11 BEST Things To Do In Rovaniemi (2024) – By A Local

Are you looking for things to do in Rovaniemi Lapland? You have come to the right place!

I am from Rovaniemi and I know the best things to do there in the summer and in the winter! I also know about the best places to stay in Rovaniemi and the best restaurants.

So if you have Rovaniemi, Lapland’s capital on your bucket list and you want to know all the great tips, you will find out all about them in this blog post.

I will go through 11 best things to do in Rovaniemi (my top picks!) and the best hotels and restaurants. I will also give you some other useful tips for your trip.

I hope you will find this blog post helpful and you will have a wonderful time when you visit Rovaniemi!

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The Best Things To Do In Rovaniemi

There are a lot of things to do in Rovaniemi for families, couples and singles in all of its seasons. Rovaniemi has four seasons which are winter, spring, summer and fall. All of those seasons have some specific things you can do.

Visit Ounasvaara Outdoor Resort

Ounasvaara Outdoor Resort is a ski center where you can go downhill skiing, snowboarding or try regular skiing. You can get there easily by car and it’s only 5-10 minute drive from the city center.

The ski resort has several hills, some suitable for beginners and some for those who already have a longer experience of downhill skiing.

During the summer time Ounasvaara Outdoor Resort has a fun bobsleigh track. This is our kids’ favorite thing to do in Rovaniemi in the summer. You will also be able to take the chair lift from down the hill up to the top and it is a nice experience itself.

And maybe you can come to the top of Ounasvaara to see the midnight sun and admire the beautiful views from there at the same time!

Hike In The Forests Of Ounasvaara

From the top of Ounasvaara there is a nice nature trail through the forest to Tottorakka. We usually take some snacks and coffee with us and walk to Tottorakka to admire the scenery. At the same time, we get to enjoy Rovaniemi’s beautiful nature.

And a special tip: you can find blueberries in the forest so you can do some blueberry picking there!

Visit Korouoma National Park

Korouoma National Park is a stunning natural reserve located in the southern part of Finnish Lapland, known for its dramatic canyon-like valley and exceptional outdoor activities.

In the winter months, there are frozen waterfalls there! It’s a magical place! There are some guided tours organized there and I would highly recommend one of those, if you are interested in visiting Korouoma. You can find the tour and buy the tickets from here.

Spend Time In The Beach Of Rovaniemi

There’s a beautiful beach in Rovaniemi. Going to the beach is one of our kids favorite things to do in Rovaniemi in the summer.

The beach is right by the Jätkänkynttilä-bridge. You can see the beach from Rovaniemi center and walk across the bridge to get there. Sometimes there has been reindeers at the beach as well!

Visit Science Center Pilke

Science Center Pilke is a place our kids love! At the Science Centre Pilke exhibition, you can immerse yourself in the forest experience through all your senses and from various perspectives. Take the driver’s seat of a forestry machine, step inside a birdhouse, and enjoy singing karaoke on an ant hill.

Discover all the wooden elements used to construct the largest exhibit at Pilke, the timber-framed Pilke House!

Visit Santa Claus Village And The Arctic Circle

One of the must things to do in Rovaniemi is to visit Santa Claus Village. You can go there to meet Santa Claus and take a picture with him.

You can also visit the Santa’s Post Office and walk around the Santa Claus Village. There are beautiful Christmas songs playing and a really nice and magical atmosphere!

When you go to Santa Claus Village, you will also be able to cross the Arctic Circle!

If you visit Santa Claus Village in the summer, there’s also a nice playground outside for the kids.

If you want to make your stay a bit more special, you can get a guided tour for the Village!

Visit The Reindeer Safari And The Husky Safari

When you come to Lapland I’m sure you are thinking that you want to see arctic animals such as reindeers. And I understand that! They are exotic animals. It was funny that growing up in Rovaniemi we used to have reindeers in our backyard sometimes.

There are many tours in Rovaniemi such as organized reindeer safaris and I would highly recommend those. You can have a reindeer ride in the safari’s.

Many people ask if they should book the safari’s in advance, and I would say that it’s a good idea especially if you are coming to Rovaniemi during the most busy season.

Here you can find a good option for the reindeer safari:

Husky farms is also something exotic to do and it’s especially fun for the kids! You can meet huskies and have a husky ride there. Here’s an excellent option for the husky safari visit:

If you are interested in all of the things that are mentioned above, I recommend the tour that has all of these three things. You can visit the Santa Claus Village, go to the Reindeer safari and the Husky safary. You will have all of those at the same tour, so it makes everything a bit more convenient. You can find the tour and buy tickets from here.

And if you want to see other arctic animals such as polar bears, I suggest visiting the Ranua wildlife park.

Make an excursion to the shore of Lake Salmijärvi

This tip could not be given by someone who hasn’t lived in Rovaniemi!

We often go on the shore of lake Salmijärvi, make a fire there and fry some sausages. Both in the summer and in the winter. It is easily accessible by car.

On this map you can find the location of the Salmijärvi campfire place:

Make an excursion to the King’s Lean-To

Rovaniemi has another great hiking spot – the King’s lean-to.

The scenery from there is really great! Getting there is a bit more difficult than to the lean-to in Salmijärvi. You can get to a certain point by car, but then you have to walk.

On this map you will find the location of the King’s lean-to:

Visit Arktikum Museum

Arktikum museum is a science centre and museum where you can get to know the nature, culture and history of the north. It is located at the Rovaniemi city center.

Arktikum is worth a visit and our 6 and 9 year old children also like spending time in there.

Try The Traditional Finnish Firewood Sauna – And Ice Swimming

If you have never been to sauna, I would highly recommend trying it out! Going to sauna is one of the very Finnish things to do in Rovaniemi.

In Finland, people go to sauna naked, but I’m sure that’s not something that is mandatory for tourists.

It’s also essential to stay hydrated, limit time in sauna, and consult a doctor if you have certain health conditions.

In case you are interested in going to sauna, you can find a private sauna and hot tub tour in here.

And if you want to try something very special, that is ice swimming with sauna (in the winter time)! Ice swimming has a lot of health benefits, but it is still something that I haven’t done yet. My husband goes ice swimming many times a week and he loves it.

There’s also an organized ice floating tours if you’re interested in trying that out!

Another exciting thing to do besides those is walk on the frozen lake! There are some lakes in Rovaniemi (one for example close to Rantavitikka area) and a frozen river as well.

Make sure the frozen lakes and river are really frozen before you go there!

See The Northern Lights

If you are visiting Rovaniemi in the winter months, I think you have been thinking that it would be nice to see the northern lights dance.

It’s not always so easy to see the northern lights and I’m sure you don’t want to miss them. There are some places where they can be seen and I suggest taking an organized tour. You can find one great one from here.

Hotels In Rovaniemi

There are a few excellent hotels in Rovaniemi, which I recommend for families and couples. In this post I will tell you a few excellent options of where to stay in Rovaniemi. If you want to have more information about these hotels, I’ve written more about them in this post : Best Places To Stay in Rovaniemi With Kids (including information about Arctic Treehouse hotel!).

Riverside Luxury Suites

Riverside Luxury Suites is our family’s favourite! We stay here every summer, and I can’t think of a more amazing place to spend a family holiday in Rovaniemi. If you are staying here, you will need a car, as the location is a bit far from the Rovaniemi city centre.

Read more about Riverside Luxury Suites from this blog post: Best Family Hotel In Rovaniemi: Riverside Luxury Suites

Arctic Light Hotel

Arctic Light Hotel is located right in the centre of Rovaniemi, within walking distance of cafés, restaurants and Angry Birds Park. Arctic Light Hotel has the best breakfast and even if we don’t stay at Arctic Light Hotel, we eat breakfast here at least once during our trip.

Santa Claus Holiday Village

Santa Claus Holiday Village hotel is located right in the middle of Santa Claus Village. From there, it’s a 2-minute walk to say hello to Santa Claus. This is an excellent option, especially in winter and around Christmas.

Ounasvaara Chalets

Ounasvaara Chalets is located in Ounasvaara, right next to the ski resort. The location is very quiet and if you plan to ski or snowboard, this hotel is a great option. Ounasvaara Chalets offers cottages with a great atmosphere and is sure to be a great place to spend a family holiday.

Restaurants in Rovaniemi

Then there is one of the most important topics: food! At least for me, it’s always important to be able to enjoy good food. And that’s one of the best things to do in Rovaniemi – eat at nice restaurants.

Did you know, that if you eat during lunch time (11am-2pm) many restaurants have lunch offers and the prices are cheaper? Those offers are usually not valid if it’s a holiday season (for example Christmas), but other times they do have those lunch offers. So I suggest eating out during lunch time if you want to save some money!

We have a few favorite restaurants in Rovaniemi. These are all decently priced and the food is really good in each of them!

Gustav Kitchen & Bar

We visit Gustav Kitchen & Bar for lunch several times a week during our holiday in Rovaniemi. Lunch includes a salad buffet, REALLY good bread baked at the root, a changing main course and coffee and a tasty cookie.

The food is really tasty every time! The children have also liked the food and my particular favourite has been the really good bread baked at the root and (of course) the cookie.

No wonder this is our favorite restaurant in Rovaniemi!

Restaurant Hanki

Restaurant Hanki is a korean restaurant close to Rovaniemi center. The food in there is amazing! And no wonder the place has received great reviews in Facebook: 4,9/5! Their customer service is also great.

Café Kauppayhtiö

We’ve been to Café Kauppayhtiö several times and we’ve often had a burger there. The burgers are high quality and really tasty! Kauppayhtiö also provides excellent pizza. I haven’t had time to test it myself yet, but this tip has come from such a reliable source (my brother who has excellent judgment when it comes to quality food) so I think pizzas are worth testing!

Café Kauppayhtiö is also an interesting lunch place in the sense that the furniture, movables and small items there are all for sale!

I definitely recommend visiting Café Kauppayhtiö while in Rovaniemi. I think you probably haven’t come across a café like this anywhere else.

Paras Pizza

Paras Pizza (The Best Pizza) is located a little further from the city center, in Saarenkylä. Here you can get pizza with a really thin and crunchy base! The pizzas are also big and for our family of four 2-3 pizzas is enough (so total, not per person!).

I also think pizzas are really affordable!

Unfortunately their website is not in English, but you can find the location from the map from here:

Our accommodation, Riverside Luxury Suites, is located close to Paras Pizza, so we get lunch here quite often.

Other tips for a holiday in Rovaniemi

Here are a few more tips worth mentioning if you are heading to Rovaniemi for a holiday.

Layering is recommended: The weather in Lapland can be unpredictable, so layering is recommended. While summer days can be warm, evenings and nights can be cool. I have to mention that last summer (2023) it was +11 and rainy one day in Rovaniemi in July. It got quite cold with summer clothes.

Mosquito protection included: In summer, mosquitoes can be a nuisance. Be sure to pack mosquito repellents and long clothes, especially in the evenings. A fun observation has been that there haven’t been many mosquitoes in our accommodation at Riverside Luxury Suites. I don’t know if it’s because of the location or what, but it’s been a nice surprise.

Bring rainwear and shoes: An umbrella and rainwear are useful as the weather can change quickly.

Bring a travel stroller: It is good to have a stroller with you, as you will definitely walk a lot in Rovaniemi. Check out my recommendations for a good stroller here.

It is worth renting a car: If you have not come to Rovaniemi with your own car, then renting a car is recommended. Although Rovaniemi can be reached many places on foot, a car also allows access to sights further away, such as Santa Claus Village, Ounasvaara, etc.
You can find a rental car from here:

Take advantage of local transport: If you don’t have a car, public transport is good and covers the most important destinations in the city.

Bring sunscreen: In summer, the sun can be surprisingly strong (even though we’re pretty north!), so be sure to pack sunscreen and headgear.

Conclusion

There are a lot of things to do in Rovaniemi for families with children, couples and singles and I have to say that Rovaniemi is an excellent destination for everyone.

Rovaniemi also has a wide variety of accommodation options. We have stuck to that one favorite because we think it’s the best place to stay in Rovaniemi. I recommend testing it!

If you have any question about things to do in Rovaniemi or Rovaniemi in general, feel free to send me a message. I’m happy to help!

Rovaniemi FAQ´s

How do I get to Rovaniemi, and is there an airport nearby?

Rovaniemi is easily accessible by air, and Rovaniemi Airport is located just 8 kilometers from the city center. The airport operates regular flights to and from major cities in Finland as well as some international destinations, particularly during the peak winter season.

From the airport, you can take a taxi, bus, or shuttle service to reach your accommodation in Rovaniemi.

What are some fun activities to do in Rovaniemi?

Rovaniemi offers a wide range of fun activities for visitors of all ages. In winter months, popular activities include husky rides, snowmobiling, reindeer sleigh rides, and ice fishing and ice floating.

You can also visit Santa Claus Village, where you can meet Santa Claus and cross the Arctic Circle. During the summer, enjoy hiking, canoeing, and midnight sun experiences. Year-round, you can explore the Arktikum Museum to learn about Arctic history and culture, visit Korundi house and Science center Pilke.

Are there glass igloos in Rovaniemi?

Yes, Rovaniemi offers unique accommodation options such as glass igloos. These igloos provide a cozy and luxurious way to experience the Arctic, offering panoramic views of the night sky.

Staying in a glass igloo gives you a chance to witness the Northern Lights from the comfort of your bed during the winter months. Some popular places to stay in glass igloos include Arctic SnowHotel & Glass Igloos and Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle. Check their availability from here:

Why is Rovaniemi considered the perfect place for a winter vacation?

Rovaniemi is considered the perfect place for a winter vacation due to its breathtaking views, numerous tours, snow and unique experiences. Located in northern Finland, Rovaniemi offers stunning snowy landscapes that create a magical atmosphere. Visitors can embark on many tours, such as husky sledding, reindeer sledding, snowmobiling and Northern Lights excursions.

Rovaniemi Lapland is also known as the official hometown of Santa Claus. Meeting Santa at Santa Claus Village is a cherished activity for families and adds a special touch to any holiday visit. With its blend of natural beauty and enchanting activities, Rovaniemi truly offers a perfect winter escape.