The Geographic North Pole and the east coast of Greenland

Longyearbyen, the capital of Norway's Svalbard archipelago, is located on the main island and holds the title of the northernmost capital in the world. Winter temperatures can drop below -40°C, creating a stunningly beautiful landscape. The glaciers, endless mountain ranges, and pristine wilderness give the impression of being in a truly untouched and remote part of the planet.

Templefjord is a stunning fjord located on Spitsbergen, the largest island in Norway's Svalbard archipelago. Named after the distinctive Temple Mountain, whose layered rock formations resemble a temple, the fjord is renowned for its breathtaking scenery and abundant wildlife. Visitors can often spot seals and polar bears in the area, as well as enjoy views of drifting icebergs and glaciers. Templefjord offers a unique opportunity to experience the raw beauty and isolation of the Arctic wilderness.

Nestling in northwestern 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. You'll 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.

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 sails 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 also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.

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 that is now accessible to you aboard Le Commandant Charcot.

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 sails salong 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 also often be an opportunity to see a particular kind of fauna, totally dependent on the ice floe.

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 have the unique opportunity of sailing to the heart of this icy wilderness, many thousands of years old, and travel along one of the world's most isolated coasts, between drifting ice and blue icebergs.

On the East coast of Greenland, in the Ittoqqortoormiit region that is covered with snow and ice for nine months of the year, you 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'll 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, traveling 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 footsteps on the ice. You'll discover Inuit traditions through privileged and festive moments on the ice floe and in the village.

Aboard your ship, and 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, offers exceptional moments of observing Arctic wildlife, through a series of encounters.

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 you discover together what these fascinating destinations have yet to reveal to you.

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 center 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.