The Norilsk Museum is the clearest starting point for understanding the city. Its exhibits cover Arctic exploration, mineral discovery, Norillag, industrial growth, and the human cost behind a place that did not grow in any ordinary way.
Behind it stands the First House of Norilsk, the city's first permanent building, dating from the early Soviet expeditions. The little wooden structure looks almost fragile against the later concrete city, which is exactly why it is worth seeing.