Rovaniemi is a lively, modern city in the north of Finland and the gateway to Lapland.

Lappiatalo is a modern building complex that contains a theatre and also a government building plus a museum and Radio Lapland.

Tourists visit this city throughout the year, a fact that seems at odds with most people’s perception of Lapland as a land of icy desolation. The city’s shopping malls contain a huge range of goods and all the latest gadgets are also available. Rovaniemi has always been the centre of trade in this region and has become increasingly important as a tourist destination.

Pajakyla is the home of Santa Claus and is open to the public throughout the year. At the Arctic Circle eight kilometres north of the city is a special attraction that pulls in six hundred thousand visitors each year. Several tiny log cabins contain Santa’s work rooms and a number of his helpers in traditional Lap costume offer a variety of colourful arts and crafts.

The Christmas village also features an entertainment park and a reindeer enclosure. Santa’s main post office is busy each month of the year and thousands of letters arrive from all over the world and millions of messages are sent via the Internet.

Once, early pioneers embarked from Rovaniemi and today it is a busy centre of tourism. From this unusual city the full spectacle of the midnight sun can be experienced, the Arctic Circle can be crossed and Santa Claus prepares for his annual deliveries!