Skip to content

Photos: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Bernt Rostad from Oslo, Norway, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Illustratedjc, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Photo credits

Photos: Diego Delso, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 Bernt Rostad from Oslo, Norway, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 Illustratedjc, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0

Polaria, a building shaped like ice

  • 🇳🇴 Tromsø, Norway
  • Live video tour
  • 45 min
  • English, Norwegian
  • Up to 10 people
  • Nature
Your local guide Petter Wold 18 years guiding View profile

Highlights

  • A building shaped like tilted ice floes
  • A seal pool, described from outside
  • Arctic marine life, explained by a fisherman
  • Waterfront architecture with a purpose
  • Tromsø's Arctic waters, brought closer

About this tour

This session looks at Polaria from outside, a building shaped like tilted ice floes on Tromsø's waterfront. You see the panels' unusual angles and hear about the Arctic marine life kept inside, including a seal pool. Petter draws on his years as a fisherman to talk through the wider Arctic waters the building represents.

He keeps the session brief and focused on the exterior, describing what is inside from what he knows of the collection. Questions about specific species come up regularly, and he answers with a fisherman's practical knowledge alongside the museum's own facts.

This suits anyone curious about Arctic marine life who wants context before a visit. It pairs with Petter's northern lights call for a fuller sense of what Tromsø's environment actually involves.

Included

  • Live video walk with a local guide
  • Questions to your guide all the way
  • A short list of places to visit later

Not included

  • Internet connection
  • Travel to the city

Itinerary

  1. Welcome and sound check 5 min

    The guide joins the video call, checks the picture and sound with you, and gives you a quick sense of Tromsø before heading out.

  2. The tilted building 15 min

    The camera looks at Polaria's tilted, ice-floe-shaped panels from outside, and I explain the design choice behind a building meant to evoke pack ice breaking apart.

  3. What's inside 15 min

    Standing at the entrance, I describe some of the Arctic marine life kept inside, including the seals in their pool, without the camera stepping through the door.

  4. Your questions 7 min

    Time to ask anything about Tromsø: prices, safety, food, or whatever you are curious about.

  5. A short list to keep 3 min

    Before you go, the guide sums up with a few things worth remembering: a dish to try: King crab and Sentrum, worth a slower look.

Good to know

  • A stable wifi or mobile connection makes the picture smoother than a shaky one.
  • Any phone, tablet or laptop with a camera works. You watch, the guide does the walking.
  • Times are shown in Oslo time, so check the time where you are before you book.
  • The session is not recorded, and recording it yourself is not allowed. Feel free to take your own notes.
  • Ask questions any time, out loud or in the chat. The guide will pause to answer.
  • Sessions run in small groups, up to 10 people, so there is room for everyone to ask something.

Questions about this tour

What will the session cover?

The guide walks through Tromsø, showing you The tilted building and What's inside live on camera, plus whatever else you would like to see.

What happens if my connection drops?

Rejoin with the same link within a few minutes and the guide will catch you up on anything you missed.

Can I ask the guide questions during the session, or is it a fixed script?

Anything, any time. Sessions leave room for your own questions throughout, not just at the end.

How it works

  • You get one join link after booking.
  • Join from any device: phone, tablet or laptop.
  • We meet on Google Meet; the link comes with your booking. I walk around Polaria live with my phone.

Times shown in Oslo time (CET)

Cancellation

Flexible

  • Cancel up to 24 hours before the start: full refund.
  • Cancel less than 24 hours before the start, or no-show: no refund.
  • If the guide cancels or the date does not reach its minimum group: full refund.
  • Cancel in My Account → Bookings; the refund is calculated from the start time in the tour's local time.

Reviews

No reviews yet. Reviews appear here after travellers have completed this tour.

How reviews work

Only travellers who booked and paid through Locals Guide and whose tour took place can leave a review, within 60 days of the tour. Every review is marked "Verified booking". We check reviews before they appear and publish positive and negative ones alike; we remove only reviews that break our rules (insults, personal data, unrelated content). Guides cannot pay for, edit or hide reviews, and ratings are the plain average of all published reviews.

Next: Wed 28 Oct · 10 seats left From 17,00 €

Report this tour

Tell us what is wrong. Reports are reviewed by our team, usually within 2 business days. Knowingly false reports may lead to action against the reporter.