Rovaniemi: what to see, where to stay and how to get around

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Rovaniemi is the capital of Finnish Lapland, on the Arctic Circle where two rivers meet. In October 1944, retreating from Finland in the Lapland War, the German army burned it almost to the ground. The architect Alvar Aalto drew the new plan, with the main roads spreading like a reindeer’s antlers. An hour and a half; very cold in winter.

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A short history of Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi grew up where the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers meet, as a small settlement of traders, fishermen and reindeer herders. In the autumn of 1944, during the Lapland War, the retreating Germans burned it, and about 90 per cent of the buildings were destroyed. After the war the architect Alvar Aalto replanned the city, and its main streets are laid out in the shape of reindeer antlers. In 1950 Eleanor Roosevelt visited, and a cabin was built for her on the Arctic Circle, from which Santa Claus Village grew over the years. Rovaniemi received town status in 1960, and it is the capital of Finnish Lapland.

The ten best sights in Rovaniemi

1
Lordi Square
The main square, named for a monster rock band
2
Arktikum
A glass tunnel pointing north, over the museum of the Arctic
3
Pilke
A science centre of the northern forests
4
Lappia Hall
Alvar Aalto’s theatre and concert hall
5
Korundi
Art and a chamber orchestra in an old bus depot
6
Rovaniemi Church
A great fresco of Christ in a Lapland landscape
7
Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge
A bridge with a flame on its pylon
8
Ounasvaara
The ski hill across the river; aurora views
9
Arctic Circle
The line painted on the ground at Santa Claus Village
10
Santa Claus Village
Santa’s office and post office, open all year

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Tours in Rovaniemi →

A guide in your headphones: open the walk on our site, walk from stop to stop, and at each one your phone tells its story. No guide, no group, and free. This is the first walk in Rovaniemi:

Free walking tours in Rovaniemi

The town rebuilt as antlers

Lordi Square · The main square is named after Lordi, the heavy-metal band from Rovaniemi whose members perform in monster masks and who won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006 — Finland’s first win.
Lappia Hall · In the 1960s and 1970s Alvar Aalto built a civic centre for the town he had replanned: the theatre and concert hall, the library and the town hall, in white with roofs that rise in waves like snow-covered hills.
Korundi · One of the few buildings that survived the burning of 1944, a red-brick post-bus depot of the 1930s, now the home of the art museum and the Lapland Chamber Orchestra.
Rovaniemi Church · The church was rebuilt in 1950, and its altar wall is a huge fresco, The Fountain of Life, that sets Christ in a Lapland landscape of fells and rivers with the people of the north around him — Sámi herders, lumberjacks and the soldiers of the war.
Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge · The bridge over the Kemijoki takes its name from the lumberjack’s candle, a log split and set alight to burn through a winter night; a flame burns on top of its pylon. For a century logs were floated down these rivers to the sawmills of the coast.
Arktikum · A museum and Arctic research centre half buried in the riverbank, under a glass tunnel a hundred and seventy metres long that points due north. Inside are the history of Lapland, the Sámi, the burning of 1944 and a room where the northern lights are shown on the ceiling.

On the Arctic Circle

Eight kilometres north of the town the Arctic Circle crosses the road, and here the Finns have built the official home of Santa Claus, with reindeer, huskies and a post office that answers letters from all over the world. Half a day; in December it is crowded.

Arctic Circle · A white line on the ground marks the Arctic Circle, at about sixty-six degrees and thirty-three minutes north, above which the sun does not set on midsummer’s night and does not rise on midwinter’s day. The line actually moves north by about fifteen metres a year, with the slow wobble of the earth’s axis.
Santa Claus Village · Santa Claus receives visitors here every day of the year, and his post office receives about half a million letters a year from almost every country. Post sent from here gets a special Arctic Circle stamp, and you can send a card to arrive at Christmas.
Reindeer farm · About two hundred thousand reindeer live in Finnish Lapland, all half-wild and all owned by herders, who mark them by notches cut in their ears. At the farm visitors ride in a sleigh pulled by a reindeer and can get a reindeer-driving licence.
Husky farm · Teams of huskies, bred for endurance in the cold, pull sleds through the snowy forest. Visitors can ride or learn to drive a team, and meet the puppies.
SantaPark · A Christmas park built inside a cave blasted into the hill, with an elf school, a gingerbread bakery and an ice gallery. The cavern can also serve as a civil-defence shelter.
Arctic TreeHouse · Cabins on stilts on the hillside with walls of glass facing north, built so guests can watch the northern lights from bed. Rovaniemi lies under the auroral oval, and on clear winter nights the lights are often overhead.

Forest, river and northern lights

Around Rovaniemi the land is forest, frozen rivers and low fells, white for half the year. The best of it is outside: skiing, snowshoeing, and on clear nights the hunt for the aurora. Half a day or a night; dress in many layers.

Pilke · A wooden building of the forestry service with a science centre about the northern forests, which cover three-quarters of Finland and are mostly pine, spruce and birch, and how they are harvested and replanted.
Ounasvaara · The fell across the river from the town, with ski slopes, a ski jump and cross-country trails through the forest. From its top, on clear winter nights, the northern lights rise over the town.
Apukka · A resort of glass igloos on a frozen lake east of the airport, far from the town’s lights. The igloos have heated glass roofs so snow does not settle, and guests watch the sky from bed.
Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge · In winter the rivers freeze thick enough to walk on, and the riverside paths below the bridge are used for skiing and walking. In spring the ice breaks up and floods past the town in a roar.
Arktikum · The northern lights are caused by particles from the sun striking the upper atmosphere about a hundred kilometres up, where oxygen glows green and nitrogen pink. Finnish folklore told that they were the sparks of a fox sweeping its tail over the snow — in Finnish the aurora is called revontulet, fox fires.
Lordi Square · Back in town, the square is where Rovaniemi gathers in the evening, with its restaurants serving reindeer and salmon and, in winter, the glow of the snow under the streetlights.

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Getting to Rovaniemi and getting around

Rovaniemi Airport · Fifteen minutes from town, right by the Arctic Circle
Rovaniemi Station · The Santa Claus Express night train from Helsinki

Cheap eats in Rovaniemi

Lapland eats reindeer: sautéed reindeer, poronkäristys, thin-sliced and fried in butter, served with mashed potato and lingonberries. Then salmon flamed on a board by the fire, cloudberries with leipäjuusto, a squeaky baked cheese, and coffee boiled over the fire. A reindeer wrap or a salmon soup at a kiosk is the cheap meal.

Lordi Square · Reindeer and salmon in the centre
Santa Claus Village · Flamed salmon and kiosk soups
Reindeer farm · Coffee boiled over a fire in a hut
Korundi · A café among the art

Museums in Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi’s museums tell of the Arctic, the Sámi, the burning of 1944 and the northern forests.

Arktikum · The Arctic and Lapland
Pilke · The forest science centre
Korundi · Art in the old depot
Lappia Hall · Aalto’s civic centre

Nature and day trips near Rovaniemi

Snow lies from about November to April; in December the sun barely rises, and in June it does not set. The northern lights can be seen on clear nights from late August to early April.

Ounasvaara · Skiing and snowshoe trails
Apukka · Dark skies on a frozen lake
Arctic Circle · Step over the line
Lumberjack’s Candle Bridge · Walking on the frozen river

Things to do in Rovaniemi with kids

Rovaniemi is built for children: Santa Claus every day of the year, reindeer and husky rides, and an elf school in a cave.

Santa Claus Village · Meet Santa
SantaPark · The elf school in the cave
Reindeer farm · A reindeer-driving licence
Husky farm · Sled rides and puppies
Pilke · Hands-on forest science

Holy places in Rovaniemi

Lapland is Lutheran; the town church was rebuilt after the war with a fresco of the north.

Rovaniemi Church · The Fountain of Life fresco

Nightlife in Rovaniemi

Nights in Rovaniemi are for the sky — the aurora hunt — and a few bars around the main square, busy with students and winter tourists.

Lordi Square · Bars on the square
Arctic TreeHouse · Auroras from bed
Ounasvaara · Aurora watching above town

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Frequently asked questions about Rovaniemi

What is there to see in Rovaniemi?

The top sights in Rovaniemi are Lordi Square, Arktikum and Pilke. The full list on this page has 10 sights, each with a photo and a short note.

How many days do you need in Rovaniemi?

Three to four days are enough to see the best of Rovaniemi without rushing, including at least one walking tour.

Is there a free walking tour in Rovaniemi?

Yes. sleepntrip has 3 free audio walks in Rovaniemi, with no guide and no group: your phone tells the story at every stop. The first one: The town rebuilt as antlers.

How do you get to Rovaniemi and get around?

The main ways are Rovaniemi Airport and Rovaniemi Station. Full details are in the transport section on this page.

Where to stay in Rovaniemi, and for how much?

sleepntrip shows only rooms in Rovaniemi that meet nine conditions: a good location, high guest scores, cleanliness, and a price of up to $80 a night for two. Pick your dates and see what is free.

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