Santa Claus Village
Santa Claus lives and works here
The slightly different village: Santa Claus Village
© Aleksei Verhovski / Shutterstock.com
365 days of Christmas spirit – a real dream for many children. It comes true in Santa Claus Village in Finland.
Where does Santa Claus actually live? A question that children often ask and the parents usually answer vaguely: at the North Pole. Well, just over is also wrong. Because the so-called "Santa Claus Village" is located near the Arctic Circle in Finnish Lapland. Welcome to Santa Claus Village.
Not far from the town of Rovaniemi, the Christmas spirit not only reigns now, but 365 days a year. According to the website, Santa Claus lives and works here and has made it his mission to "promote the well-being of all children and the good-naturedness of adults, but also to spread the message of love and kindness as well as the Christmas spirit worldwide".
A visit is free, but offers such as a reindeer sleigh ride or a snowmobile excursion and "Northern Lights safaris" are of course not. The local post office is a highlight, especially for the little ones. From there you can send greetings from the Arctic Circle, all shipments are written on your own letterhead and given a special stamp.
Igloo adventure: sleep in ice and snow
Animal lovers can pet dogs on the husky safari and book a sled tour with the animals. You can also spend the night in the so-called Snowman World, which also belongs to the Santa Claus Village, and instead of hotel rooms has igloos on offer. An "icy" overnight stay is nothing for bargain hunters, however, the price level is, as everywhere in Scandinavia, significantly higher than in Germany.
If you can't warm yourself up for a visit during Corona times, you can get to the main square of Santa Claus Village via webcam. Perhaps the view of the fairytale landscape will entice you to visit Santa Claus Village in Finnish Lapland in 2021.