Snowhotel Kirkenes

Kirkenes is about as far northeast as Norway goes — past the Arctic Circle, close to the Russian border, at the end of a long road. The snow hotel there is not preserved between seasons; it is cut again each winter, corridors, sculpture and all.

A night in the ice rooms means an insulated sleeping bag on a bed of ice, in air held at a steady sub-zero temperature regardless of the weather outside. Washing, changing and eating happen in heated service buildings nearby.

Year-round cabins stand on the same site for guests who want the place without the cold room, and a husky yard supplies much of the winter programme.

Darkness is the season's organising fact. From late autumn to early spring the sun barely clears the horizon, which is exactly why people come.