Rovaniemi

Photos By Ian

A True Winter Wonderland

My visit to Rovaniemi was part of my festive Finland trip. To experience a Scandinavian Christmas. I have visited Helsinki which was ok but what about one of the Christmas capitals of the world, Santa’s official home Rovaniemi.

Rovaniemi is the Capital of Lapland and popular for being the entrance to the arctic circle.

Santa’s Village

The Santa’s village is one of the main sites here in Rovaniemi. It is a popular place to stay in or visit. If you like to experience the best of Christmas atmospheres, this place wont let you down.

Entering the Arctic Circle

One of the most iconic location here in Rovaniemi is represented by this thin blue line in Santa’s village. The line representing the entrance to the artic circle.

Roaming on a Snowmobile

For those adrenaline seekers the snowmobile is a good activity. I did the snowmobile northern lights tour. Sadly the northern lights didnt show up but the snowmobile experience and barbeque surrounded by snow was awesome.

Cant miss this…

One of the best things to do in any winter destination is a dog sleigh ride. I think this beats the snowmobile experience by quiet a bit. The speed, the thrill and also the views are incredible, worth the experience.

Science and Culture

The Arktikum although not too exciting is an excellent place to visit. A museum and a cultural exhibition hall which. If you want to learn more about the arctic life, this is the best place for it.

Just Roam…

Rovaniemi is freezing, but brave the cold, the slippery ice and deep snow and have a roam. You can see scenes like frozen rivers, scenes that you wouldn’t normally see anywhere else. One of the highlights of my roam though was this Mcdonalds which until recently used to be the northernmost McDonald’s in the world.

“Travel isnt always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, even breaks your heart. But that’s ok. The journey changes you, it leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully you leave something behind”.

— Anthony Bourdain

Rovaniemi was an awesome place which gave one of the best festive atmospheres in any trip Ive done. Probably not for a solo trip though as most activities require a minimum of 2. Furthermore Santa’s village is full of families with young children, now although it doesn’t entirely matter you may find yourself pretty lonely.