Where to stay in Tromsø and Rovaniemi

Right beside Santa Claus Village, with suites that have a fireplace, private sauna and full kitchen, so it suits families and longer stays. You can walk to Santa's post office and the Arctic Circle line, and watch for the aurora from your own balcony.

A boutique aparthotel in the centre where every suite has its own Lappish sauna and a proper kitchen (oven, stove, dishwasher, microwave), which is rare at this price by Rovaniemi standards. Quiet, central and well reviewed, and a strong pick if you plan to self-cater. One catch: there's no breakfast-included rate at booking.

About 30 minutes from town: glass igloos with a 360° thermal roof, heated floors, private bathrooms and an aurora alarm to wake you if the lights appear. The site is the full Lapland fantasy, rebuilt from snow and ice each winter, with an ice restaurant and bar, a snow sauna and an outdoor jacuzzi, and igloo guests get snow-hotel entry through the season. Shuttles run from Rovaniemi.

Lakeside and roughly 15 to 20 minutes out, which buys you genuinely dark skies, so it's one of the strongest aurora bases near Rovaniemi. Choose from lakeside wooden cabins, glass igloos or glass-roofed Komsio suites, all with an aurora alarm and a sauna. Husky, snowmobile and ice-sauna trips run from the property, and there's a shuttle into town.

The design choice, and the one couples rave about. Cube-shaped suites are built into a hillside with floor-to-ceiling windows framing the forest, the larger glasshouse cabins add a private sauna, fireplace and kitchen, and the Rakas restaurant (local game and berries, often a live pianist) is a highlight in its own right. There's tobogganing and skating on site, a lookout tower for aurora alerts, and Santa Park next door, about 10 minutes from town.

Premium two-level glass apartments beside Santa Claus Village, each with a private sauna, an outdoor jacuzzi and a kitchenette, and breakfast included. The most apartment-like of the igloo options, so it suits families or anyone who wants the glass roof without giving up space.

The original glass-igloo resort and a bucket-list name, with glass igloos, kelo cabins that have their own sauna and fireplace, and the world's largest smoke sauna. Hugely popular with Indian travellers. Two honest caveats: it sits in Saariselkä, roughly four hours north of Rovaniemi (Ivalo is the nearest airport), so treat it as a separate base rather than a Rovaniemi option, and while the setting is loved, reviews are mixed on value for the price. Read recent ones before you commit.

The best-rated hotel in Rovaniemi and our central pick: a boutique conversion of the old City Hall, with an award-winning breakfast that caters properly for special diets, bookable sauna sessions, and a heated glass terrace for a drink. Tour operators, cafés and Lordi's Square are all within a short walk.

A reliable, well-reviewed central hotel a couple of minutes from the main square, with a rooftop restaurant and easy walking access to tour pickups. The straightforward choice when you want a normal, comfortable city hotel rather than a cabin.

A family-run 90-room hotel that has been going since 1978, and about as central as Rovaniemi gets: a two-minute walk to the Sampokeskus shopping centre, tour operators on the doorstep, and the Santa Claus Village bus stopping right outside. Guests consistently single out the breakfast (local Finnish dishes, salmon, gluten-free options) and the reception team, and there are two saunas, with a private sauna in the junior suites. Couples rate the location especially highly. The one gripe in reviews is that rooms and bathrooms run small.