Rovaniemi is best known as the official hometown of Santa Clause in Finnish Lapland. From the capital city, Helsinki, you can take a night train (approximately 11 hours) to reach Rovaniemi. But it is more convenient to take a 80 minutes flight to Rovaniemi.
I flew to Helsinki before taking a connecting flight to Rovaniemi.
At Helsinki Airport, you have to self check in luggage including printing the luggage tag. But large luggage like baby stroller still have to be manually checked in by the local airport staff.
Reindeer fur was sold inside the airport for 129.95 euros.
My son posing with the Moomins, adorable little characters created by the Swedish-speaking Finnish writer Tove Jansson at the airport.
Spent another hour walking in Helsinki Airport while waiting for the connecting flight.
My flight to Rovaniemi was Norwegian Air.
After 80 minutes flight, we were finally here in Rovaniemi Airport.
The luggage collection area is decorated in Christmas theme complete with Christmas tree and a flying sleigh!
The airport is small and has only one conveyor belt for luggage collection.
Soon, everyone had collected their luggage.
Rovaniemi is located right on the Artic Circle. The temperature was 8.9 degrees that day, so it was cold although it was supposed to be autumn in September.
We tried to wait for the Airport bus. A few buses came and went quickly after the arrival of the flight. It wasn’t clear which one to take, so we might have missed the bus without knowing. In the end, we had to call for a taxi. Fortunately, the call is free. Right beside the exit, there’s a phone where you can have a free call for taxi. This was also where I collected some brochures and map regarding Rovaniemi and Lapland.
You can visit Santa 365 days a year at Santa Clause Village, except on Christmas eve, when Santa will only work half day instead of full day.
The official airport of Santa Clause!
The taxi came 15 minutes later after the call. The taxi ride to the city center cost about 15 euros.
The easiest landmark in the city is Mc Donald’s restaurant which is right at the heart of the city. It used to be the northernmost Mc Donald’s but this was no longer the case. The northernmost McDonald moves to Murmansk, Russia. Opposite Mc Donald’s is Scan Burger where I collected the key for Helppo Hotelli Apartments.
Key pick up and check-in instructions from Helppo Hotelli Apartments was received within 2 days of arrival date. A pin was given to collect the key. The host can be contacted directly at +358505099289 if you have any questions or urgent issues.
Sampokeskus is one of the three shopping centers in Rovaniemi. It is open from 8am – 8pm during weekdays, 9am - 7pm on Saturdays and 12pm - 4pm on Sundays. You can visit the official website for more details: http://www.sampokeskus.fi/en/
You can also find a Santa’s mailbox inside the shopping center where you can send a mail to Santa.
Ravintola Roka is a restaurant and street bistro right in the heart of Rovaniemi, just a short 5 minutes walk from Sampokeskus shopping centre. It earned 4.5 out of 5 stars at Tripadvisor, so we decided to have a meal here.
Address: AINONKATU 3LH2, 96200 ROVANIEMI
Opening hours: 10.30am – 9pm (Mon-Thu), 10.30am – 11pm (Fri), 12pm – 11pm (Sat), 12pm – 9pm (Sun)
Website: http://www.ravintolaroka.fi/en
The menu of the day is written directly on the wall.
They have two menus: Street Food and Bistro. We ordered three dishes: pork and chips, reindeer sandwich and pan fried Artic Char.
The dishes from the Street Food menu (pork & chips and sandwich) have bigger serving and the price is more affordable (9.90 euros for pork & chips and 13 euros for Reindeer Sandwich). The pan fried Artic Char from Bistro menu has smaller serving but most expensive (22.90 euros). My beau also ordered a local beer while the rest of us has plain water. Overall, the food was good and we had a satisfying meal at Roka.
After our early dinner, we checked-in to the apartment. Address: Koskikatu 26, Rovaniemi, 96200, Finland. Helppo Hotelli Apartments is about 10 minutes walk from the city centre.
The apartment is spacious and we really felt at home staying here.
Two single beds in the one bedroom apartment.
The apartment has a fully equipped kitchen.
Tea bags and coffee packets are complimentary.
It also has a sauna in the bathroom!
The balcony area of the apartment.
It offers panoramic views of the Ounasjoki River from its private, glassed-in balcony.
I booked the apartment through Booking.com for only 79 euros per night. It’s a perfect place especially for family like us.
Ounasjoki river is just a short walk from the apartment. Apparently, this is one of the best area to spot the Northern Lights. Unfortunately, it was rather cloudy that night and did not manage to see the Northern Lights.
Arktikum Museum & Science Centre was celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017. Its exhibition gives visitors a great insight into the local history starting from 6000 BC. www.arktikulum.fi
Its impressive 172m glass corridor was built in the shore of Ounasjoki river in 1992 to mark Finland’s 75th birthday.
Right next door to Beside Artikum Museum & Science Centre is the Pilke Science Centre. It houses an interactive playground, Pilke shop and offices of the Finnish Forestry Ministery. www.sciencecentre-pilke.fi
Jaakariliike.
This large shopping center in Rovaniemi is called Revontuli, meaning “Northern Light”. The mall is just a short walk from Helppo Hotelli Apartments. Shops open from 10am – 8pm (Mon – Fri), 10am – 6pm (Sat) and 12pm – 4pm (Sun). https://www.kauppakeskusrevontuli.fi/en
It has a connecting corridor to another shopping center, Rinteenkulma which is the largest shopping center in Lapland. Shops open from 10am – 6pm (Mon – Fri), 10am – 3pm (Sat) and 11am – 4pm (Sun).
Passed by a Chinese restaurant “Xiang Long” in the town. Rest assured that you can find a Chinese restaurant in every corner of the world.
A betting center in Rovaniemi.
This is the main pedestrian street of Rovaniemi city centre.
Lordi’s Square with Sampokeskus shopping center beside it.
Lumberjack Candle Bridge or better known as Jätkänkynttilä brideg is the most recognizable landmark of Rovaniemi cityscape. The bridge spans 320m across Kemijoki river with bright yellow light on top of the pylon. Open to public in 1989, it was actually the first cable-stayed bridge in all of Finland.
A booth for Lapland safaris.
Another bridge across the river.
Kids would love this Angry Birds Activity Park in Rovaniemi.
Features include a ropewalk, slides, swings and climbing frames, all in the style of these ultra-popular angry birds.
Entry to this open air park is free. It is also within walking distance from the city center.
Rovaniemi Church was completed in 1950.
The church is open daily from 9am – 9pm in summer (May – September) and in December.
Kirkkolammenpuisto is a small park in Rovaniemi where the Rovaniemi Church is.
Rovaniemi City Hall.
Arctic Light Hotel is located at the heart of Rovaniemi city centre.
Yep, we’ll be visiting Santa’s house later.
Map of Rovaniemi. The city center is within the circled area. It also marks the bus stops for bus no. 8 which is the bus to take to reach Santa Clause Village. You can click to view full size image.
Although Rovaniemi is the largest city in the European Union by land area, Rovaniemi city centre is actually very small and everything is within walking distance. After exploring the city centre, I travelled 8km away to visit Santa Clause.
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