If you want to give your children an unforgettable holiday on New Year's Eve, then you will find the village of Santa Claus (Finland). Here you can immerse yourself in the atmosphere of the main European celebration and get a lot of impressions. In this article you will find out what the Santa Claus village is famous for in Finland. Photos and descriptions of this amazing place will help you make your own impression about it.
Children's holidays in Finland
This amazing northern country has long been loved by Russian tourists, since all the conditions for a family holiday are created here. But most of all here, children who feel special attitude to themselves like to relax. Their leisure time is organized taking into account all the little things: in all public places for them special games rooms and playgrounds for outdoor activities are organized. Children in this country have fun all year round, but it is in the winter that they can get into a real winter's tale. Santa Claus Village (Finland) will give you the indescribable beauty of the northern lights, reindeer sleigh rides and, of course, an unforgettable meeting with the most important wizard of this country.
Where does Santa live?
Every child knows that the most important winter wizard lives on the North Pole, somewhere beyond the Arctic Circle. And this statement is not far from the truth. The magic coordinates look like this: 66 ° 33 '07'. Thousands of letters from children from all over the world come to Lapland every day, and often there is no exact address on the envelopes. Fortunately, the postmen know where the Santa Claus village is, and they immediately send messages to: Santa Klaus, 96930 Arctic Circle. To get to this amazing place, you should first buy a ticket to the capital of Lapland, the city of Rovaniemi. And here you should take bus number 8, and after 20 minutes you will be there.
Santa Claus Village: photos and description
Since its opening (1950), the residence of Santa has grown significantly. Now on its territory you can see the house-office of the main wizard, in which he works all year round. Here he reads letters from children, and in thick books he writes the names of obedient and naughty babies. When you get to Santa’s office, you will have to wade through the gears of the magic clockwork through suspension bridges and passages. The fact is that in this place the earth's crust is very thin and guests should not get burned on the hot lava. Overcoming the obstacle, you can see Santa Claus himself and even take photos with him. There is a post office in the village where real gnomes work. From here you can send a letter from the Finnish Santa Claus to anywhere in the world, and the seal of the Arctic Circle will appear on the envelope. The village of Santa Claus will not leave its guests without memorable souvenirs, so several shops and shops are located on its territory. In them you can buy original snowmen, handmade Lapland ornaments, dolls in local folk costumes and much more. There are also cafes and restaurants where you can relax after the tour.
Santa park. Finland Attractions
Santa Claus Village is not the only place where adults and children can have fun. Not far from it is a wonderful amusement park, a holiday in which lasts all year round. Real elves work here, who amuse kids, bake aromatic sweets and educate everyone in their school. If you want to meet with Santa and tell him about your desires, you can look into his office, located in the center of the park. If you want to learn a lot of new and interesting things about northern nature, about the animal world of Lapland and about the indigenous population of this area, be sure to check out the Ice Gallery. Here you will see stunning ice sculptures and enjoy refreshing drinks at the Ice Bar. In Santa's Park, you can ride the Seasons train, take a fascinating journey and cross the Arctic Circle at a depth of 50 meters, as well as visit the Secret Elven Toy Workshop.
Zoo "Ranua"
The Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi and Santa Park will leave a lasting impression on you. However, for the Christmas program to be fully implemented, you should visit the polar zoo, which is located 80 km from the Arctic Circle. Reindeers, wolves, moose, polar bears, lynxes and many other frost-loving animals live here.
Entertainment for adults
The village of Santa Claus offers adult visitors a unique opportunity to marry among the sparkling ice at the Ice Altar or at a depth of 50 meters underground right in the Arctic Circle. After this unusual ceremony, the newlyweds can celebrate a joyful event together with their guests in the Arctic Circle restaurant or in the Kota cafe, where a whole concert program, dance performance and disco will be organized for them.
How to celebrate New Year in Finland
Santa Claus Village welcomes its guests year-round, but the hottest time begins on the eve of the New Year holidays. Therefore, if you decide to arrange a holiday for your family and go to New Year's celebration in Finland, you should decide for yourself several important issues:
- Time travel. If you do not take care of tickets in advance, you can stay in Russia for all the holidays. In addition, you should consider that during the Christmas holidays all busy streets will subside for several days, street traffic will freeze, shops will close and cultural attractions will become inaccessible. The fact is that Finns, like hundreds of years ago, will gather in churches to listen to holiday services. And they will try to spend the rest of the time with their family.
- Place of celebration. It can be a secluded cottage located far from civilization, but with the ability to go to a big city at any time. Rovaniemi's surroundings are traditionally chosen by families with small children, because the proximity of the famous Santa village, dog and deer farms, the Arctic zoo and much more will turn your vacation into a real adventure. For those who want to save money, experienced tourists are advised to settle in the Levi ski resort and go on excursions as needed.
- Equipment. Do not forget that Finnish frosts are not at all softer than Russian ones. Therefore, it is not superfluous to stock up on warm clothes, felt boots, mittens and thermal underwear.
- Travel organizer. If you do not want to take on the search for a hotel and organize entertainment, then contact a travel company. Thus, you will know about the time of stay, the number of excursions, as well as the possibilities of visiting other countries and cities.