Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle, is the capital, transport hub and main commercial centre of Lapland, Finland's northernmost province. The city is 2,613 km (1,623 mi) south of the North Pole. It is a highly popular tourist destination and is considered to be the official home town of Santa Claus.

Understand


Rovaniemi is a transport and tourist hub for Finnish Lapland. Sitting on the Arctic Circle does not harm the latter role, and Joulupukki, presenting himself as Santa Claus to foreigners, has understood that this is the place to meet people. Tourist businesses have also flocked here. Easily reachable, Rovaniemi still has rivers, a fell, mires, vast forests, Midnight Sun and Northern Lights: much of what Lapland means to most people.

As the capital of Finnish Lapland, the city has several important museums, cultural venues and educational institutions. It has the feel of a university town when you get to the right venues. The University of Lapland and Lapland University of Applied Sciences have about 10,000 students in total.

In 1960, Rovaniemi became a city, and in 2006, it merged with the surrounding municipality. With the resulting area of, nearly the size of all Cyprus, it became the largest city in Europe. With 63,500 inhabitants it is also among the ten most populous cities this north, globally. Some 52,000 live in urban areas. The population is Finnish-speaking (96%). The original Sámi population has integrated with the Finns and disappeared; there are some Sámi here, but not significant numbers. The first Sámi village is 175 km to the north.

The Finnish Air Force maintains a base (Lapland Air Command) which is situated at the city's airport. Therefore spotting some military aircraft above the town is daily. The Rovajärvi shooting range is the largest in Europe and due to Finland's membership in NATO it will be increasingly used also by international troops. On occasion, you may bump into soldiers, conscripts, and military personnel.

The Kemijoki river, noted for being the longest river in Finland, flows by the city centre. On the east side of the river there is a large, forested hill called, which is a hub for outdoor activities. Ounasvaara also has a plethora of facilities such as a golf course, a nature trail network, and a winter sports resort.

The city was razed to the ground by the Germans in the final days of World War II. In the years to come, the city was completely rebuilt with inputs from Alvar Aalto, a Finnish architect, who planned the city's footprint in such a way that it resembled the shape of a reindeer's head.



By plane


Taxi cabs are readily available at the airport, but getting to the centre is expensive. However, Santa Claus Bus provides a minibus shuttle service between the airport and hotels in the city centre at a fare of €7 per person one way. The service is available for every departing and arriving scheduled flight. Local bus service Line 11 is even cheaper (€3.5), but slower and is available only at some flights. See Rovaniemi's route planner to find out local transport connections. There are car rental companies at the airport.

Most long-distance coaches towards the north-east (e.g. Pyhä-Luosto, Sodankylä, Saariselkä and Inari) stop at the airport. Timetables may not be ideal if arriving by plane, but most popular destinations are well served. For destinations to the north-west or south, you most probably need to visit the bus station in the centre.

By train
Rovaniemi is the terminus of most trains from the south. The line extends only some 80 km further east-north-east, to Kemijärvi. The journey from Helsinki takes 9–12 hours and is reasonably comfortable in a sleeper (about €200 for two persons, add €50 for an en suite bathroom). If you arrive from Helsinki, Tampere or Turku with the overnight train, you can also take your car with you (add €100, about as much as fuel and wear if driving).

From Russia you can either go via Helsinki or take the train to Kandalaksha on the Murmansk railway and continue by bus (check connections).

The railway station is outside the city centre, within easy walking distance – you face north when you exit the station, and the city centre is to your right, to the north-east. Most of the long-distance buses stop here as well. There are a few taxis waiting for each train. If you need to call one, notice that there are two taxi stands and make sure the driver knows at which one you are waiting – or just tell them that you are waiting at the station's front door.



By bus
is about a kilometre from the city centre, a few hundred metres uphill from the railway station. Coming by coach from the south is relatively cheap but requires about 14 hours of sitting.

Eskelisen Lapin Linjat, Onnibus and V. Alamäki operate daily to Rovaniemi from Helsinki (some of them via Helsinki Airport), Jyväskylä and Oulu. Timetables and tickets are available through Matkahuolto. The prices start from about €30 for a 15-hour overnight trip from Helsinki.

There are connections from Tromsø, Alta and Vadsø in Norway, at least in summer (2023: 1 Jun–15 Sep). See Matkahuolto for timetables. In winter (Dec–Mar) The Arctic Route connects Rovaniemi with Tromsø. For travellers from Russia, there might be a twice-weekly cross-border service with Kandalaksha (Finnish: Kantalahti). If you come from northern Sweden, you can transfer at Haparanda to a direct bus to Rovaniemi, which leaves either from the Tornio-Haparanda travel centre or from Tornio central bus stop, which is near enough to walk to from there.

By car


Rovaniemi is an important road hub for Finnish Lapland. The most important directions are:


 * Highway 4 (E75) from Kemi (in the south-west) and Ivalo (north-east). This highway comes all the way from Helsinki, about south, or all the way from Vardø in Norway, about  north; you could come from Murmansk via Raja-Jooseppi and Ivalo, or via Salla
 * Highway 78 from Ranua, Pudasjärvi, Puolanka, and Paltamo (near Kajaani) (south-southeast). With road 5 coming from Helsinki to Kajaani, this is an alternative route between Helsinki and Rovaniemi,.
 * Highway 79 from Kittilä and Muonio (north-west, the latter on E8 from Tromsø)
 * Highway 81 from Kuusamo and Posio (south-east)
 * Highway 82 from Salla and Kemijärvi (east-north-east)
 * Highway 83 from Pello (west-north-west)

If driving from Germany or Central Europe in general, the shortest alternative is to drive through Sweden along road E4 all the way to Luleå and then through Haparanda to the Finnish border and on to Rovaniemi.

Unless you like driving long distances or visit destinations along the route, a good alternative is to take a ferry from Travemünde to Helsinki, then board an overnight train (see above) from Helsinki and unload your car in Rovaniemi, ready for any local trips.

Get around
Being not too big of a town, the best way to get around the city quickly is on foot. However, some of the main attractions are far away and buses are sparse; most households have a car.

By public transport
The local transportation is provided by city of Rovaniemi and the services are collected under the Linkkari portal. A route planner for local transport is available. Mobile tickets can be bought using the Waltti or Routes and Tickets app.

Most local buses have a blue-green livery with a white reindeer figure. The most useful line is line 8 from the railway station via the city centre to the Santa Claus Village and (some departures) to the airport. Local transport is more frequent during daytime in weekdays of school years, and low during the weekends and in summer. There are no night lines.

Rovaniemi local traffic has a zone system. The whole urban area, including Santa's Village and the airport, belongs to Zone A, while the rest of the municipality belongs to zones B or C. Within the Zone A, a single bus ticket for an adult costs €3.50 and a 24-hour ticket €4.50. The single ticket allows transfers during one hour.

Outside the urban area
You can use Matkahuolto and Matka.fi to search for bus routes between given locations outside the urban area. Villages by the main roads usually have daily connections. There are also some connections to the villages operated by Linkkari. Usually you need to invoke the Linkkari bus at least one day beforehand, as they won't drive empty buses. Most sights outside the urban area won't be accessible by bus.

All trains from and to the south stop at, some 25 km south of the city centre. A one-way ticket to Muurola costs €4 and the trip takes about 18 minutes. The overnight trains that continue to Kemijärvi also stop at tiny in the morning (Rovaniemi–Kemijärvi) and evening (Kemijärvi–Rovaniemi). This railway stop mainly serve Rovajärvi shooting range. The ticket for Rovaniemi–Misi is about €7.30 (43 min).

By taxi
Taxi services can be rather expensive. Below is a list of taxi call centres operating in the city. You can ask the staff at your accommodation to call a taxi for you.


 * Lähitaksi: phone +358 100-7300

By scooter
You can rent electric kick scooters for use in the centre from Finnish Joe Scooter.

See


Most tourists come to Rovaniemi for precisely one thing: Santa.



The famous midnight sun, when the sun doesn't set at all, is seen between June 6th and July 7th (even though the city centre is south of the Arctic Circle). There are white nights from May until mid-August. In winter auroras are seen on most nights if the sky is clear.



Museums etc.

 * The and the  survived the otherwise somewhat complete destruction of the town during the Lapland War, and are therefore rare representations of pre-war wood architecture. The Alaruokanen house was built in the 1860s and serves today as a banquet hall. The old railway station was built in 1909 (before World War II the railway was where the highway E75 is now). The building is in bad condition and awaits new use (as of 2020).
 * The and the  survived the otherwise somewhat complete destruction of the town during the Lapland War, and are therefore rare representations of pre-war wood architecture. The Alaruokanen house was built in the 1860s and serves today as a banquet hall. The old railway station was built in 1909 (before World War II the railway was where the highway E75 is now). The building is in bad condition and awaits new use (as of 2020).
 * The and the  survived the otherwise somewhat complete destruction of the town during the Lapland War, and are therefore rare representations of pre-war wood architecture. The Alaruokanen house was built in the 1860s and serves today as a banquet hall. The old railway station was built in 1909 (before World War II the railway was where the highway E75 is now). The building is in bad condition and awaits new use (as of 2020).
 * The and the  survived the otherwise somewhat complete destruction of the town during the Lapland War, and are therefore rare representations of pre-war wood architecture. The Alaruokanen house was built in the 1860s and serves today as a banquet hall. The old railway station was built in 1909 (before World War II the railway was where the highway E75 is now). The building is in bad condition and awaits new use (as of 2020).
 * The and the  survived the otherwise somewhat complete destruction of the town during the Lapland War, and are therefore rare representations of pre-war wood architecture. The Alaruokanen house was built in the 1860s and serves today as a banquet hall. The old railway station was built in 1909 (before World War II the railway was where the highway E75 is now). The building is in bad condition and awaits new use (as of 2020).
 * The and the  survived the otherwise somewhat complete destruction of the town during the Lapland War, and are therefore rare representations of pre-war wood architecture. The Alaruokanen house was built in the 1860s and serves today as a banquet hall. The old railway station was built in 1909 (before World War II the railway was where the highway E75 is now). The building is in bad condition and awaits new use (as of 2020).

Natural attractions


See also Do below.



Programme services
Various Arctic safari companies can arrange all sorts of cold and snowy activities like snowmobile safaris, husky sledding and reindeer sledding. Most of the tour operators have summer activities available too. Try e.g. a wild moose safari; you'll get half of the price back if you won't see a moose. In total, there are nearly one hundred companies that serve travellers with a variety of activities!



Outdoor sports
There are various outdoor sports activities available, mostly at Ounasvaara hill.

Hiking and birdwatching


In summertime you can hike the marked routes on and around Ounasvaara's forests (or elsewhere). Interestingly there are some rocky areas, which are ancient shores from the time after the last ice age, still visible by these routes. Prepare to face mosquitoes in the forest. From the top of the hill you'll find great views to the forests, hills and swamps outside the city. The city centre is not very easy to see from the top, however a short walk to the in the forest provides an excellent downtown panorama.
 * [[File:Red-flanked Bluetail, Sinipyrstö 6.7.2018 Rovaniemi - Flickr - Olli Pekka Karlin.jpg|thumb|The red-flanked bluetail spotted at the Ounasvaara hill is at the western end of this Siberian species' habitat.]]
 * Santa Claus' nature trail 2018.jpg
 * Santa Claus' nature trail 2018.jpg

Biking and canoeing
There are a few places that offer bicycle rentals in town, including Hostel Cafe Koti and the Lauri guesthouse. The Tourist Information Centre can provide up-to-date information.



Swimming
In summer there is a small and very popular sand beach next to the camping area on the Ounasvaara side of the Kemijoki. In June the sun is shining to the beach until midnight. Swimming close to the shore is safe but because of the dangerously strong stream, do not even consider to swim across the river! There is a floating safety barrier surrounding the beach. There used to be a shallow lagoon but it was filled in 2020 as reindeer used to poop into it.

Otherwise you may swim in a pool...

Festivals and events
Simerock is organized at the. At there are major indoor events such as the Snowmobile Fair and occasional rock concerts.

Buy


There are some souvenirs and fur products for sale at the, on the pedestrian street, and — of course — at the Santa Claus Village. At the once famous there are mostly berries for sale in the summer and Christmas trees before Christmas.

There is a fancy and popular event Rovaniemi old-style market fair (Rovaniemen Wanhat Markkinat) during the weekend in mid-August with lots of local products and delicacies for sale. These are arranged at the, near the Jätkänkynttilä bridge.

Eat
Considering the size of the city, Rovaniemi has a remarkably wide range of restaurants. You will find anything from sushi to bear meat and from hamburgers to traditional delicacies.

As elsewhere in Lapland, the traditional restaurant meal is sautéed reindeer (poronkäristys), consisting of slices of reindeer meat stewed in a frying pan with butter and water. A "bowl" of mashed potatoes is placed to the dish and the hole is filled with stewed meat. This is garnished with lingonberry jam and sometimes slices of pickled cucumber. It's worth trying once at least – you should be able to find this dish in most better restaurants around town. Salmon (lohi) and lavaret (siika) are other common ingredients.

You can find the light greyish flatbread called rieska from any grocery store. Those are usually made of barley (ohrarieska), sometimes potato (perunarieska). A comb-shaped, slightly sweet pastry kampanisu is eaten with a cup of coffee. It is a true speciality of this area but much harder to find.

If you are about to buy some reindeer cold cuts from the market, make sure there is a word poro on the package. Horse meat looks the same but is much cheaper.

Budget


The lunch canteens at the University offer cheap alternatives (€2.95–6 per meal for students as subsidized by the state; €8 for guests, as of 2023), but the meals are served only around noon (mostly 11:00–14:00). There are such canteens at the university and at the university of applied sciences. Also, the lunch café at Arktikum gives student discount.



At the Lordi's Square there is sometimes a fisherman selling freshly caught and pan-fried vendace (Finnish: muikku), a small freshwater whitefish.

Stay safe
Rovaniemi is a safe city. You're unlikely to face any major dangers.

Consulates

 * 🇳🇱 Netherlands
 * 🇪🇸 Spain
 * Republic of Korea
 * 🇮🇸 Iceland
 * 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
 * 🇮🇹 Italy
 * 🇬🇷 Greece
 * 🇳🇴 Norway
 * 🇫🇷 France
 * 🇸🇪 Sweden
 * 🇩🇪 Germany
 * 🇩🇰 Denmark

Pharmacies
Each week one of the following three pharmacies has a call week with extended opening hours.

Internet
As of Nov 2023, Rovaniemi has 4G from Telia and 5G from DNA and Elisa, and Wi-Fi is widely available in public places. There is 4G coverage from all carriers along the highway from Kemi on the coast, and a patchy signal along other routes.

For exaples of free Wi-Fi and internet terminals, check the and the.

Go next

 * Downhill (and cross-country) skiing from November to April in Levi (near Kittilä), Luosto (near Sodankylä) and Pyhä (near Pelkosenniemi).
 * Ranua with an Arctic wildlife park
 * Inari, the Finnish capital for the Sámi, 315 km farther north