Narvik

Introduction

Narvik

© capodoglio

Narvik is a town and municipality in the Nordland county in northern Norway. It has around 18,500 inhabitants. It was Swedish iron ore from Kiruna that made Narvik a town. Because of it's ice-free harbour Narvik was chosen to be the iron ore shipping location. The railroad was built, and uncountable ore-laden trains have made the journey from the Swedish mountains to Narvik since. Huge ships loading iron ore are still a daily occurence here.

Events and Festivals

Narvik Vinterfestuka

Dating back to 1956, this week-long festival is held every year in far northern Norway, centered on the municipality of Narvik. It is a cultural affair celebrating the rich history of the people that live in the barren Arctic Circle and the advancements they have made to join modern society. The festivities include concerts, exhibitions, art performances and parades, with locals turning out in historic Norwegian dress. It is held in March as winter winds down, which is where its name is derived, literally translating to "winter festival."

Weather

For a place this much to the north, the climate is surprisingly mild. Winters are just below zero during the day, nights are mostly in the -5 °C to -10 °C range. July is the warmest month, around 18 °C during the day.

Getting There

By Plane

Bodø and Tromsø can be reached from the small Narvik Airport (NVK), while the larger Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE) has flights to these places and to Oslo and Trondheim. There are bus connections from here to Harstad (44 kilometres), Narvik (80 kilometres), and Sortland (120 kilometres) from the airport. The bus connecting Narvik and Svolvaer (160 kilometres) also stops at the airport. Taxis are available as well.

By Train

The Ofoten Line travels from the port of Narvik towards the border with Sweden. Narvik can be reached by train from Stockholm in about 20 hours or so.

By Car

There are highway connections from Narvik across the mountains eastwards to Abisko and Kiruna, Sweden (via European route E10). If you drive in Norway, Narvik is on the E-6 road (European route 6).

By Bus

Ofotens Bilruter offers buses to Bodø, the Harstad/Narvik Airport and places in Ofoten.

Getting Around

By Public Transport

Narvik has a local bus service with routes to neighborhoods outside the centre, including Ankenes, Framnes, and Beisfjord. Tickets for short journeys are NOK 31, NOK 16 for children (under 16) and seniors (67 years and over). Most lines run Monday to Saturday, while a few major routes (in particular Ankenes) have very limited service Sunday afternoons as well.

By Foot

Narvik is a compact city which is easy to navigate on foot.

Sleep

Upscale

View our map of accommodation in Narvik

Keep Connected

Internet

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, but a limited number of computers and limited opening hours.

However, if you bring a laptop with a wireless connection you will find wireless internet zones just about everywhere (gas stations, city centres, cafés, shopping centres, hotels etc.), sometimes free, but be prepared to pay for it though. It is not unusual for hotels to have a terminal for guest use. Well over half of the camp grounds have wifi internet, but if it's crucial for you, best to ask before paying for your camping space.

Phone

See also: International Telephone Calls

The international calling code for Norway is 47. Emergency numbers include Police at 112, Fire at 110 and Emergency Medical Services at 113.
If you are unsure which number to call, 112 is the central for all rescue services and will put you in contact with the correct department. For non-emergencies, the police is to be called on 02800.

Cell phone Coverage generally is very good, except maybe some of the valleys, fjords and mountains. The company with the best coverage is Telenor. The other main operator is Netcom. These two deliver coverage to a multitude of other companies (Tele2 and Network Norway are two smaller companies that deliver coverage in the main cities, but utilize the othe two's net when outside).Prepaid sim card are available in all shops that sell phones and also petrol stations and kiosks. Prepaid has been in a slump in Norway after forced registration was effected, so prices are a bit higher for these than for subscriptions.

If you plan to do quite a bit of websurfing on the phone then Telenor's Prepaid (or "Kontant" in Norwegian) might be the ticket. You can surf as much as you wish, but the card doesn't get charges for more than 10 NOK per day (worth it if you use more than 2MB per day on the days you surf - though after 500MB the speed get's axed to 100kb/s).

Post

Red mailboxes are found easily and post offices are plentiful, with opening hours on most being 9:00am to 5:00pm, with usually shorter hours on Saturday. Stamps can usually only be found at post offices although some popular tourist venues might carry them. Norway's postal system, "Posten", has a good website with a lot of English information including up to date prices and also details about the opening hours of the nearest post office. The most commonly sent format for travellers are letters and cards up to 20 grams, check their website for current prices. If you want to send packages, you might also use international courier companies lik DHL, UPS or TNT.

External Links

• Official Website