Erasmus in Mikkeli: Rovaniemi

Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, and its major gateway and service centre. Most visitors to the area will find themselves passing through it at some point, and the Arktikum museum is an excellent introduction to the mysteries of these latitudes. That said, Rovaniemi isn't a particularly memorable place; use it as a launching pad for farther-flung parts of Lapland, or to arrange tours, of which there is a huge choice. It also has some of Lapland's better hotels, restaurants, and bars, and is a convenient place to hire a car.

Many of Rovaniemi's visitors come to cross the Arctic Circle, which lies some 8km north of town. This has also become the 'official' residence of everyone's favourite beardie-weirdie Santa Claus, who lives in a tacky complex of tourist shops and ho-ho-hos most cheerfully as the euros roll in!

The town itself is modern and relatively uninteresting, although it is memorably set on the fast-flowing Kemijoki, spanned by Jätkänkynttilä Bridge dubbed the 'Lumberjack's Candle' for its light-topped pylons. After the complete destruction of Rovaniemi by the Germans in 1944, it was rebuilt from a plan by Alvar Aalto, with the main streets radiating out from Hallituskatu in the shape of reindeer antlers - though this is a more than a little hard to actually to see on the ground.