Things to do in Nuuk Town (Godthåb)
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Restaurant Nipisa
This smart but relaxed restaurant creates extraordinary gastronomic magic using superb fresh local ingredients. Dishes are artistic creations to be savoured at considerable length. The daily-changing set dinner (Dkr275/295 for two/three courses) might sound expensive but is actually a bargain for a world-class culinary experience that's heightened yet further if you accept the waiter's wine suggestions, which complement the flavours magnificently. Booking for dinner is almost essential, maybe a week ahead for weekends. Lunches (Dkr50 to Dkr80) are relatively simple.
reviewed
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A Hereford Beefstouw
The Nuuk branch of a relatively upmarket Danish steakhouse chain manages to give some atmosphere to an inherently characterless room by creative use of space breaks, chunky wooden furniture and flickering oil lamps. The limited salad bar costs an extra Dkr46, or Dkr88 if used as a complete meal in itself (including baked potato).
reviewed
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Kristinemut
Wild-west themed with wagon-wheel ceilings, this was Greenland's first pub, made (in) famous in Lawrence Millman's book Last Places. It remains an understandably popular, appealingly raucous place to drink and dance, with Dkr25 happy-hour beers before 8pm. There's a live band every night from around 9pm.
reviewed
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Atuagkat Boghandel
Greenland's largest bookshop has a limited but extremely well-chosen selection of books in English dealing with Greenlandic history, culture, economy, politics and natural history. Maps, and a few guidebooks and postcards, are also available. Mail order available.
reviewed
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Charoen Porn
Behind uninviting metal doors, warm soft lighting and oriental embroideries welcome you into Greenland's best and most genuine Thai restaurant. Very generous portions of Thom Kha soup (Dkr89) are delicious but very mildly spiced despite being labelled 'hot'.
reviewed
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Greenland National Museum
The spacious, well-presented Greenland National Museum is based in an extended 1936 warehouse. Its better exhibits include an interesting section on 1950s social change and a geological room emphasising that the world's oldest rocks (3.8 billion years old) come from the Nuuk region. However, the unmissable climax is the mummy room. Here a trio of mummified 15th-century women and a very spooky six-month-old child stare blindly out from their dimly lit display cases. Their fur clothes and kammiks (traditional boots) are intricately sewn and embroidered, but their cause of death remains uncertain. Found at Qilakitsoq near Uummannaq, they made the cover of National Geographic
reviewed
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Santa Claus Post House
The appealing little Santa Claus Post House is a Victorian-style mailroom with Christmassy décor and framed curiosities like a 1946 letter from Ireland to 'Santy Claus, Greenland'. The mail desk is used in December to write and send Christmas greetings cards from Father Christmas. You can order one for the child of your choice: pay for and address it at the tourist-office counter. Some of the Dkr25 charge goes to help local charities.
reviewed
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University Library
The University Library was established in 1747 as the New Herrnhut Mission (House of Moravian Brethren), originally set up by a trio of missionaries who arrived soon after Hans Egede. It's a most attractive red wooden building topped with bell-shaped campanile and set behind a forest of white, wooden grave posts. In the grass leading down towards a peaceful pebble beach are several ruins of old turf houses. The sea views are very pleasant.
reviewed
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Hotel Godthåb
This family-atmosphere carvery has an interior of fake shopfronts that segues strangely into a period drawing-room area. Both sections have heavy new beams, happily mismatched pseudo-Victorian prints and photos of the Hindenburg. Thursday night there's a Mongolian barbecue. Friday and Saturday evening you get carved meats, garnishes and a half bottle of wine for the same price. After 10pm there's a DJ and bar till 3am.
reviewed
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Home Rule Government
The Home Rule Government has an art-decked corridor. Except on Fridays when it's in session, you are free to poke your head into the little parliament chamber, though it's polite to ask first at the parliament secretary's office (room 62). There's not much to see, but a visit is more interesting accompanied by the political explanations of a guide (Dkr198, tours through the tourist office).
reviewed
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Restaurant Isikkivik
This good-value eatery is out in Nuussuaq with views across the marina. The dining room may not be lavish, but it's surprisingly pleasant for its odd position above a mini-market. Enter from Salliarnaq (the road behind). The reliably filling Dkr45 meal of the day is available from 11.30am and from 5.30pm as stocks last. Pizzas and steaks are also on offer. From central Nuuk take bus No 2 to the Illorput (marina) stop.
reviewed
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Kittat
Kittat is a low-key fur workshop that specialises in making traditional style costumes and kammiks. Anyone can peep inside at the small, functional flensing and sewing rooms. The skin-drying racks are outside. Along with the museum and a carver's co-operative, this is where you'd end up on the tourist office's rather pricey Dkr198 'handicraft tour'.
reviewed
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Katuaq Cultural Centre
The spacious Katuaq Cultural Centre is by far Nuuk's finest piece of modern architecture, a sinuous wooden wave edged in glass. It houses the Greenland Art School, the NAPA Nordic Institute and a reading library as well as hosting exhibitions, conferences, concerts, a cinema and Nuuk's best café.
reviewed
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Café Tuap
This stylishly minimalist gallery-café is within the light-suffused atrium of the Katuaq Cultural Centre. Lunches including reindeer and muskox steak or filled baked potatoes are served until 3pm. Otherwise, come here for real cappuccinos or a genuine Greenlandic coffee ( Kalaallit kaffiat, Dkr100).
reviewed
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Institute of Natural Resources
At the north edge of town near the sweet little golf course is the Institute of Natural Resources, in a pair of glass-nosed wooden-slab buildings that look passingly photogenic in low evening light. A tourist-office tour (Dkr198, one hour) takes you inside on certain working-day afternoons.
reviewed
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Takuss
Skis and kayaks decorate this brass-railed pub and dance floor. If you order food (basic mains Dkr49 to Dkr79, from 5.30pm to 8pm) you can get two beers for Dkr55. Some reports claim that the very local crowd is aggressively anti-Danish, but the authors found the atmosphere to be very friendly.
reviewed
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Café Crazy Daisy
This diner-style place has a range of fast food (Dkr16 to Dkr50) but also serves cooked breakfasts (Dkr28 to Dkr56), fish, steaks, pizza and chicken, plus a menu of Chinese and Thai cuisine (Dkr55 to Dkr87) served through the dragon portal at the back.
reviewed
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Nasiffik
Although calling itself a restaurant, this is really more of a café-bar where most of the clientele are drinkers enjoying the pleasant marinaside location in Nuussuaq. Snacks are served, and there's a good-value meal of the day from 5pm till 7pm.
reviewed
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Block P
Graffiti-daubed Block P is Nuuk's biggest housing monstrosity. It's so depressing that it's almost an attraction in itself. Only five storeys high but 64 apartments long, it houses over 1% of Greenland's population under one roof.
reviewed
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Malik Pool
Nuuk's splendid new Malik Pool offers indoor swimming but is better for splashing about while enjoying lovely bay views through the cleverly designed glass walls. In midsummer it's open all day from 6am till 9pm. Take bus No 2.
reviewed
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Skyline Bar
This is Nuuk's safest bar, but not its most character-filled. In daylight there's a curious view between the bottles of the bar out across the town centre, but after dark the ultraviolet glow is less appealing. There's a pianist some nights.
reviewed
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Igaffik
The no-nonsense canteen of Nuuk Transport serves a good-value Dkr38 set lunch (11.30am to 1.30pm) and dinner (5pm to 7pm), or snacks at other times. It's upstairs via a narrow atrium in a warehouse-style building off the trawler wharf.
reviewed
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City Hall
The City Hall is not architecturally distinguished, but it's worth looking inside to see the impressive 1998 tapestry of Inuit life. Curiously, it includes a vignette about missionary Hans Egede.
reviewed
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Hans Egede House
The sturdy 1728 Hans Egede House is the oldest in Greenland and has a pretty vegetable garden. Originally home to Nuuk's missionary founder, it's now the venue for official government receptions.
reviewed
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Gertrud Rask Spiesehus
At the upmarket Gertrud Rask Spiesehus, with paintings and starched tablecloths, you may feel uncomfortable without a jacket or dress. Creative daily menus cost Dkr325/350 for three/four courses.
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