Things to do
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Gjesværstappan
Three bird islands off the village of Gjesvær hold puffins, gannets, kittiwakes and white tailed eagles in the hundreds of thousands through the breeding season. Small boats run out from Gjesvær between roughly April and August; landing is prohibited and the viewing is done from the water. Swell in the sound turns the trip rough without warning.
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Honningsvåg Church
Only this timber church survived the German retreat of 1944, when the rest of the town was burned, and it sheltered residents through the following winter. The interior is plain, pale and quick to see. Standing at the edge of the harbour, it doubles as the town's record of the reconstruction.
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Knivskjellodden
The true tip of the island lies at the end of a marked walk of about nine kilometres each way over bare rock and bog, reaching a point slightly further north than the cape plateau. Cairns mark the route and the return climb is the hard part. Sign the book at the headland; the walk takes the better part of a day.
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Nordkappmuseet
Fishing, wartime evacuation and the long history of travel to the cape are covered in a small harbourside museum above the tourist office. Displays are in Norwegian and English and take about an hour. Opening hours narrow sharply outside the cruise season, so a winter visit needs checking first.
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North Cape
A cliff 307 metres above the Barents Sea carries the globe monument and a visitor hall cut into the rock, and the sun stays up here from mid May to late July. The plateau is ticketed and crowded when the coach convoys arrive in the early evening. Fog is common, and the wind rarely drops.