Hammerfest, Norway

Hammerfest is famous for one fact among typical tourists. No city that's more north of it has more than 10,000 occupants. If you want to define "city" as having that particular number, then Hammerfest is the northernmost city in the world. 

With that mark in the record books, there are a couple of other reasons why Hammerfest is noteworthy. The location means that the city is something of a jumping off point for tourism. There's a ferry from here to the North Cape, the most northern piece of land in Europe.

But more importantly, Hammerfest is an energy source for the world. On an island just off the coast of Hammerfest sits a plant/complex (shown here) for creating liquefied natural gas. It was the most expensive public project in the history of the country, and it's done wonders for the economic outlook of the area. When Ukraine and Russia started their war in 2022, energy supplies were at a premium in Europe, and Hammerfest did its part to fill the gap.

Thanks to some high seas, our boat was delayed on the way here - and that cut short our stop. Not only I'll be in the area again any time soon. Here's some more information on the city that's close to the top of the world: