The Geographic North Pole and the East Coast of Greenland

Day 1: Fly from Paris to Longyearbyen for Embarkation 
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. Guests should arrive into Paris at least one day prior to Day 1 (hotel nights in Paris not included). 

Day 2: Templefjord, Spitsbergen

Day 3: Magdalenefjorden (Magdalena Bay), Spitsbergen
Nestling in north western Spitsbergen, Magdalena Bay is one of Svalbard’s unmissable sites. In a spectacular landscape of snow-topped Alpine mountains, deep fjords, beaches and majestic glaciers, it offers multiple opportunities for wonderment. We will not be surprised to observe whales, walruses, seals, common eiders, terns, polar bears and Arctic foxes there. The site of Gravneset, located in Magdalenafjorden, is home to the remnants of a former whaling station used during the 17th century, as well as the graves of many sailors buried here up until the end of the 18th century. Not far from here, the Gully Glacier offers a magnificent view, a delight for photographers.

Days 4-7: Navigating through the sea ice
Enjoy the absolutely unique experience of sailing to the heart of the ice floe, this vast expanse of virgin, immaculate ice. The landscapes are constantly changing, shifting from a smooth, flat wilderness to a chaos of ice, then to channels of open water. Your ship will sail along these naturally open channels and through the areas where the frozen layer is thinnest, offering you the chance to experience magic maritime moments in the midst of drifting sea ice. It will also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.

Day 8: Geographic North Pole
Defined by a 90° North latitude, the Geographic North Pole lies on the Earth’s rotational axis, at the intersection of all meridians. Plunged into darkness for six months of the year, then lit by the sun for the following six months, this mythical site, permanently covered in ice and remote from any land, has fascinated generations of explorers. So far, only a very few people have ever reached it: an exploit which is now accessible to you aboard Le Commandant Charcot.

Days 9-11: Navigating through the sea ice
Enjoy the absolutely unique experience of sailing to the heart of the ice floe, this vast expanse of virgin, immaculate ice. The landscapes are constantly changing, shifting from a smooth, flat wilderness to a chaos of ice, then to channels of open water. Your ship will sail along these naturally open channels and through the areas where the frozen layer is thinnest, offering you the chance to experience magic maritime moments in the midst of drifting sea ice. It will also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.

Day 12: Sailing ice floes along Greenland
The north-east of Greenland is renowned for being home to one of the oldest and thickest layers of ice on the planet. Aboard your ship, you will have the unique opportunity of sailing to the heart of this icy wilderness, many thousands of years old, and will travel along one of the world’s most isolated coasts, between drifting ice and blue icebergs.

Day 13-14: Exploration of Ittoqqortoormiit Region
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.

Day 15: Exploring the Blosseville Coast
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.

Day 16: At sea aboard Le Commandant Charcot
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.

Day 17: Disembarkation in Reykjavik, Iceland
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.

We are privileged guests in these extreme lands where we are at the mercy of weather and ice conditions. Our navigation, mainly in the fjords, will be determined by the type of ice we come across; as the coastal ice must be preserved, we will take this into account from day to day in our itineraries. The sailing programme, outings, activities and observation of fauna cannot be guaranteed and are subject to weather and ice conditions. The experiences are unique and vary from day to day and for each departure. The Captain and the Expedition Leader will make every effort to ensure that your experience is as rich as possible, while respecting safety instructions and regulations imposed by the AECO.