Tórshavn

Population:14,038 (2024)
Area:117 km²
Elevation:24 m
Currency:Danish krone, in Faroese or Danish notes at the same value. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, and the town's cash machines are the place to draw kroner before heading to the outer islands, since the banks do not exchange foreign notes.

Overview

Tórshavn is the capital of the Faroe Islands and its natural base: nearly half the islands' people live in and around it, and the harbour, the old headland of Tinganes and the islands' widest choice of beds and restaurants lie within a short walk of one another.

Practical Info

Safety: Tórshavn has one of the islands' three hospitals with an emergency department, and the emergency number is 112. The weather turns quickly even in town, so carry a waterproof and windproof layer on any day out. Language: Faroese is the everyday language of the town. Danish is the official second language, and English is taught from primary school and widely spoken, so visitors are easily understood. Currency: Danish krone, in Faroese or Danish notes at the same value. Cards are accepted almost everywhere, and the town's cash machines are the place to draw kroner before heading to the outer islands, since the banks do not exchange foreign notes.

Travel

Tórshavn is a small capital that works best as the hub of a Faroese trip rather than its whole point, and that is its strength. A morning in the old harbour quarter and an evening at one of its restaurants frame days spent out on the other islands. For a first stay it is the base that keeps the most options open when the weather decides the day, and the natural starting point for journeys through the islands' tunnels, buses and ferries.

Tinganes and the harbour

The heart of old Tórshavn is Tinganes, the headland at the harbour where the Faroese assembly met in the Viking Age. The government's offices stand there today in old buildings along narrow lanes, several of them turf-roofed: a working seat of government on a meeting ground more than a thousand years old. The harbour around the headland is the working edge of the town, and it is where the car ferry from Hirtshals in Denmark docks all year round.

A capital built for day trips

Nearly half of the Faroese population lives in and around Tórshavn, and the town carries the islands' widest choice of accommodation, restaurants, supermarkets and outdoor shops, which is what makes it the practical base even for travellers who came for the villages. Getting around town costs nothing: the red Bussleiðin city buses are free for residents and visitors, on five routes that meet at Steinatún square. Beyond the town, the airport on Vágar is about 45 kilometres away through a subsea tunnel, and Kirkjubøur, the islands' medieval bishop's seat, is half an hour away.

Frequently asked questions

Is Tórshavn a good base for exploring the Faroe Islands?

For most first visits, yes. It has the islands' widest choice of accommodation, restaurants and shops, the roads and subsea tunnels put Vágar, Eysturoy and the rest of Streymoy within day-trip reach, and staying in one place lets each morning's outing follow the weather rather than a fixed route.

How do I get around Tórshavn without a car?

On foot in the centre, and on the red Bussleiðin city buses elsewhere in town, which are free for everyone on all five routes. National buses link the capital with the airport and the larger towns.

What is Tinganes?

The headland at Tórshavn's harbour where the Faroese assembly met in the Viking Age. The government's offices stand there today, in old buildings along narrow lanes, several of them with turf roofs, which makes it the historic core of the town.

How far is Tórshavn from the airport?

About 45 kilometres. The airport is on the island of Vágar, west of the capital, and the road runs through a subsea tunnel; the national bus and rental cars both cover the journey.

Diplomatic missions in Tórshavn

2 embassies based in this city, grouped by region.

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