Top Rated Attractions in Nuuk

Counted among the first museums of the country, the Greenland National Museum is a popular attraction with its rich and extensive collections on archeology, history, arts and culture. Established in the 1960s, the museum houses many valuable displays such as the world's oldest rocks and 15th-century Qilakitsoq mummies of women and a six month old child who have been featured on the cover of National Geographic magazine. Free to visit all year round, the museum charges entry for adults (4 euros) during the summer months.

Located in the capital city of Greenland, the Nuuk Art Museum is home to one of the richest and most extensive collections of national art gathered over the years by businessman Sven Junge. The museum's 600 square meters (6458.35 square feet) space is divided into two areas. The first is a permanent exhibition featuring over 150 pieces of artwork, including watercolors, oil paintings, sketches, sculptures, and graphics by other well-known national artists collected by Emanuel A. Petersen. The other portion features a temporary exhibition by regional and local creators.

Greenland's capital city, Nuuk, is also its largest economic and cultural hub. Noted as one of the least populated cities in the world, it is also the world's most northerly capital, located at the tip of the Nuup Kangerlua estuary, on the eastern shore of the Labrador Sea. The city has been inhabited since 2200 BCE and was first settled by the ancient Paleo-Eskimo and pre-Inuit people. Undeniably one of Greenland's most vibrant urban centers and cosmopolitan cities, it boasts of a dense network of fjords, hemmed by a breathtaking collage of snowy mountains. The city also supports a diverse culinary map and ample opportunities for shopping. The Greenland National Museum, the Katuaq Cultural Centre, Nuuk Cathedral and the Church of Our Saviour are prime cultural attractions in the city of Nuuk, while fishing, hunting and kayaking are popular outdoor activities that can be enjoyed here. A city of myriad experiences, Nuuk is at the helm of Greenland's contemporary front.

In a remote, untouched corner off the coast of an island in Greenland, scientists have discovered the oldest existing component of the earth's crust. Dating back to a staggering 3.8 billion years ago, this huge chunk of rock exists as a miraculous mass of grey wedged into the side of an island. Upon further analysis, researchers found that the stone is an ophiolite, or a rock that was formed due to the dramatic shifting of tectonic plates on the earth's surface. This astounding natural phenomenon is the second of its kind to be discovered, after a 2.5 billion-year-old rock was discovered in China.

Famed for its stunning rocky terrain and the remains of ancient life that those rocks might contain, Akilia Island lies off the coast of southwestern Greenland. Some researchers and scientists believe that the island contains the oldest known sedimentary rocks on the planet. Sedimentary rock often contains traces of mineral or organic materials because the rock forms in layers, essentially creating a window into the time that a specific layer was formed. Thus, some researchers believe that the sedimentary rock found on the island also contains the oldest evidence of life on earth. These rocks are found on the southwestern tip of the island and believed to be at least 3.85 billion years old.