Rovaniemi Insider offers high-quality accommodations in Lapland, providing comfortable stays for families, couples, and from small to big groups. We have a variety of well-located apartments in Rovaniemi city center, the cozy Academy Hotel in Kemijärvi (located 75 km from Santa Claus Village), and an exciting new hotel opening in Santa Claus Village in 2026 (photo below).
Our accommodations are designed for convenience, comfort, and easy access to all Lapland experiences. Whether you’re returning from a day of tours or exploring the city, you’ll find a welcoming place to relax and recharge. Rovaniemi Insider combines local knowledge, professional service, and a memorable stay, all year round.
We also provide activities and car rental.
Step into the gingerbread village Piparina in the heart of Santa Claus Village! Piparina’s walk-in restaurant serves Lapland-inspired tasting dishes where local ingredients meet playful northern flavours – no reservations needed.
Guests can build their own Taste of Lapland menu with tasting-sized portions featuring reindeer, lake fish, cloudberries and gingerbread, all enjoyed in a warm, magical setting.
Private gingerbread cabins next to the restaurant can be rented for peaceful breaks or small gatherings. Food and drinks can also be ordered directly from the restaurant to the cabins. Piparina hosts private events and festive dinners in a truly unique atmosphere.
See more information and menu here: https://piparina.fi/en/restaurant/
Take a peaceful break inside your own life-sized gingerbread cabin in the heart of Santa Claus Village. Piparina’s private cabins offer a cozy retreat between adventures – perfect for families, couples, and small groups looking for a moment of calm.
Each cabin features a warm wooden interior with a dining table, sofa and rocking chair, creating the feeling of a Lapland hideaway. Guests can order food, drinks or snack packs directly from Piparina’s restaurant and enjoy them in the comfort of their own cabin. You can also bring your own snacks if you wish.
The cabins can also be booked for small gatherings, meetings, or celebrations, combining privacy with the magical setting of a gingerbread village.
More information and bookings: https://piparina.fi/en/day-cabins/
In our store, located in Santa Claus Holiday Village next to Christmas House, you will always find fresh local delicacies as well as a wide range of everyday essentials. Our shelves are stocked with fresh fruits, vegetables, baked goods, snacks, and refreshing juices, soft drinks, and other beverages. We also offer high-quality local products and a selection of hygiene items for your journey. Welcome to shop with us every day of the year!
The bike park, called Santa’s Backyard Bike Trails, was opened in summer 2025 right next to Santa Claus Village at the Arctic Circle. This free-to-use park offers easy and playful cycling trails for everyone who enjoys smooth and relaxed riding.
In the forest next to Santa Claus Village, four short and clearly marked mountain biking trails wind through the landscape. Three of them – Loiva, Hupi and Lysti – are one-way trails, while the two-way Luppo trail connects the others. The routes (0.5–1.5 km) run through an enchanting forest with gently rolling terrain, allowing cyclists to enjoy mild curves, rocky sections, and smooth gravel surfaces. The focus is more on fun, movement and a little forest adventure than on competition.
The new trails connect seamlessly to the Ounasvaara ski stadium and Rovaniemi city centre via light traffic routes, making them easily accessible to both locals and visitors.
The starting point of the new bike park is located next to the official bus stop of Santa Claus Village, at the intersection of Joulumaantie and Tähtikuja streets, near Santa Claus Holiday Village. The distance from the starting point to the four aforementioned trails is about 800 metres. Travellers can rent bicycles at the reception of Santa Claus Holiday Village or from its online store. Information about bike rental.
Photos: © City of Rovaniemi| 📸 Jonne Kunnari / Allegra Nordics
Do you want to explore the town of Rovaniemi or the beautiful green forest trails surrounding Santa Claus Village? Or do you want to test the new cross-country biking trails of Santa Claus Village called Santa’s Backyard Bike Trails?
There’s no better way than by E-Fatbike! Offered in summer and autumn, this service is provided by Santa Claus Holiday Village, located in the heart of Santa Claus Village.
INCLUDES: E-Fatbike rental from 09:00 – 16:00, helmet, instructions on how to use the bike
DURATION: 09:00 – 16:00
PLEASE NOTE: our bikes are suitable for riders between 158 – 195 cm.
Bike pick up/drop off is at Santa Claus Holiday Village hotel reception.
You can book online HERE or at the reception of Santa Claus Holiday Village.
MaRou produces Finnish, organic and earthy rugged-style functional and decorative products from recycled and natural materials. The products are made in Lapland, in Käyrämö Village (in Rovaniemi some 60 km from Santa Claus Village), entirely by hand, with passion and love, keeping the user in mind. Our beautiful felt products made from Lappish wool and hand knitted warm clothes can all be found at our outdoor stall in Santa Claus Village near Arctic Circle line during the winter season.
Proximity to naturalness, and nature itself guide all our actions, which is why we want to work using traditional methods, respecting old techniques while conserving nature reserves. We produce beautiful products from materials that reduce the waste of usable materials in the environment – our operations are based on circular economy.
For example, the rugs, jewelry, and bags made by MaRou are mostly created from materials that most people would throw away as unusable for their previous purposes. The journey of our wool products to the final product begins with our artisan shearing the wool, washing it without chemicals, and wet felting it into beautiful and durable products often tailored to user specifications. There can’t be more craftsmanship involved in making a product than this!
In the craft chamber (Kässäkamari in Finnish) in Käyrämö, you can also create your own small products under guidance while enjoying, for example, flatbread baked in a traditional oven – also hand-baked. This is offered to small groups.
Contact for product orders or workshop visits: annika@marou.fi & Tel: +358 45 351 2640
Kivalo Design specializes in crafting high-quality design products, including kitchen utensils, knives and outdoor gear. You can purchase our products from our online store at www.kivalodesign.com and at selected retailers such as Marttiini in Santa Claus Village and Arctic Design Shop in the center of Rovaniemi.
Our products are designed to combine practical, durable and timeless Nordic aesthetics. We emphasize sustainability by using responsibly sourced materials. Kivalo Design products are made in Viirinkylä village in Rovaniemi. While we do not have a factory store, we warmly invite you to explore Kivalo Design’s collection online or at our retailers in Santa Claus Village!
We are actively looking for new retailers – if you’re interested in becoming one, don’t hesitate to reach out!
The most photographed and original winter backdrop in the outdoor areas of Santa Claus Village is the large snowmen. On site, large crowds of both foreign and Finnish tourists come to see and applaud these uniquely gigantic snowmen. Over a spirited thirty-year period, this SnowBrick™ Snowman has become a symbol of Rovaniemi, the Arctic Circle, and Santa Claus Village. The snowmen are positioned at the central outdoor locations of Santa Claus Village, right in front of Santa Claus Office and the Santa Claus Holiday Village, and their sheer presence must be experienced in person.
The creator of these three-sphere SnowBrick™ Snowman figures is snow architect Jukka TEPPO, and weather permitting, the SnowBrick company constructs them each year from natural snow. In some winter seasons, the snowmen have delighted tourists from November until as late as mid-April.
A patent application has been filed for the unique manufacturing method of the SnowBrick™ Snowman product. In addition, snow architect Jukka Teppo’s craftsmanship includes the two-person SnowBrick™ Snow Igloo, which offers a unique overnight experience in a self-built igloo!
VIDEO: Giant Snowmen in Santa Claus Village, Rovaniemi, Lapland. Video made by Santatelevision.
Arctic Circle Minimarket, located in Santa’s Gifthouse next to Arctic Circle Tourist Information, offers you a good selection of sweet and salty snacks, as well as a variety of hot and cold drinks.