Located near the bottom of the west coast, one of the world´s smallest and more unassuming capitals (above and top, with a population of just under 20,000) is a mostly charming, very small-town-feeling collection of largely wooden, low-slung, and often colorful houses and other buildings. The main drag, Aqqusinersuaq, is lined with shops, galleries, restaurants, along with several historical landmarks, institutions of culture and government, and the modern, gray-and-white Hotel Hans Egede, with 140 rooms.
Those historical landmarks include the country´s oldest building, the 304-year-old Hans Egede House, built by the eponymous Danish-Norwegian Lutheran missionary who founded the settlement in 1728 and of course had a huge impact on local society (he was also apparently an unsurprisingly less-than-Christlike dick to the locals, but hey); you can look but can´t enter, as it´s used for government functions: the 278-year-old Moravian Brethren Mission House (also used by the government); and the red-clapboard Nuuk Cathedral, (Annaassisitta Oqaluffia) built in 1849; near the cathedral is a statue of Hans Egede (not long ago plattered with red paint and the word “DECOLONIZE”). Other landmarks include the modern Hans Egede Church, Greenland´s largest, built in the 1980s.
Beyond all the above, for insights into Greenlandic culture and history, visit the Nuuk Local Museum and Greenland National Museum (home among other things to the famous Qilakitsoq Inuit mummies dating back to the mid-15th century); check out the fascinating work at the Nuuk Art Museum; take in a movie or a folkloric or modern performance, along with sampling local culinary specialties at the Katuaq cultural center; shop for local handicrafts; and get a taste of the burgeoning culinary scene.
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