Christmas in Lapland
Snapshot
David travelled solo on this custom-made adventure over the holiday season in December 2017
He visited London, U.K. - Helsinki, Finland - Rovaniemi, Finland - St. Petersburg, Russia - Tallinn, Estonia (12 nights total)
Highlights
Listening to a choir singing Christmas carols beneath the lit up tree of Trafalgar Square (London)
Enjoying a reindeer safari through the snowy woods of Finland (Rovaniemi)
Seeing the northern lights during a special excursion on Christmas Eve (Rovaniemi)
Visiting the Hermitage Museum, an incredible art gallery and historic museum in a former imperial palace (St. Petersburg)
Wandering through the medieval ruins and cobblestoned streets in one of the best preserved “old-towns” in Europe (Tallinn)
London
My journey was initially going to require a 6 hour connection and a change of airport from Heathrow to Gatwick, upon arrival in London. Rather than be rushed and risk missing my connection - especially over the holiday season - I added an extra day in London to give myself a full 30 hours in one of my favourite cities in the world.
I’ve been to London several times, but visiting it during Christmastime is particularly special. I got to enjoy a choir singing Christmas carols beneath the lit up tree of Trafalgar Square, and then spent some time browsing the London Christmas Market in Hyde Park (pictured, below).
I recommend also taking a leisurely walk along the south bank of the Thames River, where you’ll see the Globe Theatre and the London Eye (which is especially awesome when lit up at night).
I spent the evening at the President Hotel, a decent budget option by Russell Square.
The next morning, I took a stroll through the shops of Covent Garden that concluded with a visit to the nearby London Transport Museum. Finally, I made sure to stop by the National Gallery, where I got to see some of my favourite Van Gogh works on display.
The next morning, I took a stroll through the shops of Covent Garden that concluded with a visit to the nearby London Transport Museum.
Finally, I made sure to stop by the National Gallery (pictured), where I got to see some of my favourite Van Gogh works on display. It was also beautifully decorated for the holidays, with Christmas trees at every corner (literally).
Helsinki Airport
Next stop on my journey had me arriving into Helsinki airport in Finland just before midnight, and flying out the next morning at 7am.
Helsinki Airport has the GoSleep Lounge, an area full of sleeping pods for anyone with an overnight connection, or for those who just want to grab a few hours of rest.
I had never slept in a pod like this before, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to give it a shot.
I found that they are light-proof, but unfortunately not totally soundproof. When airport activity started up in the morning around 5am, it made it tough to sleep in much later than that.
Rovaniemi
This is a magical town in northern Finland, right on the Arctic Circle, and is the gateway to Lapland. Rovaniemi is known as the official home of Santa Claus, and the town has many Christmas themed elements to it, including a large Santa’s Village.
I was here for 3 nights from December 23-26, and attended their annual Christmas concert in Santa’s Village, which culminated in Santa giving a speech in both Finnish and English, wishing good tidings to all for the coming year. Then he hops in his sleigh and is pulled off into the woods by reindeer, as this is where he begins his journey delivering presents all over the world!
One of my most memorable moments in Rovaniemi was taking a 2-hour reindeer safari through the snowy woods.
I loved interacting with these beautiful creatures and learning a bit more about the reindeer herding history of the area, while also enjoying a calm and peaceful sleigh ride.
Here I am, pictured with my new buddy, Stabby!
On the day before Christmas, I met 3 new friends that were also staying at my hostel - all of us travelling solo. We shared Christmas Eve Dinner, which became quite an international affair - we had Mexico, Canada, and Lithuania celebrating together!
After our festive dinner, when the sky got dark and the stars came out, we went on an excursion to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous Northern Lights - a spectacular sight! It was a truly memorable and special Christmas, one I’ll never forget.
Christmas Day we decided to taste the local specialty of traditional reindeer steaks, which we enjoyed at the Nili Restaurant in town (highly recommend).
Santapark
While in Rovaniemi, a visit to Santapark is a must: this is an indoor Santa-themed park located within a cave beneath the hills of the Arctic Circle, just outside town.
There’s lots of Christmasy displays and fun things to do inside: you can meet Santa and his elves, tour the Toy Factory Workshop, take a gingerbread baking masterclass, see ice sculptures in the Ice Cave, make holiday crafts & decorate cookies, and learn about the Guardians of Lapland while exploring the Secret Forest. It was such a fun way to indulge your inner child for a few hours! (Kids will LOVE it).
Before leaving Rovaniemi, I made sure to visit Arktikum, which is a museum dedicated to Lappish and Scandinavian culture.
For my time there I stayed at the Hostel Cafe Koti in a private room. I chose a hostel here to more easily make friends, as I’d be staying over Christmas on my own.
Helsinki
The capital of Finland, and a beautiful blend of big city amenities with small town Scandinavian charm.
Its downtown core is compact and easily walkable, with many impressive buildings, and several pedestrian-only avenues. There were many lovely street decorations and light displays too, given the festive time of year.
For my stay in Helsinki, I spent 3 nights at the 4-star Sokos Hotel Helsinki. It is located right in the heart of downtown, which was the most important factor for me, walkable to many restaurants, shops, and other attractions.
I had arranged in advance to catch a local hockey game - being a Canadian, I had to see how it was done over here, right??
The game was between Jokerit (Helsinki’s team) and a Russian team from the KHL, making for a very exciting hockey game with a European twist.
There are several excellent museums in Helsinki, and visiting them is a great way to learn about local culture and history. I visited the National Museum of Finland, which houses artefacts dating from prehistoric times through to the modern day, tracing the history of Finland back to the Stone Age.
Taking a quick break from the city, I visited the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Suomenlinna (pictured).
This is an island fortress located about 4km south of Helsinki, known for having protected Helsinki in the 18th to 20th century. It was calm, picturesque, and filled with fascinating Scandinavian history!
My final evening was spent browsing through Helsinki’s Market Square - a huge, famous marketplace that sells traditional food, local treats, as well as handicrafts and souvenirs. The market has heated café tents where you can comfortably have a hot coffee even on the coldest days in winter.
Cap it off with a ride on the Skywheel, the large ferris wheel by the harbour that offers sweeping city and harbour views.
St. Petersburg, by cruise from Helsinki
St Petersburg, once the capital of Russia, still remains the cultural capital of the massive nation.
Most international travellers typically need a visa to visit Russia, and it can be rather difficult to get one. However, visitors to Russia as a stop on a cruise are exempt from the visa rule, for stays up to 72 hours.
There is a cruise line that operates in the Baltic, that specializes in visa-free visits to St Petersburg, from Helsinki, Stockholm, and Tallinn. They depart Helsinki in the evening, you sleep in a typical cruise cabin overnight, and arrive in St Petersburg in the morning. Although there are options for stays up to 2 nights in the city itself, I opted to only do the day trip due to time constraints, returning to the ship in the evening for the overnight journey back to Helsinki.
St. Petersburg is such a unique and interesting place, full of bold architecture and colourful historic buildings unlike I’ve ever seen. I loved strolling down Nevsky Prospect, one of the main streets of St Petersburg, full of beautiful buildings and high end shopping.
I visited the Church of the Saviour on Spilled Blood (pictured) and was blown away by its grand presence. This is iconic Orthodox cathedral marks the spot where Alexander II was fatally wounded in an assassination attempt on March 1, 1881.
Inside the church is just as impressive as its exterior: it is richly decorated with are detailed paintings depicting biblical stories, and there are over 7,500 square metres of colourful mosaics.
Finally, any trip to St. Petersburg is not complete without a stop at the Hermitage Museum (pictured, below), an incredible art gallery and museum of Russian history & culture, housed within a former imperial palace. It is one of the oldest and largest art museum in the world, second in size only to the Louvre.
It is gigantic, made up of 6 sprawling buildings, so it takes a bit of time to walk through completely - but, both inside and outside are absolutely spectacular! It is a wonderful tribute to the grandeur of Russian culture & architecture from days gone by, and it is a must-see for sure.
Tallinn
I took a ferry from Helsinki to Tallinn, to visit the capital of Estonia on New Years Eve and New Years Day.
Tallinn has one of the best preserved “old-towns” in Europe, and most of their medieval wall remains intact to this day. The cobblestone streets give a charming feel to the old town, now bustling with shops and cafes.
I stayed at the Viru Backpackers Hostel in Old Town, again hoping to find new friends to spend New Years Eve and Day with. Unfortunately this hostel was much quieter than the one in Rovaniemi, with few guests there at the time I was.
But, it had a great view (pictured) !
On New Years Eve I walked around the historic Old Town on my own, and had dinner at the Third Dragon, a very unique medieval style tavern. This is a one-of-a-kind place and worth seeking out!
After that, I wandered the Christmas market in the Old Town square (pictured, below). I ended up staying there until past midnight, enjoying their New Years Eve entertainment and celebrating with local Estonians.
On New Years Day, I took an organized walking tour of Tallinn and learned a lot more about the history of the city, and wandered up one of the surrounding hills for amazing views over the old town.
Later in the evening I met up with an old friend who lived in Tallinn, to celebrate my last night on an incredible trip before flying back home.