Wall Street Journal’s Nina Sovich on how to spend the winter season in some of Europe’s top destinations:

After the sun sets on Tromsø on Nov. 27 (at 11:45 a.m.,) it won’t peek above the horizon again until mid-January. But this Arctic Circle city doesn’t use winter darkness as an excuse to sleep in; if anything, its cultural and sporting opportunities only increase in the depths of winter. Under a sky frequently illuminated by aurora borealis, visitors can set off by sea to watch whales, or across the tundra to visit the indigenous Sami people and attempt to endear themselves to reindeer. Within the city, the Northern Lights cultural festival and the Tromsø International Film Festival are two bright spots.