Vardøhus Festning The Far North

The star-shaped Vardøhus Fortress – yes, of course, it's the world's most northerly – was constructed in 1737 by King Christian VI. For a fortress, it's painted in unusually gentle fairy-tale colours. Stroll around the flower-festooned bastions, past turf-roofed buildings and Russian cannons after you've paid the admission fee, either at the guard office or by dropping it into the WWII sea mine that guards the entrance.