Things to do in Lapland & Rovaniemi

In Rovaniemi, Santa Claus Village is open every day of the year: cross the Arctic Circle line marked in its central square, meet Santa at his office and send cards from Santa Claus' Main Post Office. Nearby, SantaPark is an underground Christmas theme park in a cave on the Arctic Circle with Elf School, gingerbread baking and a magic train ride, Arctic Circle Snowman World offers snow and ice slides, a snow labyrinth and ice skating in winter, Arktikum's exhibitions by the Regional Museum of Lapland and the Arctic Centre cover the Arctic and Lapland, and the Korundi House of Culture holds the city art museum and the home stage of the Lapland Chamber Orchestra. Ranua Wildlife Park keeps about 150 animals of some 50 Arctic species, including polar bears, lynx, wolves and musk oxen, and in Kemi the SnowCastle winter park has snow slides, a snow labyrinth and a traditional Finnish carousel, while the retired icebreaker Sampo sails the frozen Gulf of Bothnia and lets passengers walk on the sea ice and float in the icy water in survival suits. Further north, Siida in Inari is the national museum of Sámi culture with an open-air museum, and a forest trail leads to the Pielpajärvi Wilderness Church, built in 1752–1760 as the centre of a Sámi winter village. Fell landscapes fill Urho Kekkonen National Park next to the Saariselkä resort, Pyhä-Luosto with Finland's deepest gorge Isokuru, and Pallas-Yllästunturi with the classic Hetta–Pallas trail, while Levi's scenic cabin lifts and the Ylläs 1 gondola to its 719 m top station take non-skiers up the fells. Winter evenings bring aurora hunts from Rovaniemi by snowmobile, snowshoe or bus to a camp away from town lights, and in Levi husky sleds glide through snowy forest on short family-friendly routes.

Good to knowSantaPark opens only in the Christmas season, Snowman World, the Sampo cruise, aurora hunts and husky rides run in winter, and Kemi's SnowCastle winter park opens from mid-January until April, while its year-round SnowExperience365 hall shows ice sculptures. Arktikum is closed on Mondays, Korundi's exhibitions open Tuesday to Sunday, and Siida closes on Sundays in the winter season. Northern lights sightings depend on weather and solar activity and are never guaranteed, so enjoy a tour as an evening in the snow rather than a promise. Ranua's paths and the fell trails are outdoors, so dress for the cold; Isokuru gorge can be visited in summer and autumn, the Pielpajärvi trail is rough with rocks and roots, and in winter the church is reached by ski or snowmobile. Check the live lift status at Levi, where under-6s ride free with an adult, and note that the Ylläs gondola runs in winter and summer but not in storms. On cold days, Arktikum, Korundi and Siida are good indoor picks.