Santa Claus Village
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Santa Claus Village is an amusement park near Rovaniemi in the Lapland region of Finland.
Finnish people believe that Santa Claus is from Lapland[1]. Santa Claus Village is built to be the home of Santa Claus.
Contents |
[edit] Location and Transportation
Santa Claus Village is located about 8 km northeast of Rovaniemi and about 2 km from Rovaniemi Airport.
Rovaniemi city bus route 8 travels between Rovaniemi Railway Station and Santa Claus Village. The bus trip takes about 30 minutes.
[edit] History
Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt's wife, visited Rovaniemi in 1950 and she was was the first official tourist to the area [2]. A small cabin was built in her honour. The Roosevelt Cabin is still there next to Santa Claus Post Office.
[edit] Attractions
[edit] Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle cuts right through Santa Claus Village. A white line denoting the Arctic Circle is painted across the park. Visitors officially enter the Arctic area when they cross the line. The line is a very popular photo spot for visitors.
[edit] Santa Claus Post Office
A large variety of Christmas related items, Christmas cards and CDs are being sold in the post office. All mails being sent from this post office are postmarked with a special Santa Claus postmark. Visitors can also specify their mails to be sent at the next Christmas, regardless of when they actually visit the post office and send their mails.
[edit] Santa Claus' Office
A Santa Claus' Office is located inside the main building of the Village, for visitors to take photographs and chat with the Santa Claus. However, there is an "office hour" for the Santa Claus and he may not be in the office all the time even when the Village is open.
[edit] Other Attractions
There are also many shops and restaurants inside the park selling a variety of items related to Santa Claus and the Lapland region. A Swarovski shop is located in the main building in the Village. (see Details of attractions in Santa Claus Village)
