CAP NORD (NORDKAPP)

At the end of the North Cape cliff once stood a place for Saami ritual sacrifices. Today, all that remains is a large parking lot, a compulsory passageway to the tourist center hidden in the cliff and inaugurated in 1988. There's no way to avoid paying, as the road is surrounded by barriers. Otherwise, keep in mind that entry is valid for 24 hours. A lot of clever people come to pitch their tents in the park. It's a great way to enjoy an amazing place, a radically different environment, and save a night in a hotel with a breathtaking view of sunrise and sunset over the cape! However, you'll have to put up with the incessant hum of the coaches, which undeniably detracts from the majesty of the surroundings. In any case, there's something magical about the place: you know you're at the northernmost point of Europe, and that's enough. The road that leads to the North Cape has a lot to do with this. The slow progression, the aridity of the landscapes, all contribute to making the cape a place apart, time and time again. If the end of the world is fascinating, the road to it is no less so.

Apart from the view towards a blue horizon, the vast tourist structure carved into the cliffs houses a modern complex of stores, cafeterias and restaurants (where prices are right). A small museum is dedicated to the first personalities who came to the North Cape. Italian explorer-priest Pietro Negri, in search of the end of the world, was one of the first tourists to visit the North Cape in 1664. This was followed in 1873 by Oscar II, King of Sweden-Norway, and Louis-Philippe, who had been chased out of France in 1795, disguised as an ordinary visitor. At the time, the only way to get close to the North Cape cliffs was by boat, and then to climb the 300 m to the summit, as the carriage road across the plateau wasn't opened until 1956. This road will soon be open again, and the physical challenge will give access to a sumptuous view of this cape.
Inside the hall, a "champagne bar" has been set up facing a panoramic bay with a superb view of the midnight sun, which lasts from May 16 to July 28 (when there's no fog). A small outdoor terrace hangs over a 300 m precipice overlooking the icy Arctic Ocean. Fog often rises from the ocean, enveloping the tip of the North Cape, which then seems to float between sky and sea. This is the end of the world! Do it if you can.