Photo – Mads Pihl, Visit Greenland
Nuuk is located in the western region of Greenland, the largest island in the world. The city is rapidly growing and evolving to become the modern capital of Greenland.
Here we live in close relationships with one another, we greet each other on the streets with a smile and a nod, we acknowledge one another and maybe even give a hearty hello. It is a deep-rooted part of our culture to be open and welcoming to new faces just as well as old ones. We are warm people that will welcome you, as a friend in our beautiful city and country.
This is what it means to ‘Visit Nuuk.” It is a warm embrace. An acknowledgment that we see you. Nuuk in Kalaallisut means a cape. Not a superhero cape or a dress cape. But a cape of Greenland, a far-reaching metropolis stretching into the vast ocean. We will be your cape, your destination at the top of the world. Visit Nuuk and experience what folds this cape, how the wind interacts with it, and feel the textures of the fabric. Find out what it means to live in the arctic, in close proximity to the beautiful sloping fiords of untamed nature, tall mountains, and deep waters. We have opportunities for everyone, for every person you are, or would like to be, in every fold, a new adventure awaits to be discovered and shared. Whether you are curious about the culture, the Inuit myths, and beliefs, or want to experience the Arctic city life, we welcome you. We have amenities such as our 4-star hotels, and coffee made in the Arctic, or visit one of our many bars and take in the vibrant nightlife, sharing cocktails at the skyline bar.
Emergency
Hospital
+299 34 40 00
Police
+299 70 14 48
Fire brigade
+299 55 56 09
If you want to go angling in the fiords, use your hands, and truly feel what it means to ‘fish and dish.’ Or maybe you want to challenge yourself against the elements of Greenlandic nature, camp below the stars and the northern lights, or climb the tallest mountains. From the mountains, you can experience the beautiful bright burning orange and pink sunset of the Arctic. Whatever you decide, you will have an adventure of a lifetime when you Visit Nuuk.
We are proud to live in Nuuk, and all that we have accomplished. We have a vast cast of talented people with different passions and occupations who have been nurtured by the opportunities provided by Nuuk. A gymnasium, a university, museums, football fields, skate parks, fitness centers, and much more.
We have many people with creative minds and the strength to share their knowledge with you. Come and see our sculptures, Sassuma Arnaa at sea, a testament to our relationship with nature. And also, Kaassassuk, a symbol of power in front of the government of Greenland. Whether you would like to put your mind to a canvas or on stage, compete for the strongest or fastest person, develop your sports skills, or further your education, Nuuk is a mentor and a friend, your guiding hand. We hope to one day meet, and I’m sure that together we will both grow and share.
Nuuk Wiki
Nuuk’s size:
690 km2 – 428 sq miles
Municipality Population:
23.211 in Q3 2022
Closest settlements:
Kapisillit lies within Nuuk Fjord with around 40 permanent citizens
Time zone:
GMT -3
Currency:
DKK Danish currency
Card payment available everywhere
Postcodes:
Nuuk 3900
Nuussuaq 3905
City areas:
Nuuk – Inner city area, this is the oldest and largest part of the city, you will find most hotels and shops here
Nuussuaq – Started development in the 1970-ies you will find the airport and indoor swimming pools here
Qinngorput – The newest city section that started development in 2005, over 3.000 people live here
Municipality:
Sermersooq Municipality is the largest municipality in the world, spanning Nuuk, Paamiut and East Greenland and several settlements around the coast
Fjords:
Nuuk fjord is the second largest fjord in the world, and is filled with adventure, available all seasons by boat and snowmobile in the winter
Nuuk – Frequently Asked Questions
Find answers to your most common questions
Where is Nuuk?
Nuuk is in the mid-western part of Greenland, right between Paamiut and Sisimiut
How to travel to Nuuk Greenland
Greenland is an island, the most common way to travel to the country is flying. There are two airports that travel to Greenland now, Copenhagen airport and Keflavik airport. The Airlines are Iceland Air and Air Greenland.
If you travel from Copenhagen you need to stop at a hub station in Greenland called Kangerlussuaq and get into a smaller plane from there to Nuuk. But this is included in the ticket so you don´t need to book separate tickets to travel to Nuuk
If you fly from Keflavik, you fly directly to Nuuk
Where to stay in Nuuk
Nuuk has many options for accomodations ranging from hotels to rentable apartments, visit our accomodation page to explore your options
Business travel in Nuuk
As the largest city in Greenland, Nuuk comes with many options for business related activies in the city
Places that offer conference rooms are
If you need larger facilities that can house several hundreds of people you can look at
Inussivik and Godthåbhallen our stadiums
And the open spaces of our cultural center Katuaq
Nuuk – Sustainability
Nuuk is known as the smallest metropolitan city in the world, the keyword here is small, which means that the city can be susceptible to stress. A large group of visitors has the potential to strain our infrastructure. That is why we hope and work towards you visiting us outside the high traffic seasons, to alleviate some of the stress. Our dream is to not have any fluctuating seasons, but a constant 70% capacity throughout the year, this will create a foundation for a reliable tourism economy and higher job security.
Sustainability pledge
Nuuk, the capital of Greenland, became EarthCheck certified based on criteria formulated by GSTC. This means that throughout every sector we are looking to improve economic, social, cultural and environmental aspects.
Opening up to the world
In 2024, Nuuk will open its new international airport and welcome direct visitors from all over the world.
EarthCheck
To prepare Nuuk for the new international airport, we have teamed up with EarthCheck who is the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism.
Data driven approach
Sermersooq Business collects relevant data from Nuuk relating to sustainability. This data has been analyzed by EarthCheck, where EarthCheck compares Nuuk’s data with similar destinations.
Silver certified
On August 31st 2021 Nuuk celebrated becoming Silver Certified by EarthCheck. This is an important step on a data-driven journey towards sustainability.
AECO
AECO is the association of arctic expedition cruise operators
who in their own words exists “To ensure that expedition cruises and tourism in the Arctic is carried out with the utmost consideration for the vulnerable, natural environment, local cultures and cultural remains, as well as the challenging safety hazards at sea and on land.”
The city of Nuuk has in collaboration with AECO created community guidelines on how to act sustainably in nature, around our culture.
Read about the cummunity guidelines here
Photo – Mads Pihl, Visit Greenland
Nuuk – Practical information
Nuuk is an interesting city, we are a fun melting pot of old and new and growing more and more multicultural.
Language
In Nuuk the primary language is Greenlandic, a language that has a lot of similarities to the Inuktitut language spoken by our fellow natives in Canada, these languages are so close to each other that we can understand most of what is said in a conversation.
The second language of Nuuk is Danish, which are taught in our school very early, and because we are still a part of the Danish kingdom
English is also spoken by many, it is both taught in our school very early, and we consume a lot of media in english. So if you can’t speak greenlandic or danish it will still be very easy for you to communicate.
Temperature
Our hottest temperature has been recorded in the month of July and is 22.2 Celsius (72 F)
The coldest month is in February where it gets as cold as -25 c (-13 F), so it is very important to bring your warmest clothes.
Midnight sun
As we are very close to the arctic circle, we can enjoy the midnight sun in the summer, this means that the sun never goes down! If you think about moving here, it is very important to get good quality black our curtains for this period, to ease your sleep.
But what about the winter? Nuuk lies in the perfect spot in Greenland, as we can enjoy the sun all summer and in the winter we still get to enjoy the sun for around 4 hours. If you get further north in Greenland that sun does not come up for several months, a cool experience if you are looking for new dark sky tours.
From Nuuk to other cities
If you wish to travel to other cities in Greenland you have to fly with Air Greenland or sail with one of our many operators, there are no connecting roads to any of the cities.
Roads in Nuuk
But there are plenty of roads in Nuuk, over 100 kilometers in fact, everything is within walking distance, but if you want to go faster you can take the bus, taxis, shuttle service, rent a car or a bike.
Why is Nuuk GOH when traveling?
All the cities have old danish names that was used before, and the danish name for Nuuk is Godthåb (the good hope, which is why when you fly to Nuuk the code for the city is GOH)
The national library of Greenland can be found downtown and is open for everyone, it is here you can read books about Greenland and any genre, there is also a large kid section for your family. The library also offers free wifi and you can use the public computers if you are in need.
Address
Imaneq 26
Postbox 1011
3900Nuuk
Contact
Telefon: +299 32 11 56
Fax: +299 32 10 11
E-mail: nalib@katak.gl
Opening Hours
Monday – Friday – 12:00-18:00
Saturday – 11:00 -14:00
Sunday – closed
All hotels in Nuuk offer wifi in the facilities
If you’re outside the hotel you can read our guide for free wifi in Nuuk
Nuuk has two taxi companies to choose from:
Tagagut
+299 321 321
When you call you need to press a number to choose the area you are in, Nuuk, Nuussuaq or Qinngorput
They also have an app that you can download
The other taxi company is Nuuk Taxi
+299 363636
Nuup Bussii is the bus public transportation system that can take you anywhere you need to go. You can’t miss their large yellow buses with the green bus stops all over town. Here you can see the designated route for every bus in the city, and plan which buses take to your destination, take note of the days on the right side of the plan.
If you have trouble finding your busstop, you can find the closest busstop to you on google maps, as they are all marked.
You can also see the live position of your bus on this live view
Hours
Monday to Saturday
06:00 – 0:00 Sunday 07:20 – 00:00
Cash ticket:
- Adults and seniors 20 DKK
- Children ( 4 -11 years) 8 DKK
10-journey-ticket:
- Adults and seniors 136 DKK
- Children 56 DKK
Monthly card:
- Adults DKK 556
- Children 265 DKK
- Seniors 265 DKK
Plan Your Trip
We are excited to meet you, and we hope that you have an amazing experience while you’re here. Let us help you figure out what to do in Nuuk.
There are many things to consider before traveling to our home in Greenland, but we have everything that you need to know on our site before traveling.
Where are we staying? Where are we eating? Where are we going? What are we doing?
Don’t worry we are here to help
Photo – Rebecca Gustafsson , Visit Greenland
Frederik Elsner
Musician
"Frederik Elsner is one of the most popular Greenlandic pop singers, both with his band, “Nanook” and his solo project F. He writes his own songs and sings in Greenlandic, with a voice that people of all kinds of nationalities resonate with even if they don’t understand the words."
Meet Locals
Read about the people that live in Nuuk, and who knows you might run into them while you’re here!
Bibi Chemnitz
Fashion brand owner
