset Memorial, a long gallery on stilts and a burning chair in a glass room, remembering 91 people executed for witchcraft here in the seventeenth century.
7. Hornøya bird cliffs
A ten-minute boat ride from Vardø harbour lands you beneath a cliff alive with puffins, guillemots, razorbills, shags and kittiwakes, with paths to a lighthouse at Norway’s easternmost point. Boats run from about March to August; the birds are at their peak from April to July.
Destinations
Combine it with
Norway & Svalbard 
Norway & Svalbard Alta & Hammerfest
Finnmark’s two western towns: Alta for stable aurora weather, rock art and an ice hotel; Hammerfest for a harbour on the edge of the Barents Sea.
The Pole & Russia Russian Arctic
Half of the Arctic Ocean’s coastline, from Murmansk to Wrangel Island — described here for understanding, not as a recommendation: most Western governments currently advise against travel to Russia.
Plan your trip
Book tours in Kirkenes
Compare real-time prices and availability on GetYourGuide. Most tours can be cancelled free of charge up to 24 hours ahead.