Guidebook for Rovaniemi

Laura
Guidebook for Rovaniemi

Food Scene

This is undoubtedly the best restaurant in town (it is voted as such by the locals year after year!) and they serve lot of a Northern specialities, including bear meat! In addition it is just around the corner, in the same building with this apartment. So well worth trying, but especially in weekend and high seasons, do remember to book a table in advance!
173 recommandé par les habitants
Nili Restaurant
20 Valtakatu
173 recommandé par les habitants
This is undoubtedly the best restaurant in town (it is voted as such by the locals year after year!) and they serve lot of a Northern specialities, including bear meat! In addition it is just around the corner, in the same building with this apartment. So well worth trying, but especially in weekend and high seasons, do remember to book a table in advance!
This place is new, young and alive! As the name lets you suspect, Cafe hostel Koti is both a Hostel and a Cafe, but what they offer goes beyond: here you can find also tailored safari services (the office in their basement), all kinds of events and in the summer time, you should definitely try their roof terrace and weekly free walk-in dance lessons and dance clubs! Koti also offers budget breakfasts (8€/person) so this is a great option if you arrived to Goahti late in the night and did n't go to the grocery store in the evening. Ask the reception for their events and services!
29 recommandé par les habitants
Hostel Café Koti
21 Valtakatu
29 recommandé par les habitants
This place is new, young and alive! As the name lets you suspect, Cafe hostel Koti is both a Hostel and a Cafe, but what they offer goes beyond: here you can find also tailored safari services (the office in their basement), all kinds of events and in the summer time, you should definitely try their roof terrace and weekly free walk-in dance lessons and dance clubs! Koti also offers budget breakfasts (8€/person) so this is a great option if you arrived to Goahti late in the night and did n't go to the grocery store in the evening. Ask the reception for their events and services!

Drinks & Nightlife

Kauppayhtiö is one of the most popular spots among young people in Rovaniemi and in addition to running events in the evenings, they serve very good handmade burgers. There is also a new pizzeria adjacent to the bar/restaurant Kauppayhtiö which is well worth trying. This place is especially for those who want to combine food with night life or trend-spotting!
75 recommandé par les habitants
Kauppayhtiö Bar & Grill
24 Valtakatu
75 recommandé par les habitants
Kauppayhtiö is one of the most popular spots among young people in Rovaniemi and in addition to running events in the evenings, they serve very good handmade burgers. There is also a new pizzeria adjacent to the bar/restaurant Kauppayhtiö which is well worth trying. This place is especially for those who want to combine food with night life or trend-spotting!

Parks & Nature

This island is nearby so you can walk there, but it is still a bit difficult to get into because you need to access via the Ounaspaviljonki area on the Northern side of the highway. If you are interested in visiting this spot, please ask for details! Once there, you drift into a serene landscape of the riverside nature. The pathways consist mostly of wooden tracks that are easy to walk along, and there are also some piers and towers for bird watching and enjoying the place. In the summer you can also spot free roaming sheep! It is best to visit the island in summer and autumn, because in winter there is too much snow, and in the spring when the snow is melting, it is usually flooded.
10 recommandé par les habitants
Koivusaari nature trail
137 Sodankyläntie
10 recommandé par les habitants
This island is nearby so you can walk there, but it is still a bit difficult to get into because you need to access via the Ounaspaviljonki area on the Northern side of the highway. If you are interested in visiting this spot, please ask for details! Once there, you drift into a serene landscape of the riverside nature. The pathways consist mostly of wooden tracks that are easy to walk along, and there are also some piers and towers for bird watching and enjoying the place. In the summer you can also spot free roaming sheep! It is best to visit the island in summer and autumn, because in winter there is too much snow, and in the spring when the snow is melting, it is usually flooded.
This is a hidden, nice little riverside park right behind the Arktikum museum. In the summer time, you can find here small secluded beaches that are usually not at all crowded: and in the winter time, this is one of the best spots in the city centre for trying to catch the northern lights, because there are almost no artificial lights that would obstruct the scene. However please remember that the tracks are not maintained n the winter so at times it might be very slippery - be cautious!
16 recommandé par les habitants
Arktikum Arboretum
16 recommandé par les habitants
This is a hidden, nice little riverside park right behind the Arktikum museum. In the summer time, you can find here small secluded beaches that are usually not at all crowded: and in the winter time, this is one of the best spots in the city centre for trying to catch the northern lights, because there are almost no artificial lights that would obstruct the scene. However please remember that the tracks are not maintained n the winter so at times it might be very slippery - be cautious!

Arts & Culture

This is a museum of Forestry - a bit "weird" topic as such but well worth visiting! I also warmly recommend the museum shop for nice, a bit different souvenirs and gifts!
73 recommandé par les habitants
Pilke Science Centre
6 Ounasjoentie
73 recommandé par les habitants
This is a museum of Forestry - a bit "weird" topic as such but well worth visiting! I also warmly recommend the museum shop for nice, a bit different souvenirs and gifts!

Essentials

This is a great place because it is ALWAYS OPEN, year around, day around. You can get all the basic food stuffs here anytime you need it, and it is not far!
35 recommandé par les habitants
Sale Lapinmaa Rovaniemi
11 Koskikatu
35 recommandé par les habitants
This is a great place because it is ALWAYS OPEN, year around, day around. You can get all the basic food stuffs here anytime you need it, and it is not far!
This shop is much larger than Sale which I recommend for immediate groceries. The reason I am including this shop in my list of recommendations is that they have a rather good and large selection of all kinds of products that relate to local ingredients, including wild berry products (Lingonberry, blueberry, cloudberry etc), teas, reindeer meat products etc. So in case you want to shop tasty souvenirs at prices that might be a bit lower than in slivering shops, this is the place to go!
86 recommandé par les habitants
K-Supermarket Rinteenkulma
25 Koskikatu
86 recommandé par les habitants
This shop is much larger than Sale which I recommend for immediate groceries. The reason I am including this shop in my list of recommendations is that they have a rather good and large selection of all kinds of products that relate to local ingredients, including wild berry products (Lingonberry, blueberry, cloudberry etc), teas, reindeer meat products etc. So in case you want to shop tasty souvenirs at prices that might be a bit lower than in slivering shops, this is the place to go!

Entertainment & Activities

This is not an amusement park, rather it is a playground, but a very nice one and particularly good for the fans of the Angry Birds games and movies. In the winter time, this park is also one of the best spots for enjoying the snow with the sledges - the slope aside the river is quite steep so it is great especially for a bit older kids. Very small kids might find the easier, tiny slopes around the play ground are nicer.
42 recommandé par les habitants
Angry Birds Park
4 Valtakatu
42 recommandé par les habitants
This is not an amusement park, rather it is a playground, but a very nice one and particularly good for the fans of the Angry Birds games and movies. In the winter time, this park is also one of the best spots for enjoying the snow with the sledges - the slope aside the river is quite steep so it is great especially for a bit older kids. Very small kids might find the easier, tiny slopes around the play ground are nicer.

Getting Around

The bus no. 8 is the one who takes you to Santa's village and back. Luckily, it runs right in front of the apartment, you can see the bus stop from the living room window! When returning, the bus will drop you off in front of the Nili Restaurant at the corner of Valtakatu and Koskikatu
192 recommandé par les habitants
Santa Claus Village
192 recommandé par les habitants
The bus no. 8 is the one who takes you to Santa's village and back. Luckily, it runs right in front of the apartment, you can see the bus stop from the living room window! When returning, the bus will drop you off in front of the Nili Restaurant at the corner of Valtakatu and Koskikatu