In the ice of the Arctic, from Svalbard to Greenland

Longyearbyen is the capital of the Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, located on Svalbard’s main island, and is the northernmost territorial capital on the planet. With winter temperatures dropping to below 40°C, the landscapes of this mining town are simply breathtaking. The glaciers, the mountains stretching as far as the eye can see and the untouched nature, make you feel like you’re in completely unexplored territory.

Set sail for southwest Spitsbergen, immerse yourself in this environment unlike any other and explore its unexpected riches. In this natural sanctuary, the polar light combines with the changing weather of the Arctic, a big blue sky, the horizon scattered with clouds, the enveloping mist erasing the border between the land and the sea. Follow in the footsteps of the first explorers and admire the majestic fjords and glaciers sculpting the breathtaking landscapes, their icy waters shimmering beneath the midnight sun. The fjords, veritable cathedrals of ice, reveal their millennial secrets, while the glaciers, like sleeping giants, move slowly towards the sea, setting free sparkling icebergs. On the water, you might spot belugas and rorquals, while on the shores, seals and Arctic foxes add a touch of mystery to this living tableau, where the steep cliffs become breeding grounds for thousands of seabirds, like guillemots. Southwest Spitsbergen is an ode to nature in its rawest and purest form.

The Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve is the second largest protected area in Norway. Established in 1973, this nature conservation area stretching over more than 21,000 km2 will offer you stunning panoramas including coastal landscapes, rocky islets, mountain plateaux, vast tundra plains, and ice floes. With a little luck, you will be able to observe a wide variety of seabirds, given the site is listed as an Important Bird Area, as well as cetaceans, Svalbard reindeer, or even Arctic foxes. Among other things, Edgeoya Island is renowned for providing shelter to a number of polar bears during the breeding season.

The Nordaust-Svalbard Nature Reserve has been protecting the northernmost and coldest part of the archipelago, Nordaustlandet (North East Land), since 1973. This vast polar desert covered by two ice caps is the second largest island in the Svalbard archipelago. Protected by the Gulf Stream, the fjords and cliffs in the west and north are home to large colonies of birds and walruses. The landscapes in the colder east and south are dominated by imposing glaciers that calve majestic icebergs in the vast Hinlopen Strait. Large colonies of thick-billed murres have taken up residence on the sheer cliffs*. You may even get the chance to see a bear or an Arctic fox roaming in the vicinity.

*depending on nesting and migration period

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Set sail for North-East Greenland to immerse yourself further and up higher in the Arctic region to explore the unexpected riches of the sea ice, where traditional ships cannot travel at this time of the year. As the light shifts and the moods of the sky change, the different states of the ice and the infinite diversity of its textures create an exceptionally stunning tableau. With patience and humility, you will sail amid the pearl-white floating cathedrals and the ice carried by the Transpolar Drift. En route, icebergs have their journey halted by ice and pressure ridges reveal their sharp edges. In the midst of this icy vastness, beauty is found in the detail and the magic of the moment. In the realm of polar bears, Le Commandant Charcot is a reassuring cocoon built for polar exploration and offers you wonderful opportunities to observe these lords of the ice when you happen upon them. You may even get the chance to admire the moving sight of a mother and her cub travelling across the immaculate icy expanse.

On the East coast of Greenland, in the Ittoqqortoormiit region that is covered with snow and ice for nine months of the year, you will have the rare opportunity of immersing yourself in the heart of an isolated territory and exploring the beauty of its infinite polar whiteness. The high alpine mountains punctuate the sky and gradually reveal their dark rock edges beneath a coat of snow. Located at the entrance to the longest system of fjords in the world, sits the village of Ittoqqortoormiit, one of the northernmost inhabited places on the East coast. Its name means ‘great house’ in Greenlandic and it is home to the last hunters of the polar region, whose ancestral way of life you will encounter. As soon as the thickness of the ice floe allows it, the hunters set out on the trail of walruses, seals, narwhals, musk oxen and polar bears, travelling by traditional dog sleds. On these expanses of immaculate snow, the silence is broken only by the sounds of the dogs, the grating of a sled coming back from a run or of footsteps on the ice. You will discover Inuit traditions through privileged and festive moments on the ice floe and in the village.

Aboard your ship, follow in the footsteps of Jules Poret de Blosseville, a French explorer and sailor. In 1833, he set off to discover this isolated and unexplored part of eastern Greenland aboard La Lilloise, an adventure with a fatal outcome. The uninhabited territory that bears his name lies to the south of Scoresby Sound. Surrounded by ice, icebergs and pack ice - thin or thick, flat or pronounced - as far as the eye can see, Blosseville Coast is a wild and distant place to which very few people have access. Exploring it means a slow immersion into the heart of a frozen, almost unreal desert, where the variations in light transform one’s perception of the landscape. In the kingdom of the polar bears, Le Commandant Charcot, a silent ship open to the exterior, will offer exceptional moments observing Arctic wildlife, through a series of encounters.

Still relatively unknown just a century ago, the east coast of Greenland remains the most authentic and majestic region in the Arctic. Explore this part of the world where the alpine mountains merge intimately with the sea and the fjords are adorned with high, snow-capped peaks and icebergs drifting or trapped in the pack ice. You will slowly immerse yourself in the heart of frozen landscapes of surreal beauty. The infinite variety of textures in the different types of ice creates an ever-changing scenery. Follow in the wake of the famous Pourquoi Pas?, the ship of Captain Jean-Baptiste Charcot who set off with his crew in 1934 to land Paul-Émile Victor in Ammassalik. In this fjord of raw and untamed beauty, the explorer devoted his first ethnographic mission to the Ammassalimiut, a little-known Inuit community. In this deceptively frozen landscape, the silence is broken only by the sounds of dogs and the grating of sled runners against the ice. You will receive a warm welcome in villages still protected by the fast ice. You will have the opportunity to discover the Inuit culture’s ancestral traditions during joyous and authentic moments shared with the communities.

Spend exceptional moments sailing aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s first luxury polar exploration vessel and the first PC2-class polar cruise ship capable of sailing into the very heart of the ice, on seas and oceans which the frozen conditions render inaccessible to ordinary ships. Le Commandant Charcot is fitted with oceanographic and scientific equipment selected by a committee of experts. Take advantage of the on-board lectures and opportunities for discussion with these specialists to learn more about the poles. Participate in furthering scientific research with PONANT and let us discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to us.

Iceland’s capital stretches along the edge of a vast bay in the west of the country. Perlan, the “Pearl of Reykjavík”, a museum located on ’Oskjuhlið hill, offers a panoramic view of the lush, green landscapes. A little further, one can easily spot the signpost showing the way to the evangelical Hallgrímskirkja church, and to the historical centre where one can stroll along the Skólavördustígur and the Laugavegur, two lively streets with charming small shops. For some relaxation just outside of the city, visitors have the opportunity to visit the Reykjanes peninsula and its famous thermal lagoons of the Blue Lagoon.