In addition to wilderness and spectacular scenery, a number of towns in Troms also offer a high-class and varied urban experience. The towns of Tromsø, Harstad and Finnsnes provide abundant shopping opportunities, cultural life and adventures - and moreover, they are surrounded by great scenery!

Tromsø
Tromsø has experienced an exceptional growth in population over a long period; with its 62,000 inhabitants (as of 2005), it is among the biggest centres of population in Norway. Tromsø is the largest Nordic city north of the Arctic Circle and is a centre of education, culture, services and research in the North. Over a hundred years ago visitors were surprised to find sophisticated culture, intellectual life and up-to-the-minute fashion this far north, and called the city the "Paris of the North". Its citizens earned good money from Pomor trade with Russia and had good maritime connections with Europe. Another name for Tromsø is the "Gateway to the Arctic", due to the fact that the city has been the starting-point for innumerable expeditions to the Arctic Ocean and other Arctic regions. Tromsø is well-known for its happy, hospitable and pulsating nightlife. The city contains the world's northernmost university, which, together with other institutes of education, attracts thousands of students to the city and adds a youthful dynamic to the urban community. More than a hundred nationalities are represented here, and the Sami - our national indigenous people - have a centre of focus here in the city.

 

 Harstad
The town is situated on Norway's largest island, Hinnøya, in the far south of the county. Harstad is relatively young and sprang up around 1900, partly due to its extensive herring fisheries. Harstad has 23,000 inhabitants (as of 2005). The town has graduallyclaimed the status of a cultural centre in the North due, amongst other things,to the annual Festival of North Norway.Several big oil companies have offices in town, which also makes Harstad the "oil town"of the North. Outside Harstad we find Trondenes, a unique cultural- historical area where the Vikings left their mark. The beautiful, whitewashed stone church is theworld's northernmost stone church from the Late Middle Ages.
 

Finnsnes
The county's youngest town, Finnsnes, which achieved its town status at the turn of the millennium, forms a natural centre in Central Troms and is called the "Gateway to Senja". The town has 4,000 inhabitants (as of 2005).