Finland
About Rovaniemi
Rovaniemi sits right on the Arctic Circle where the Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers meet, the unofficial capital of Finnish Lapland.
Flattened in the war and rebuilt to an Alvar Aalto plan said to trace the antlers of a reindeer, it is less a pretty town than a basecamp for the Arctic — husky sleds, reindeer farms, snowmobiles and, on clear winter nights, the green curtains of the northern lights overhead. Just north of the centre, Santa Claus Village straddles the Circle and posts letters to children all over the world.
The people here live by the long polar dark and the endless summer light, unhurried and entirely at home in the cold.
Eat sautéed reindeer with mash and lingonberry, and warm up afterwards with a glass of cloudberry liqueur.
Get to Rovaniemi
Round trip from Prague, any dates in November 2026.
Day trips from Rovaniemi
- Half day
Santa Claus Village
~15 min
The theme-park hamlet straddling the Arctic Circle line just north of town, where you can step over the latitude marker, meet Santa year-round and send a postcard stamped from his official post office.
- Day trip
Ranua Wildlife Park
~1 hAn open-air Arctic zoo set in the pine forest, home to polar bears, wolverines, lynx and reindeer kept in roomy woodland enclosures — the easiest way to meet the animals of the far north up close.
- Day trip
Pyhä-Luosto National Park
~1.5 hFinland's oldest fells, a chain of ancient quartz-streaked hills with gorges, old-growth forest and an amethyst mine on top. Marked hiking in summer and quiet, gentle skiing once the snow comes.
About Finland
Frozen forest and a lot of silence
Thousands of lakes, saunas as a default setting, and a north where the summer sun refuses to set and the winter one barely rises.
Explore FinlandRegions, highlights and when to go