Rovaniemi is the capital of Finnish Lapland. With a land area of 7,581.86 km, it is one of the geographically largest cities in Europe, but has only 61,784 (2016) inhabitants.

Rovaniemi offers the perfect combination of a small modern town and nature. Rovaniemi is home to the University of Lapland and the University of Applied Sciences. About 10,000 students live and study in Rovaniemi. The most prominent landmarks of Rovaniemi are the Arktikum, the lumberjack candle bridge (Jätkänkynttilä) over the river Kemijoki and the Alvar Alta Complex. Rovaniemi is also the official home town of Santa Claus with Santa Clause Village and Santa Park, which is located 8 km north of the centre. The Onasvaara ski centre is in top of the Onasvaara hill, directly across the river from the town and four (4) km from the house.

Lapland – “Terra ultima” the wild and mysterious beauty with many different faces on the edge of the ancient world. One of the last remaining regions in Europe where you can experience the harsh beauty and naturalness of the landscape.

Eight (8) seasons with extreme temperature and light changes throughout the year show that everything undergoes constant changing.

Lapland (Finnish: Lappi; Northern Sami: Sápmi; Swedish: Lappland) is the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The Lapland region covers 100,367 km² and has 180,000 inhabitants, meaning that there are fewer than two inhabitants per square kilometre.

Lapland is situated over the Arctic Circle (66°N). You can see the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) from end of August to middle of April and the midnight sun from May to August, depending upon where you are. The temperature varies from -40° C in wintertime to + 30 °C in the summertime. It is an extraordinary place.

Lapland experiences more and less six month of snow. Five (5) of the eight (8) seasons include snow. The temperature can get down to -40°C. This occurs seldom but when it gets very cold, the landscape shows her most beautiful side.

Leisure and recreation activities during wintertime are: snow mobile safaris, ice fishing, reindeer sleigh rides, husky sleigh rides, saunas and ice swimming, cross country and downhill skiing (Onasvaara hill), walking and playing in the snow, visiting Santa Claus, visiting an ice hotel or an ice restaurant, visiting the museums of Arktikum or Korundi (Museum of Contemporary Art), the Sampo Icebreaker in Kemi and much more. But the most important thing is to relax and enjoy the silence and the beauty of the nature of Lapland and the calm and slow living.

The summertime in Lapland is also called the “hysteric” summer and I think this describes the short and intense warm period quite well. Everything grows fast with 24 hours of sunlight - the midnight sun. Spring is quite short, and then summer starts. During this time, the inhabitants of the area stay outdoors most of the time. They meet to socialize or go hiking, fishing or swimming in the numerous lakes that are also located in Rovaniemi. For more peace and quiet, they go to their mökki, cabins situated in the woods, often near a lake, to commune with nature.

During your holidays in Rovaniemi you can enjoy nature at its purest. Hiking, fishing, canoing and camping are traditional activities to be enjoyed in the summer. In late summer, you can pick berries and mushrooms. However, Rovaniemi also offers more modern leisure and recreational opportunities, like jet skiing, horseback riding, swimming, hiking, river cruises and visiting husky and reindeer farms.