Levi vs Rovaniemi: How To Choose The Perfect Lapland Destination

Planning a trip to Finnish Lapland but torn between Levi and Rovaniemi? We’ve spent time in both destinations, and while they’re both magical winter wonderlands, they offer very different experiences. Let us help you figure out which one is right for your trip—or whether you should visit both.

Levi vs Rovaniemi: Key Differences at a Glance

Which Is Better – Levi or Rovaniemi?

There’s no universal “better” destination—it depends on what kind of Arctic experience you’re seeking, they are both great winter destinations in their own way.

Choose Levi if you:

• Prioritize downhill skiing and snowboarding
• Want a compact resort where everything is walkable
• Prefer a purpose-built winter sports village atmosphere
• Travel primarily during winter season
• Want easy access to fell landscapes and high-elevation wilderness

Choose Rovaniemi if you:

• Want the “official” Santa Claus experience
• Prefer a destination with year-round life and urban amenities
• Are interested in Sami culture and Arctic museums
• Want variety in accommodation types and prices
• Prefer cross-country skiing over downhill

In our conversations with visitors, we’ve found that people rarely feel they’ve made the “wrong” choice. Both deliver enchanting winter experiences with snow-covered landscapes, traditional Lappish activities, and northern lights opportunities.

Levi vs Rovaniemi: How Are They Similar

Before diving deeper into differences, let’s appreciate what these destinations share.

Authentic Arctic winter beauty

Both locations transform into absolute winter wonderlands from November through April. The kind of snow you probably only see in fairy tales—thick, pristine blankets covering everything in sight. When sunlight catches these frozen forests, the sparkle is almost blinding.

The winter darkness is actually enchanting. During December and January, you’ll experience the magical “kaamos”—the polar night—when the sun barely rises, creating hours of blue twilight that photographers love.

Northern lights at both locations:

Both sit well within the auroral zone, so with a bit of luck you’ll see it irrespective of where you’re staying. The Aurora appears on average every other clear night during peak season (September through March). That same green curtain dancing across the Arctic sky creates memories that last a lifetime regardless of where you witness it.

Traditional Lappish activities:

The core experiences are available at both destinations. You can ride in a reindeer sleigh, mush huskies, try ice fishing, drive snowmobiles, snowshoe through forests, experience a traditional sauna, sleep in glass igloos, and feast on reindeer stew and cloudberry desserts, whether you’re staying in Levi or Rovaniemi.

Excellent winter infrastructure:

Finland’s expertise in winter living shines through at both destinations. Roads are impeccably maintained, buildings properly heated, winter clothing rental readily available, and tour operators professional and safety-conscious.

Key Differences: Levi vs Rovaniemi

Levi: Finland’s Premier Ski Resort

Levi exists because of skiing. With 44 slopes, 26 lifts and 4 snow parks, it’s Finland’s largest ski resort. The infrastructure is impressive—heated chairlifts, efficient lift systems, well-maintained slopes, most of which are illuminated so you can even ski when it’s dark, which, let’s face it, is quite a long time in December and January. The cross-country trails are even lit until as late as 11 pm.

Beyond downhill skiing, Levi offers 230 km of maintained cross-country trails, but the town’s identity is undeniably linked to alpine skiing. The village layout reflects this—accommodation clusters around the slopes, and restaurants cater to après-ski crowds.

What Levi doesn’t offer is cultural depth. There are no museums and limited experiences connecting you to everyday Finnish or Sami life. It’s a resort bubble, which can be wonderful if that’s what you’re seeking.

Rovaniemi: Lapland’s Living Capital

Rovaniemi is home to 63,000 permanent residents who work, study, and live here year-round. It’s a functioning city with a university, government offices, shopping centers, and schools. Tourism is important, but it’s one sector among many.

Cultural attractions make Rovaniemi stand out. The Arktikum Science Museum is world-class, offering deep dives into Arctic research and indigenous cultures. The Pilke Science Centre focuses on forests and sustainability. Korundi House of Culture combines an art museum with a concert hall.

Rovaniemi provides better opportunities to learn about Sami culture—the indigenous people of Lapland. The museums and cultural centers provide context about Sami language, traditional livelihoods, and contemporary Sami life that you won’t get in Levi’s resort environment.

For skiing enthusiasts, Rovaniemi offers something different: extensive cross-country skiing rather than downhill. The region maintains over 100 km of groomed tracks, but if you’re looking for Alpine-style skiing, you’ll be disappointed.

Which is the Best Place to See the Northern Lights: Levi vs Rovaniemi?

This is the question we get asked most often, and honestly? Both are excellent for aurora viewing.

Levi: Levi sits further north with less light pollution once you step away from the resort center. We loved that you can take the gondola up Levi fell for unobstructed 360-degree views of the night sky—absolutely spectacular when the Aurora appears. Simply walking 10 minutes from the village center was often enough to find beautifully dark skies.

Rovaniemi: Being a proper city, you’ll need to venture outside the center for optimal viewing. But this isn’t difficult at all. Many wilderness lodges on Rovaniemi’s outskirts offer excellent aurora viewing, and organized tours take you to carefully selected dark-sky locations.

Another great location that many locals dub “the best place to see the Northern Lights in Rovaniemi” is the Arktikum Park. It is a 10-minute walk from the city center but far enough so that you get dark skies.

During peak winter, the river next to the park is also frozen solid, so you can venture onto the ice for an even more magical Aurora viewing.

What Rovaniemi offers that Levi doesn’t is the sheer variety of aurora-hunting activities. You can chase the lights by husky sled, reindeer sleigh, snowmobile, or even while floating in a survival suit in an icy lake—an experience that’s surreal and unforgettable.

The verdict:

Levi edges ahead slightly for convenient northern lights viewing, but the difference is marginal during peak season (December through March). In either location, you’ll need luck, patience, and ideally 3-4 nights to maximize your chances, as no one can guarantee a sighting.

⚡ Pro tip: Download an aurora forecast app (this one was recommended by our host) and be prepared to stay up late. The most spectacular displays we’ve witnessed have often occurred between 10 PM and 2 AM.

What’s Better for Families: Rovaniemi or Levi?

This depends largely on your children’s ages and what you want them to experience.

Rovaniemi wins for most families

Especially with younger children (ages 3-10). The Santa Claus Village is the star attraction—an entire theme park dedicated to Christmas magic. Children can meet the real Santa in his official office, cross the Arctic Circle line, and send Christmas postcards from Santa’s Post Office.

Beyond Santa, Rovaniemi offers family-friendly activities that don’t require skiing skills. The Arktikum Science Museum provides fascinating, interactive exhibits about Arctic life.

✅ Get your Arktikum tickets by clicking HERE!

Reindeer farm visits let children feed these gentle creatures, and husky farms offer sleigh rides suitable even for young kids—with opportunities to cuddle puppies afterward.

The city infrastructure makes family travel easier too. You’ll find supermarkets, pharmacies, restaurants with children’s menus, and proper medical facilities if needed.

Levi shines for families with older children or families who prioritize winter sports

If your kids are keen skiers, Levi’s ski school is excellent and very child-friendly. The resort offers dedicated children’s areas with gentle slopes and English-speaking instructors.

The compact nature of Levi means you can walk everywhere, and children love the cozy resort-village atmosphere. Activities here are more adventure-focused: snowmobile safaris (children can ride in sleds), ice fishing, snowshoeing, and fat bike rides through snowy forests.

You can still meet Santa in Levi, though it’s less elaborate than Rovaniemi. What Levi offers instead is a more intimate, less commercial feel, even though it is also quite touristy during peak season.

👉 Important consideration: Levi’s focus on skiing means it can be expensive for families who don’t ski. Rovaniemi offers more free or low-cost activities.

Where Can You Meet Santa? Levi vs Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi’s Santa Claus Village is the official, internationally recognized home of Santa, located exactly on the Arctic Circle about 8km from the city center.

One highlight is Santa’s Main Post Office, which receives about half a million letters annually from children worldwide. You can also send postcards from it from the North Pole.

Santa’s Office allows for meetings with Santa—he speaks multiple languages, asks children about their wishes, and poses for photos.

If you’re visiting during peak season, it can feel a bit like a conveyor belt, though. You’ll have to queue and the waiting time can easily reach an hour. The meeting with Santa himself, in contrast, lasts for a couple of minutes.

Meeting Santa is free, but you’ll be encouraged to buy the photos and/or video after your meeting. You are also not allowed to take your own photos with him.

You can also get an official certificate confirming that you’ve crossed the Arctic Circle. This office is a bit to the side in a tower behind the official post office.

The village also has shops, restaurants, a café, and attractions. It’s admittedly commercial, but the overall atmosphere during winter creates genuine magic.

Meeting Santa in Levi is a much smaller-scale affair. A few operators offer visits to Santa’s cabin, which is cozy and charming but not as elaborate. The experience is more intimate—you won’t face the crowds that sometimes descend on Rovaniemi during peak season—but it lacks the comprehensive “official” atmosphere.

For families with young children, Rovaniemi’s Santa experience is probably worth prioritizing.

Is Levi Near Rovaniemi? Can You Visit Both?

If you don’t want to choose, you can relatively easily visit both on the same trip, as they are not too far from each other. Here’s an idea how to do it:

Levi sits approximately 170 km north of Rovaniemi—about a 2 to 2.5-hour drive in winter on Route 79. Not a short hop, but entirely manageable and scenic.

The combined itinerary: Start in Rovaniemi (where you’ll likely fly into anyway). Spend 3-4 days exploring Santa Claus Village, visiting Arktikum, experiencing reindeer and husky safaris, and enjoying your first aurora hunts.

Then transfer to Levi for 3-4 days of ski-focused activities or simply a different atmosphere—the intimate resort village feeling, fell landscapes, and different aurora-viewing perspectives.

This combined approach means you don’t have to choose. Families can satisfy children’s Santa wishes in Rovaniemi, then give older kids ski experiences in Levi. Couples can enjoy Rovaniemi’s restaurants and cultural attractions, then retreat to Levi’s more intimate environment.

👉 Practical tip: A week-long trip (7-8 nights) works perfectly. The most common split is 3 nights in Rovaniemi followed by 4 nights in Levi, or vice versa.

How to Get to Levi from Rovaniemi

Several options exist for the transfer between destinations.

Rental car:

This offers maximum flexibility. The drive takes 2 to 2.5 hours. The road is well-maintained and regularly plowed, but this is proper Arctic winter driving, so just be careful.

👇 If you’ve never driven in Arctic conditions before, don’t book your car before reading this 👇

7 Tips for How To Drive in Lapland in Winter

Renting a car gives you the ultimate freedom to stop at viewpoints, visit attractions en route, and drive yourself to dark-sky locations for aurora viewing.

Bus transfer:

The other option is to take the bus. Matkahuolto (Finland’s intercity bus company) runs regular buses from Rovaniemi to Levi, with a journey time of around 2.5-3 hours. Ticket prices vary but are usually €25-45 one way and can be booked online in advance. There are typically 2-4 departures daily.

👉 Our recommendation: If you’re comfortable with winter driving and plan to explore, rent a car. If not, use the bus service—it’s reliable and affordable.

Best Time to Visit

Peak season (December through March) is when both destinations truly shine. December brings Christmas magic and the darkest period (ideal for Northern Lights). January and February offer reliable snow and excellent aurora viewing. March brings longer daylight, and in Levi, the best skiing conditions.

The tradeoff? Higher prices, more crowds (particularly during Finnish school holidays and before Christmas), and advance booking becomes essential.

Shoulder season (November and April): November sees winter establishing itself with lower prices and better availability. April offers extended daylight and softer spring snow, though northern lights become less visible.

Which Part of Lapland is Best? Levi or Rovaniemi

Lapland is vast—over 100,000 square kilometers. Levi and Rovaniemi represent just two of many possible destinations.

The “best” part depends on your priorities:

• First-time visitors wanting a comprehensive introduction: Rovaniemi
• Serious skiers and snowboarders: Levi or Ylläs
• Aurora hunters seeking maximum sightings: Saariselkä or Utsjoki (further north)
• Wilderness seekers: National parks around Inari
• Cultural immersion and Sami experiences: Inari

👉 Our honest assessment: Both Levi and Rovaniemi serve as excellent base camps showcasing the region’s primary attractions. Neither represents the “ultimate” Lapland experience because such a thing doesn’t exist. They offer different entry points into this remarkable Arctic region.

Final Thoughts

After spending time in both destinations, we’re convinced there’s no universal “better” choice—only what’s better for your specific interests.

Whether you find yourself skiing down Levi’s powdery slopes or meeting Santa at the Arctic Circle, both destinations embody what makes Lapland so magical—that blend of wilderness, warmth, and wonder that feels almost otherworldly.

So don’t overthink it—fly north, follow the snow, and let Lapland work its magic.

Both Levi and Rovaniemi promise an unforgettable journey to the top of the world—and if you can, let your adventure include both. Because in Lapland, the real magic lies in the journey itself.

FAQ Levi vs Rovaniemi