Some guidebooks refer to the Norwegian city of Tromso as the Paris of the North – but apart from a frozen baguette in a local supermarket, I failed to see any Gallic connection.
But then in midwinter here it is dark for 21 hours a day, so perhaps I missed the Viking version of the Eiffel Tower or Arc de Triomphe.
However, those long nights do make this buzzy university city one of the top locations for spotting the Northern Lights. And getting here has never been easier, thanks to non-stop flights from London.