Santa Claus village is so much more than Santa himself

I have visitied Santa Claus village on the Arctic Circle situated 6 km north from Rovaniemi center several times. During the years there has always been some growth and development, but I have to say, since my last visit the growth has been huge! This has probably something to do with the fact, that the amount of visitors to Lapland is increasing big time. In 2018 there were around 3 milj. overnight stays in Lapland. That was the biggest amount of visitors to Lapland during a year ever.

The day of my visit was a sunny day with temperatures around -6 degrees celsius. Just perfect. A quick look and overview at the map over Santa Claus village and then I planned where to go.

Santa Claus Village, Arctic Circle, Tähtikuja 1, Rovaniemi, Finland https://santaclausvillage.info/info/map/

I had to leave out all the “normal” spots, like Santa Claus himself and the Official Post Office of Santa Claus – I have been there so many times before. This time I concentrated on visiting the new spots.

The first place I went to was The Moomin Snowcastle, a short walk from the center of the Santa Claus Village.

The Moomin Snowcastle http://www.moominsnowcastlefinland.com

On my way there I met a well-known friend of all the children….the Moomin Troll himself.

The Moomin snowcastle is full of ice sculptures of the characters from the Moomin story. Amazing how well-done they are! Ice-building artists from China have really done a good job! And their job continues all the time Because of the snow falling almost every day the last weeks the workers of the snowcastle have to clean the sculptures from snow all days long.

If you do not know who Moomin is, you should know he is very famous in Finland and the interest has spread to Japan and Asia and the Moomins get more and more known around the rest of the world also. Learn more about the Moomins here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moomins

Except from the sculptures there were several activities for the children and “childish” people. The Big Slide was very popular for all ages.

Another activity was to “make your own northern light”.

It is also possible to visit a husky park near the snowcastle. You can buy a husky ride or just stop by to cuddle with the dogs.

Near the Moomin snowcastle I found the Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle; a place where customers can rent an igloo for the night. All the igloos have glass windows turned towards the north. In case of northern light activity the customers can lie in the beds and watch the northern light directly through the window.

Santa’s Igloos Arctic Circle https://www.santashotels.fi/en/hotelsantaclaus/glass-igloos-in-rovaniemi

Actually the area around Santa Claus village is full of accomodation possibility. During the last few years the amount of accomodation possibilities near the Village has increased.

Nova Skyland Hotel & Restaurant http://www.novaskyland.com
Reindeer on the yard of Nova Skyland Hotel

Nova Skyland Hotel & Restaurant is one of the newbuildings. It is possible to have a buffet lunch here and I took the opportunity to get inside the restaurant for the first time to have a buffet lunch.

Other accomodations in the area are the Santa Claus Holiday Village and the Village Suites, the Snowman Wold Glass Resort and at a 2 km’s walk from the Village is the Arctic TreeHouse Hotel.

Santa Claus Holiday Village Suites https://www.santaclausholidayvillage.fi/en/home/
Snowman World Glass Resort http://www.snowmanworld.fi/en/glass-resort#
Arctic TreeHouse Hotel https://arctictreehousehotel.com/

I had learnt that there was plans to open a Mrs Santa Claus House on the Arctic Circle and I was really curious to see how the building would look like, but that was not ready to open yet (in February 2019). I have to make a new visit to the Arctic Circle during this spring to visit that. I definitively have to see what it has to offer!

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More places for having good meals in Rovaniemi

In my post Where to eat a good meal in Rovaniemi I mentioned some of the restaurants where to have a good meal in Rovaniemi. Of course those were not all; there are many more restaurants also worth mentioning. That is why I continue my restaurant grand tour here.

The cozy restaurant of City hotel; MonteRosa, is one of my favorite restaurants in the city center of Rovaniemi, on Pekankatu 9. The City hotel is a 4-star hotel with 90 rooms. On the first floor you find the atmosphere-rich MonteRosa restaurant, where the friendly staff prepares and serves a variety of local but also international culinary delights. (Some of them look a bit suspicious….though, as on the picture below… but very tasty, indeed)

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Outside the restaurant, on the pedestrian street, there is a special waiting pole for reindeer, where the sami can leave his reindeer while he is inside dining.

 

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Also worth mentioning is that you can always book your adventure safaris in the hotel receptions of Rovaniemi. If you want to go for a reindeer or husky safari or on a snowmobile safari you just contact the hotel reception. All transportation, warm clothes and other equipment will be taken care of for you. You just have to show up in the lobby in time to be picked up.

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The restaurant Frans & Chérie Bistro  in hotel Vaakuna in Rovaniemi belongs to a chain of restaurants all over Finland and the menu is very long….with both meat and fish courses and many delicious desserts like ice creams and Crème Brûlées. Friday is a great day to visit the restaurant, because it is The Mussels Day. Don’t be late, because the mussels are on offer only as long as there are any left. Their Roast reindeer with red wine sauce will definitely melt in your mouth! Last time I visited I had the fish course Grilled salmon from the north of Lapland. Delicious! You can also get fried pike-perch from the local waters.

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Hotel Santa Claus with the restaurant Gaissa  does not provide menus in English, but they serve traditional Finnish and Lappish special delicacies with modern twist. The dishes are made of local ingredients, using traditional recipes. Gaissa has also a special Rovaniemi menu with traditional delicacies from Rovaniemi area. The menu changes seasonally, as it is made of the ingredients of the current season.so I do not feel like mentioning it here. Bar & Grill ZoomUp in the Santa Claus hotel serves a delicious lunch buffet every week day.

In the main building of hotel Arctic TreeHouse Hotel near SantaPark Christmas amusement park is the restaurant Rakas. Rakas serves local food with love. On their menu you will find traditional Lappish delicacies like reindeer, fish, mushrooms and wild berries prepared with a modern twist. The cosy atmosphere of Rakas will tempt you to stay a while longer enjoying the delicious hot and cold drinks by the fire.

In the heart of Rovaniemi center is the cosy restaurant Street Bistro Roka. The menu is strongly influenced by the United States, Italy and Finnish Lapland – Roka provides a friendly, personal and intimate 25-seat, neighborhood restaurant. The food is made from the finest ingredients, chock-full of authentic & original flavors and accompanied with refreshing and sophisticated beverages.

Lapland Restaurant Kotahovi is located in Santa Claus Village, in the middle of Santa Claus Reindeer farm. The restaurant is made in a shape of traditional Lappish “kota” hut. The family that runs this restaurant have been reindeer herders for generations. The restaurant has reindeer decorations all over. Here you can try dishes made from quality Lappish ingredients, such as reindeer, salmon, mushrooms and arctic berries.

 

Finally, I want to mention the DVD with Santa Claus’ secrets. You can buy it online from Santa’s shop or from the shops on the Arctic Circle during your visit in Rovaniemi. The DVD reveals many secrets of Santa that you so far never even heard of. On the DVD there are options for at least 8 languages.

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