The city of Rovaniemi is Finland’s gateway to the Lapland region, and since visitors can engage in a number of outdoor activities in this mostly wild part of the country, Rovaniemi travel is on the rise. Various Rovaniemi tours can be booked year round once you get here, and they allow visitors to enjoy the Lapland countryside both safely and effectively. It isn’t exactly the best region for wandering too far on your own, unless you are quite familiar with it.

This region is known for wildlife. Bears are the national animal of Finland, and the majority of the country’s bear population lives in the Lapland region. Foxes, lemmings, elk, wolverines, and wolves also call the Lapland region home, and some 300 bird species either nest or stop here during migrations. You are likely to see some of these creatures going about their daily lives when enjoying Rovaniemi tours, and chances are also pretty good that you will see a reindeer at some time during your Rovaniemi trip. Reindeer have always been an important food and clothing source for those living in northern Finland, and you will likely get the chance to eat some if that interests you.

Rovaniemi Finland is just five miles south of the Arctic Circle, which means that you’ll enjoy plenty of sunlight in the summers and extended darkness in the winters. Come spring and fall, however, the light evens out, and these are the best seasons to view the Northern Lights in Finland. Due to the location of Rovaniemi Finland, the Northern Lights can be seen some 200 nights a year on average, and it’s quite a show. Also known as Aurora Borealis, the Northern Lights are rather hard to explain in a sentence or two, but suffice it to say that these natural nighttime light shows are nothing short of spectacular. Many tourists who travel to Rovaniemi come with the hopes of seeing the Northern Lights, and you might be happy to know that the sunsets here are usually pretty phenomenal themselves.

Finland Map

Before you really take on all that Rovaniemi travel has to offer, you might stop by the Arktikum. One of the most interesting museums in Finland, the Arktikum is dedicated to the Lapland region and its people. The Sami people, who are the indigenous inhabitants of Lapland, are featured in the exhibits here, and they still live very much today like they have for centuries. At the Arktikum, you can trace the history of life in Rovaniemi Finland back to prehistoric times, so it’s a very comprehensive place. One of the best places for trying reindeer meat in Rovaniemi Finland is the restaurant at the Arktikum, where you can enjoy some sauteed reindeer steaks. There are other menu items to savor if you prefer to leave the reindeer alone, and the lunch buffet here is especially recommended.

When you travel to Rovaniemi, trying some of the local food favorites is often a highlight of the trip. In the months of November and December, whitefish and moose are often on the menu, as are local cranberries. Black crowberries are quite abundant from January to April, as is reindeer, and suffice it to say that when dining in Rovaniemi, you’re sure to try at least one thing that you’ve never had before. The hotels in Rovaniemi are often good places to try Lappish food favorites, as many of the better ones here boast fine restaurants that serve up traditional fare. Should you travel to Rovaniemi in the cold winter season, you will surely work up an appetite trying to keep warm, and it’s nice to have a good restaurant at your hotel when you don’t want to brave the cold for a good meal.

As mentioned, enjoying the outdoors in Lapland is something that you can do on Rovaniemi vacations. In the summer, fishing, hiking, and whitewater rafting are among the top pursuits, and if rafting on a rough river isn’t your cup of tea, you can also enjoy more languid cruises on the local rivers. The city of Rovaniemi rests on the banks of a confluence of two rivers, so the water is a big part of life. Come wintertime, activities that visitors can enjoy include sledding safaris, which are highly recommended, as well as snowmobiling and skiing. Both downhill skiing and cross-country skiing are possible here. You won’t have trouble finding companies that offer Rovaniemi tours when you get here, and it’s always a good idea to check in on them to see what they have to offer.

Rovaniemi travel offers too much to fully cover here, and for those who wish to include the city in their Finland vacation, the most popular way of arriving is by flying in from Helsinki. Rovaniemi is also well linked to other major cities in Finland by both bus and rail, so the choices for transportation are good. Flights to Rovaniemi basically triple in the winter, as the city is just a few miles from the renowned Santa Claus Village, which is without question one of the top attractions in all of Finland. As a side note for those who travel to Rovaniemi, it rarely gets above 50 degrees Farehnhiet here, even in the summers, so warm clothing is a necessity.