Things to Do in Torshavn in January

January's marathon nights are the whole point. Drive ten or fifteen minutes out of Tórshavn toward darker coast, away from the glow of the SMS centre and harbour, and on a clear, calm night the aurora can ripple green over the fjords. Even without it, the star density at this latitude with so little light pollution is startling. This only works in the dark half of the year, so winter is the season, not a consolation prize.

A short drive south of Tórshavn sits Kirkjubøur, the islands' old religious heart. The roofless stone shell of the 14th-century Magnus Cathedral, the still-used St Olav's Church, and Roykstovan, a turf-roofed log farmhouse said to be among the oldest inhabited wooden houses anywhere. In January you'll often have the lanes to yourself, with woodsmoke in the air and the sea hammering the shoreline a few steps away. It's compact enough to do inside winter's narrow daylight.

The Faroes' modern subsea tunnels, including the Eysturoy tunnel with its undersea roundabout, mean you can reach places like Saksun's hidden tidal lagoon and turf-roofed church, or Gjógv's natural gorge harbour, even in winter when surface mountain passes close. The reward is empty roads, sheep on the tarmac, and waterfalls blown sideways by the wind. January's storm light over these settlements is memorable in the literal sense.

Winter is when the islands' signature preserved foods make sense. Ræst (wind-fermented) lamb and fish, smoked and dried specialities, langoustines, and rhubarb desserts, eaten in warm turf-roofed rooms while it howls outside. Tórshavn punches absurdly above its weight for a town this size, and a tasting-focused meal here is an education in how a treeless North Atlantic society fed itself for centuries. The flavours, funky, sharp, savoury, are not for everyone, which is exactly why they're worth trying.

The little ferry from Tórshavn's harbour crosses to Nólsoy, a low island whose single village faces the open Atlantic. A fast, cheap way to be properly out among the waves without a long expedition. In January the appeal is the crossing itself and the raw coast: spray, seabirds, and the kind of swell that makes you grateful for solid ground. It's a half-day adventure that fits the short daylight.

When the rain lashes sideways, Tórshavn answers with solid indoor refuge. The National Museum (Tjóðsavnið) unpacks Viking longboats and salty sagas. The Nordic House (Norðurlandahúsið) hosts winter concerts beneath its grassy roof. Knitwear shops sell the thick Faroese wool sweaters made famous on Nordic noir TV. Dry warmth balances a coastline determined to drench you in January.