Fly & Drive Lapland

About the destination: Lying just south of the Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi is the Finnish capital of Lapland. It is located at the confluence of Lapland's mighty rivers Kemijoki and Ounasjoki. Beautiful colours all year round, relatively warm summers, real snowy winters, Santa Claus, many sport resorts, great hotels and services, for all this and more Rovaniemi is an obligatory northern stop. Moreover, it is a good place to explore the Lapland region and to observe the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. The Lumberjack Candle Bridge, Jätkänkynttilä, has become a symbol of Rovaniemi. The bridge has a high pylon with bright yellow light on top and a massive bronze lumberjack statue. The Arktikum museum is a one-stop cultural centre for all things Arctic, it is dedicated to exhibits relating to Lapland's geology, climate, plants, animal life and cultures. Aside from the exhibits, the Arktikum's highlight is definitely its long glass corridor with its views on the river behind the building. Outside Arktikum there's a garden of arctic plants. Rovaniemi is, of course, Santa Claus hometown. At Santa Claus Village you can meet Santa Claus, send friends and relatives greetings from the Arctic Circle at the Santa Claus Post Office and visit the Christmas Exhibition, which explains some of the Christmas traditions from around the world. Rovaniemi is the best place to make a Christmas wishlist and to experience awe-inspiring wilderness, traditional Sámi culture, and enjoy a range of different activities surrounded by a wonderful natural landscape.

About the destination: Inari is Finland's largest municipality (but one of the most sparsely populated), with four official languages, more than any other in the country. Its major sources of income are tourism, service industry and cold climate testing. With the Siida museum in the village of Inari, it is a center of Sami culture. The airport in Ivalo and the country's key north-south European Route E75 bring summer and winter vacationers seeking resorts with access to a well-preserved, uncrowded natural environment.

About the destination: Lakselv is the largest village and administrative centre of Porsanger Municipally in Finmmark country, Norway. The villafe lies at the southem end of the large Porsangerfjorden. There are a number of shops and supermarketys in Lakselv, as well as private and public sector service that carter for the villafe and its surrounding settlements. Lakselv church is located in the center part of the village.

About the destination: Honningsvåg is situated at a bay on the southeastern side of the large island of Magerøya, while the famous North Cape and its visitors center is on the northern side of the island. Honningsvåg is a port of call for cruise ships, especially in the summer months. The ice-free ocean (southwestern part of the Barents Sea) provides rich fisheries and tourism is also important to the town.

About the destination: Alta is a town and a municipality located in the province of Finnmark, Norway. The municipality is named because of the namesake fjord high, where the high river flows. Finnmarksvidda. The river Altaelva has formed one of the largest canyons in Europe on its course from the plateau to the fjord. Most of the population lives in the city of Alta, extending on the shores of the inner part of the fjord, enjoying a cozy atmosphere, and the low-lying areas of the city are protected from winter storms. The perpetual clean sky high, was the reason why the city was designated as an excellent place to study the Aurora Borealis. With what the tourist activities are centered basically in the views and the natural wonders that the city offers

About the destination: Tromso is the administrative, commercial, and educational centre of northern Norway. It is the seventh largest city in Norway by population, and is home of the world's northernmost university, brewery and botanical garden. The town is located about 350 km north of the Arctic Circle so it has both midnight sun and polar night. Tromsø is reputed to be one of the best places in Europe from which to see the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. The beautiful cathedral, one of the largest wooden churches in Norway, is located in the centre of town in a small square with some interesting statues and sculptures. Wander down Storgatan to the marketplace, where mellow music plays, and the air redolent with coffee, fresh bread, and strawberries. The Tromso museum features ethnographic exhibits on the independent cultures of Lapland. The Polar Museum, next door, has exhibits on the story of the Arctic region with an emphasis on the lives of early hunters, trappers and explorers. Tromsdalen Kirke, popularly known as the “Arctic Cathedral”, is not in fact a cathedral at all, but the parish church of the Tromsøysund part of Tromso. It was built in 1965, mainly of concrete, and is designed to look like slabs of ice. The church is one of the most famous landmark in Tromsø. Tromso is a compact, friendly, and lively town with a picturesque setting on an island. The city has more than its share of restaurants, pubs, clubs and theatres to entertain locals and foreigners. Tromso is definitely the cultural capital of northern Norway.

About the destination: Harstad is a city and Norwegian municipality that occupies the second place in terms of population within the province of Troms, after Tromsø. It is also the fourth most populous city in the region of Nord-Norge, Tromsø, Bodø and Mo i Rana. The city focused its tourism offerings basically in the beauty of its landscapes and rural tourism activities in nature

About the destination: Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten is known for a distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. Its largest town, Leknes, is approximately 169 km (105 mi) inside the Arctic Circle and approximately 2,420 km (1,500 mi) away from the North Pole, making Lofoten one of the world's northernmost populated regions. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.

About the destination: Abisko is a village in Sápmi, in northern Sweden, roughly 250 km within the Arctic Circle, and near Abisko National Park, located 4 km west of the village. It had 85 inhabitants as of 2005. Permafrost is common around the village albeit this low altitude permafrost is disappearing because of global warming and increased snowfall. The 425 kilometer-long Kungsleden hiking trail, which follows the Scandinavian mountain range, starts (or ends) at the Abisko Turiststation (consisting of a railway station of the same name and the Abisko Youth Hostel) (approx. 4 km west of the village itself) and follows through the national park. The Nordkalottruta uses trails of the park as part of its longer passage. The Abisko Turiststation, run by the Svenska Turistföreningen, houses many visitors to the park and provides lodging, food, and other amenities, and is one of many similar facilities located periodically along the Kungsleden trail. The national park is known for its Cross-country skiing opportunities, snowshoeing, and other winter sports (Mount Nuolja and nearby Björkliden provides Backcountry skiing and freeriding opportunities). As its location is 195 km north of the Arctic Circle, summer hikers enjoy the midnight sun, while winter visitors may find the light pollution-free location ideal for viewing the aurora borealis. One of the most recognized natural sights is Lapporten, a U-shaped valley visible from Abisko. Abisko is also located near the 330 square kilometre lake Torneträsk

About the destination: Harads is a locality situated in Boden Municipality, Norrbotten County, Sweden. It is the main village in the parish of Edefors. Among the key sites of the municipality is the Edefors church, from 1928, designed by Stockholm architect John Åkerlund (1884-1961) in an eclectic style, combining the simplified style of Nordic Classicism with more National Romantic elements. The church replaced an older church, dating from 1888, and designed clearly in the National Romantic style, which had been destroyed in a fire in 1918. Harads is also the home of the Treehotel complex, devised by entrepreneur Kent Lindvall in 2010, with the "rooms" of the hotel built high into the canopy of a pine forest with gantries leading from one to the other. The "rooms", each designed by a different architect, are encapsulated in their names, such as "Mirrorcube", "UFO", "Blue Cone", "Bird's Nest". Lindvall argues that the design idea of the hotel is based on the ecological principle of sustainability.

About the destination: Lying just south of the Arctic Circle, Rovaniemi is the Finnish capital of Lapland. It is located at the confluence of Lapland's mighty rivers Kemijoki and Ounasjoki. Beautiful colours all year round, relatively warm summers, real snowy winters, Santa Claus, many sport resorts, great hotels and services, for all this and more Rovaniemi is an obligatory northern stop. Moreover, it is a good place to explore the Lapland region and to observe the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. The Lumberjack Candle Bridge, Jätkänkynttilä, has become a symbol of Rovaniemi. The bridge has a high pylon with bright yellow light on top and a massive bronze lumberjack statue. The Arktikum museum is a one-stop cultural centre for all things Arctic, it is dedicated to exhibits relating to Lapland's geology, climate, plants, animal life and cultures. Aside from the exhibits, the Arktikum's highlight is definitely its long glass corridor with its views on the river behind the building. Outside Arktikum there's a garden of arctic plants. Rovaniemi is, of course, Santa Claus hometown. At Santa Claus Village you can meet Santa Claus, send friends and relatives greetings from the Arctic Circle at the Santa Claus Post Office and visit the Christmas Exhibition, which explains some of the Christmas traditions from around the world. Rovaniemi is the best place to make a Christmas wishlist and to experience awe-inspiring wilderness, traditional Sámi culture, and enjoy a range of different activities surrounded by a wonderful natural landscape.