Have you ever dreamt of meeting Mr. Santa Claus when you are a kid? Congrats to me! One item off my bucket list – I just made that dream of mine came true on my last travel trip to Finland. Santa Claus Village is just located outside of Rovaniemi city, just along the Arctic Lines. Do you know that every year, more than 300,000 visitors from all around the world come to Rovaniemi to meet this most popular resident – Mr. Santa.
The Arctic Line cuts through Santa Claus Village. Visitors officially enters the Arctic region when they cross the line!
We arrived at Santa Claus Village around lunch time and decided to fill our stomach first before exploring the village. Just a note, in Santa Claus Village, the weather is extremely chilling (close to – 5 Degree Celsius) so remember to keep your winter gear on. My first impression of Santa Claus Village is “Wow” – I really love the atmosphere and the surroundings. It feels that I am casting in some sort of fairy tale movie. Christmas season fills the air and you can see glowing fairy lights and christmas trees all around the area.
We had our lunch at Reindeer Cafe Restaurant Sirmakko. It is recommended to us by our guide and as the weather is too chilling for us to explore further and we were famished, we go with it. If you are more “adventurous” and would like to try the reindeer meal, try this.
Crossing the Arctic lines is one of the MUST DO. This is a popular spot for tourists who visit Santa Claus Village. 66 33’07” N, 25 50’51” E – The Santa Claus Village is built atop this marker which is denoted by a line on the pavement.
After recharged, we decided to visit the world’s renowned “M. Santa Claus” in Santa Claus Office. The sky darkens quickly and without long the village starts glowing amidst the dark blue sky. The queue at the Santa Claus Office can be quite long so be prepared to wait. When you visit Santa, you can take photos with him and he will bless you with some wishes too. Kids will love these! Moreover, your experience with Santa will be live streamed on Youtube too. You can also have an option to purchase your photo and video at the exit.
This is how Santa Claus Village looks like when the night falls. I won’t mind staying here for months if not for the coldness.
The next activity thing you should do in Santa Claus Village is of course to visit the Santa Claus Post Office. In this post office, you can send postcards/letters to your loved ones and friends. The best part, all the post will be stamped by hand using the uniquely special postmark of Santa Claus Post Office. This is the most beautiful post office in the world. You can sit by the cozy and warm fireplace and write to your friends all around the world. This place will be crowded, so be mentally prepared that you may need to spend some time here.
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