Where and when can you see the midnight sun? North of the Arctic Circle, around the June solstice. According to our calculation for 2027, the sun does not set in Tromsø from 18 May to 25 July, and in Rovaniemi, almost exactly on the Arctic Circle, from 7 June to 6 July. Further south, in Reykjavik, the sun sets but twilight lasts all night (white nights); in Helsinki, Stockholm or Oslo, the sky stays light without ever turning fully dark.
Dates vary a lot from one place to another, from a few days to several months. We calculated them day by day for 19 places in Scandinavia, Iceland and Alaska, using the same method as our sunrise and sunset times. The table also gives the polar night period, the winter counterpart of the midnight sun.
Key facts
- Midnight sun: the sun stays above the horizon 24 hours a day. You need to be north of the Arctic Circle (about 66.5° N), or slightly south of it thanks to atmospheric refraction.
- White nights: the sun sets but stays less than 6° below the horizon, so the sky keeps a glow all night (continuous civil twilight).
- Longest midnight sun in the table: Longyearbyen (Svalbard), 128 days in 2027.
- The winter flip side: a polar night lasting several weeks in northern Norway, Finland and Alaska, a good time for the northern lights.
- Dates calculated by Destination de Voyage (NOAA algorithm), not official; terrain and the horizon can shift them by a few days.
Midnight sun, polar night and white night dates (2027)
Places are listed from north to south. Click a column header to sort; the last column leads to our guide.
| Place | Country | Latitude | Midnight sun | Polar night | White nights (civil twilight all night) | Bright nights (sun never more than 12° below the horizon) | Day length on 21 June | Guide |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Longyearbyen (Svalbard) | Norway | 78.2° N | 19 Apr to 24 Aug (128 days) | 27 Oct to 15 Feb (112 days) | 5 Apr to 7 Sep (156 days) | 20 Mar to 23 Sep (188 days) | 24 h | Norway travel guide |
| Utqiagvik (Alaska) | United States | 71.3° N | 11 May to 1 Aug (83 days) | 19 Nov to 22 Jan (65 days) | 24 Apr to 18 Aug (117 days) | 7 Apr to 4 Sep (151 days) | 24 h | Alaska travel guide |
| Honningsvåg (North Cape) | Norway | 71.0° N | 13 May to 31 Jul (80 days) | 21 Nov to 21 Jan (62 days) | 25 Apr to 18 Aug (116 days) | 8 Apr to 4 Sep (150 days) | 24 h | Visit Norway |
| Tromsø | Norway | 69.7° N | 18 May to 25 Jul (69 days) | 28 Nov to 14 Jan (48 days) | 29 Apr to 14 Aug (108 days) | 12 Apr to 31 Aug (142 days) | 24 h | Things to do in Tromsø |
| Inari | Finland | 68.9° N | 22 May to 22 Jul (62 days) | 2 Dec to 10 Jan (40 days) | 2 May to 11 Aug (102 days) | 14 Apr to 29 Aug (138 days) | 24 h | Finnish Lapland travel guide |
| Svolvær (Lofoten) | Norway | 68.2° N | 25 May to 18 Jul (55 days) | 7 Dec to 5 Jan (30 days) | 4 May to 9 Aug (98 days) | 15 Apr to 27 Aug (135 days) | 24 h | Lofoten travel guide |
| Kiruna | Sweden | 67.8° N | 28 May to 16 Jul (50 days) | 11 Dec to 1 Jan (22 days) | 5 May to 7 Aug (95 days) | 17 Apr to 26 Aug (132 days) | 24 h | Sweden travel guide |
| Bodø | Norway | 67.3° N | 31 May to 12 Jul (43 days) | – | 7 May to 5 Aug (91 days) | 18 Apr to 25 Aug (130 days) | 24 h | Norway cruise guide |
| Grímsey | Iceland | 66.5° N | 6 Jun to 6 Jul (31 days) | – | 10 May to 3 Aug (86 days) | 20 Apr to 22 Aug (125 days) | 24 h | Iceland travel guide |
| Rovaniemi | Finland | 66.5° N | 7 Jun to 6 Jul (30 days) | – | 10 May to 3 Aug (86 days) | 20 Apr to 22 Aug (125 days) | 24 h | When to go to Lapland |
| Akureyri | Iceland | 65.7° N | – | – | 13 May to 30 Jul (79 days) | 23 Apr to 20 Aug (120 days) | 23 h 30 min | When to go to Iceland |
| Fairbanks | United States | 64.8° N | – | – | 16 May to 26 Jul (72 days) | 25 Apr to 17 Aug (115 days) | 21 h 50 min | Visit Alaska |
| Reykjavik | Iceland | 64.1° N | – | – | 20 May to 23 Jul (65 days) | 27 Apr to 15 Aug (111 days) | 21 h 09 min | Iceland travel guide |
| Anchorage | United States | 61.2° N | – | – | 7 Jun to 4 Jul (28 days) | 7 May to 5 Aug (91 days) | 19 h 22 min | Alaska travel guide |
| Helsinki | Finland | 60.2° N | – | – | – | 11 May to 1 Aug (83 days) | 18 h 56 min | Visit Finland |
| Oslo | Norway | 59.9° N | – | – | – | 12 May to 31 Jul (81 days) | 18 h 50 min | When to go to Norway |
| Stockholm | Sweden | 59.3° N | – | – | – | 15 May to 29 Jul (76 days) | 18 h 37 min | Visit Stockholm |
| Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 56.0° N | – | – | – | 1 Jun to 11 Jul (41 days) | 17 h 36 min | Visit Edinburgh |
| Copenhagen | Denmark | 55.7° N | – | – | – | 4 Jun to 9 Jul (36 days) | 17 h 32 min | Visit Copenhagen |
How to read these dates
- North of the Arctic Circle (Tromsø, Lofoten, North Cape, Svalbard, Kiruna, Inari): midnight sun in summer, polar night in winter. The further north you go, the longer both periods last.
- On the Arctic Circle (Rovaniemi, Grímsey): only a few days or weeks around 21 June. Terrain to the north can hide the sun at midnight.
- Just south of it (Akureyri, Fairbanks): thanks to refraction, the sun can stay visible or graze the horizon around the solstice; there is no strict polar night.
- White nights (Reykjavik, Akureyri, Fairbanks, Anchorage): no midnight sun, but continuous civil twilight around the solstice, for example from 20 May to 23 July in Reykjavik.
- Bright nights (Helsinki, Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Edinburgh): the sun drops more than 6° below the horizon but never more than 12°; the sky does not turn black, for example from 11 May to 1 August in Helsinki.
When to go to see the midnight sun
The core of the season runs from late May to late July in northern Norway, and is shorter in Finnish and Swedish Lapland. Aim for the week of the solstice if you are close to the Arctic Circle, and a wider window further north. A cruise through the Norwegian fjords to the North Cape lets you cover several latitudes.
Bring a sleep mask: many places to stay have no blackout shutters. For Arctic summer weather, see when to go to Norway, when to go to Lapland and when to go to Iceland.
Methodology
For each day of 2027 we calculate the sun’s declination (NOAA equations) and test whether it can drop below the horizon at the place’s latitude. Midnight sun is counted when the upper edge of the solar disc stays above the horizon all day (zenith of 90.833°, refraction included); polar night when it never rises above it; white nights when the center of the sun never drops more than 6° below the horizon (end of civil twilight).
The calculation assumes a clear horizon at sea level. In mountains or facing high terrain, the period you can actually observe is shorter; at altitude, it can be slightly longer. Coordinates are those of the city center (English Wikipedia).
These values are a Destination de Voyage calculation: they are not official data. For an exact time to the minute (photography, navigation), check with an official service such as the IMCCE or the national weather service. The site’s general approach to verification is described on our methodology page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the midnight sun?
It is the period when the sun does not set: it stays above the horizon 24 hours a day. The phenomenon occurs in summer beyond the Arctic Circle.
Where can you see the midnight sun in Europe?
In northern Norway (Tromsø, Lofoten, North Cape, Svalbard), Sweden (Kiruna) and Finland (Inari, and a few days in Rovaniemi), as well as on the island of Grímsey in Iceland. Even further north, see our guide to Svalbard.
Is there a midnight sun in Iceland?
On mainland Iceland the sun generally sets briefly, except on Grímsey and, around the solstice, in the far north thanks to refraction. In Reykjavik you get white nights.
What is the difference between the midnight sun and white nights?
With the midnight sun, the sun does not set. During white nights it sets but stays just below the horizon, so the night never gets dark.
Are these dates official?
No: they are calculated by Destination de Voyage for a clear horizon, to within a day or two.
Our sources
- Solar calculation: equations from the NOAA Global Monitoring Laboratory (« NOAA Solar Calculator », General Solar Position), rewritten in Python.
- Place coordinates: English Wikipedia (MediaWiki API, « coordinates » property), consulted on 14 October 2026.
- Time zones and daylight saving time: IANA tz database (version distributed with the Python tzdata 2026.2 package), via the zoneinfo module.
- Our methodology
Updated October 2026.