What to see in Finnish Lapland
in one weekend
Overview
Hello there! What you will find below is a recap of the itinerary we have followed for our 3-days trip in Finnish Lapland back in April 2025. We hope that it will inspire you to create your own exploration plan!
- Duration: 3 days
- Period: beginning of April
- Year: 2025
- Cost: approx. 70€/day per person (accommodation, food, visits & transports)
Highlights
Cities & Natural Sites🏙️
- Rovaniemi
- Santa Claus Village
- Korouoma & Frozen Waterfalls
Museums 🏛️
- Arktikum
- Pilke
- Korundi
Day 1 - Santa Claus Village & Rovaniemi
Finnish Lapland region sits in the northen extreme part of Finland. It is a very popular destination for winter sports and also for Northern Light spotting. We chose this destination to try to experience it ourselves. Rovaniemi is the regional capital of Finnish Lapland and it is the perfect base to explore this area. We flew to Rovaniemi airport where we rented a car for our adventure. The first stop was Santa Claus Village!
Santa Claus Village 🎅 🦌
Santa Claus Village is one of the main attractions of Rovaniemi, and who were we to skip this? Whether you're young or simply young at heart, the chance to glimpse Santa in his very own home and witness the tangible wishes of children from around the world can reignite that spark of magic we all once held so dear.The village is a little more than 3 km away from the airport, with a wide parking area. It is a proper village! In fact, you will find here hotels, restaurants a post office and more.
We recommend to spend here a couple of hours and just wander around, to free you inner child! Best time to visit this place might be closer to December and when it is dark or almost dark to enjoy the lights. The main highlight of the village is definitely Santa Claus' home place: here you will have the chance to speak and take some pictures with Santa himself! There might be a considerable queue to take the picture which are provided freely with watermarks (with those they are not usable!). If you want watermark free pictures be prepared for the price!
Another very magic place is the post office. Here you will find a box letter with real letters sent from children from different countries around the world. There is also the possibility to have a sleigh ride with reindeers, which we skipped. Also interesting to know that the Arctic Circle crosses the village!
Rovaniemi
After Santa Claus Village we explored a bit the city of Rovaniemi. Rovaniemi is very tiny so do not expect to have plenty activities to do. Still we highly recommend to have a walk near the Ounasjoki River around here.Pilke Science Centre Museum 🏛️
Forest is crucial for the history and current industry of Finland. At the Pilke Science Centre you will get the chance to deep dive into the discovery of Finnish and global forests in a very interactive way. We can guarantee that this place will entartain you no matter your age!Here you can find more information about the Pilke Science Centre.
Tip: if you plan to see Pilke as well as the other museums of Rovaniemi (Arktikum and Korundi) you might consider buying the Culture Pass and save some money. The pass allows you to enter in these three musems as many times as you want for 7 days. Check it here.
Day 2 - Korouoma & Frozen Waterfalls
This area is also very interesting for hiking, and this was the plan for our second day. We decided to go a little further from Rovaniemi area to explore the surrounding, specifically to Korouoma Nature Reserve. This is a canyon area with multiple hiking trails. One in particular can lead you to some pretty cool frozen waterfalls. We have prepared a trekking itinerary that you can follow for this trail. Also fyou can find more information on this area and on the trek at this website.
Tips ✔️
- There is a free parking at the entrance of the area here
- If you are visiting the area during winter time you might need spikes for your shoes to avoid slipping on the ice. Just a few metres after the parking there is a nice and cosy café where you can also rent equipment and spikes. This is also a nice place to get some food and coffee. Make sure to call the place before going there because it is closed for part of the spring season
Arktikum Science Centre & Museum 🏛️
The Arktikum hosts the Arctic Centre and the Regional Museum of Lapland. You will find here different permanent and temporary exhibitions, all showing different aspects of Finland, Lapland and Finland.Among the permanent exhibitions you will find:
- Arctic Opposites: here you will experience a discovery journey through the Arctic in a very interactive way
- Northern Ways: with this exhibition you will learn more about the past and the present of Lapland
- Arctic Seasons: this is a 10 minutes movie showing the changing seasons in Lapland
Tips: at Arktikum you will easily spend quite some time. Keep in mind that it is included in the Culture Pass so you will be able to visit the centre multiple times within 7 days of purchase
Day 3 - Arctic Circle Hiking Area
Korundi 🏛️
Northern Lights? 🌌
You might be wondering: but what about Northern Lights?Unfortunately we did not manage to see any during our stay in Rovaniemi...
And you might also be wondering: was it worthy going all the way up there without seeing the lights? Our answer is yes considering that we found some pretty good deals in terms of flight and accomodation which made it a relatively low-cost trip. However, it is true that Rovaniemi and its surrounding offer limited activities other than some trekking spots. So make sure to consider what kind of trip you're looking for before booking yiur flight to Rovaniemi. We also wanted to share some tips so you avoid the mistakes we have done that led us not seeing the Northern Lights, hoping you will be luckier than us!
Exploring on your own or with a guided tour?
Exploring on your own might be a very good options since it is basically free (excluding car rental cost) and you are flexible to organise it whenever you prefer. However, this might be advisable more in high season rather than low season since you will have higher chances to see the Northern Lights. Also consider safety factor: in winter time roads are likely to be covered in ice so wandering with a car at night can be somehow risky. To explore on your own you might also need to know in advance what are the best spots to see northern lights.
Joining a guided tour it's a good option if you are not strict on budget (guided tours can cost on average around 100€ per person) and if you are somehow flexible in your organisation. Please keep in mind that guided tours do not guarantee that you'll see the Northern Lights (some even can refund in case you do not see it).
Here are some useful apps and websites:
Useful Material ℹ️
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Check the places on Google Maps
- luontoon.fi: in this website you will find many destinations and trails all over Finland with key information. This is an official service curated by diffent entities including governmental bodies
- luontoon.fi: in this website you will find many destinations and trails all over Finland with key information. This is an official service curated by diffent entities including governmental bodies