Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, on the Arctic Circle

The Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi sits on the line of the Arctic Circle, 8 km north of the city centre and 3 km from the airport. It is open every day of the year, and entry to Santa’s office is free. For winter 2026-2027, the village has published its hours: the Santa Claus Office receives visitors from 8am to 8pm from 30 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Visit Finland presents it as a gigantic Christmas market. We list it among the activities: its shops are permanent, and no open-air Christmas market is announced in Rovaniemi.

Meeting Santa: 2026-2027 opening hours

The Santa Claus Office opens from 9am to 7pm from 16 to 29 November 2026, then from 8am to 8pm from 30 November 2026 to 3 January 2027. Meeting Santa is free; only the photos, videos and extras are charged for, and their prices had not been published on the office’s page as of 12 October 2026.

The Santa Claus Main Post Office opens from 9am to 8pm from 1 December 2026 to 6 January 2027. The Christmas House Santa Claus receives visitors from 9am to 8pm from 23 November to 23 December, and from 8am to 10pm on 24 and 25 December.

Snow, reindeer and huskies in the village

Snowman World opens from 6 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, from 10am to 8pm, weather permitting. The village’s farms each have their own calendar: Santa Claus Reindeer from 30 November 2026 to 10 January 2027 (10am to 5pm), Arctic Circle Husky Park from 1 December 2026 to 28 February 2027 (10am to 4pm), Bearhill Husky from 30 November 2026 to 4 April 2027 (10am to 4pm). Each farm sells its own tickets: ask the farm for prices.

Rovaniemi without an open-air Christmas market

No city-centre Christmas market, in the usual sense, is announced in Rovaniemi for 2026. In 2024, an indoor market was held in the Revontuli shopping centre from 3 to 31 December, organised by the Rovaniemen Joulumarkkinayhdistys association; in 2025, a craft market, Taitava Lappi, took over the Lyseonpuisto upper secondary school on 13 and 14 December. As of 12 October 2026, the Visit Rovaniemi website announces no Christmas market for 2026. The launch of the festive season, “Countdown to Christmas”, takes place on Saturday 7 November 2026 at 6pm on the village’s central square. For a real Christmas market, the place to go in Lapland is the Levi Christmas market, in the municipality of Kittilä.

Getting to the Santa Claus Village

City bus no. 8 links the centre of Rovaniemi to the village all year round. The airport is 3 km away. For winter 2026-2027, Visit Rovaniemi lists direct flights from many British airports, including Stansted (Ryanair, daily) and Gatwick (easyJet, British Airways, Norwegian), from Paris-CDG (Air France, Finnair, easyJet), Paris-Orly (Transavia), Paris-Beauvais (Ryanair) and Lyon (easyJet), and from Charleroi (Ryanair), Zurich (Edelweiss), Madrid (Iberia) and Milan (Ryanair, easyJet). VR’s night train, the Santa Claus Express, links Helsinki to Rovaniemi; private cabin from €59.

Our Christmas in Lapland guide sets out these routes with their dates. Also on the Arctic Circle, SantaPark opens from 31 October 2026 to 23 January 2027.