Question 1

Finnsnes on Your Own

Accepted Answer

The center of Finnsnes gathers around a lake with a park, the town hall and the church, and the tourist office is in town for anything farther afield. On a coastal stop, keep to the center. The lake and the park: Finnsnesvannet, in the middle of town, is ringed by a park, with the town hall, the church and the small square Arvid Hanssens plass beside it. The church: Finnsnes Church, a white brick church from 1979 designed by Nils Toft, stands in the town center. Shops: Amfi Finnsnes, a shopping center opened in 2005, has shops and places to eat. Questions: The tourist office for the Senja region is in town, at Bernhard Lunds vei 14. Senja itself: Buses run from Finnsnes to most of the villages on Senja's west side, but traveling between those villages by bus takes careful planning. Getting back on time: Your ship posts the time you are due back aboard. Coastal voyage ships keep to a timetable, and no ship waits for passengers touring on their own.

Question 2

Tipping in Norway

Accepted Answer

Tipping is not expected in Norway, where restaurant staff are well paid, but rounding up the bill is normal. Prices are in Norwegian kroner (NOK), and euros are generally not accepted in shops. In a restaurant, rounding up is the usual habit, and a tip of around 10 percent is seen as generous. Practice with taxi drivers varies, so a tip there is up to you. Cash can still be handy for tipping a guide where cards are not taken.

Question 3

Finnsnes and Senja

Accepted Answer

Finnsnes is the regional center for Midt-Troms, a trading and service town for the surrounding district, and the road onto Senja starts here. Since 2020 the whole island and Finnsnes have formed a single municipality, run from the town. The culture house, opened in 1995, has a 400-seat hall for theater and concerts and the public library. Each summer the town holds a festival week, Finnsnes i Fest. On Senja's Atlantic side, the villages of Fjordgård, Husøy, Mefjordvær and Gryllefjord sit among steep mountains, and Torsken has an 18th-century church. Kaperdalen Sami Museum, on the way from Finnsnes to the west coast, is a restored Sami farm of turf huts.

Question 4

History

Accepted Answer

Finnsnes is recorded as a farm name around 1400, but it grew into a town only after trade was set up at the narrowest point of the strait in the 1840s. It took over the district's administration in the 1960s and received town status in 2000. A church to the north, around 1150: The district's first church was built at Bjorelvnes, about 15 km north of today's town, around the year 1150. The name, around 1400: Finnsnes appears as a farm name, written Finznes, around 1400. It may come from an older name for the Finnfjorden. A municipality, 1838: Lenvik, the municipality that included Finnsnes, was formed on January 1, 1838. Trade at the strait, 1840s: Trade was established at Finnsnes in the 1840s, where the Gisundet strait is narrowest, and scheduled boats began to call. Roads inland, 1890s: In the 1890s roads were built toward the inland communities of Karlstad and Rossfjord. The administration moves, 1960s: Lenvik's administration moved from Gibostad to Finnsnes in the 1960s. The bridge, 1972: Crown Prince Harald opened the Gisund Bridge to Senja on June 23, 1972. A town, 2000: Finnsnes received town status on January 1, 2000. Senja, 2020: On January 1, 2020, Lenvik merged with Berg, Torsken and Tranøy to form Senja Municipality, with Finnsnes as its center. To learn more ashore: Lenvik Museum, in an 1885 parsonage at Bjorelvnesveien 131, about 15 km north of Finnsnes, covers the district's coastal culture and church history.

Question 5

Finnsnes with Children

Accepted Answer

The children's museum run by Midt-Troms Museum, at Bernhard Lunds vei 4, is built for hands-on play, but it opens only on weekend afternoons. On other days, the park around Finnsnesvannet in the town center is the easy outing. Younger children: At the children's museum they can steer from the wheelhouse of a fishing boat, try milking the cow in the barn and hear Sami stories inside a turf hut. It opens on Saturday and Sunday afternoons; check before you go. School age: The same museum has a scaled-down Nordland boat and a wooden quay where children follow a catch from the sea to the drying racks and the barrel.

Finnsnes

Good to know

What to Expect

Finnsnes on Your Own

Tipping in Norway

Finnsnes and Senja

History

Finnsnes with Children

Port crowds

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