Arktikum Café

We arrived just as they've opened. There's free luggage storage near the musuem entrance. The cafe is fairly large that can accommodate any group sizes. The food is buffet style and everyday of the week is different. We happen to have meatballs that day. The food was tasty considering its a cafe. The chefs top-up the food regularly. Along with hot food, there's 2 salads and other condiments. All were delicious. Also, the buffet comes with a choice of coffee or tea. The cafe needed a little music to live things up. The front of house team felt cold. When it got busy, they would rather stand around and have a chat instead of clearing tables. Great food, great cafe, but the staff needs to show a little more effort.

We went in March 25 and it was cold, so food was served indoors. Not sure about spring/summer months. The cafe was small so seating was limited. However, there was an adjoining hall that was opened for extra seating to accommodate the crowd. Food served was buffet style, and for a small cafe, the variety and quality was good. Food station was topped up quickly, so no trays were ever empty. For those who don't want the buffet, the cafe has a good range of coffee, tea, and sandwiches/pastries that you can order as well. Cafe was simple and clean, and the staff were friendly.

The pricing is absolutely appalling; a butter croissant €4.20 / a small slice of cake €7.20

Tasty food and homemade. 18€ lunch buffet is a good deal.

This and the Korundi, which have similar buffets, were the best food we had in Finland. Lots of vegan and vegetarian choices and you could eat as much as you want! I wish I could have eaten for several days but alas the human body doesn't work like that!

My photos dont do the food justice, but the food here was a hidden gem!!! Had the lunch buffet for 15€ and they provided unlimited coffee and tea as well! Casserole and pasta was the bomb! I went for second servings and it was still good despite me eating when im full!

There is a museum, there is a café. Arktikum Café offers delicious options for a tea or coffee break when visiting or not the museum. If you fancy some exquisite buffet lunch you can have it for about €16.- (real good value). Refill is available as in any coffee store in Finland. 🥰

Located in the entrance lobby to the museum the cafe serves good food and drinks, lunch menu or just coffee and cake. Recommended stop for lunch.

Came in for a bit before my flight and enjoyed the display on Arctic cultures, there's Saami items to purchase in the gift shop which was nice. The security guards stand around all omniscient idk if they have a vandalism problem or what. The parking is okay by the river idk how handicap accessible it is because there's a moderately steep hill to climb to get from the museum to the parking lot. They had headsets for translation.

Rovaneimi is a small city which you can cover in a day or two. If you have enough time I think this is one of the best places to visit. Rovaneimi has a lot of history and played key role in the world war. This museum has lot of interesting information about the way arctic people used to live, auroras, Arctic animals etc. Its a must do for all the tourists

This museum is a good visit if you are looking to fill your brain with some knowledge and get away from the Santa-themed 'tourist traps' (at least for a little while). The museum features two permanent exhibits which explore the ecology of the arctic circle (titled "Arctic in Change"), the town of Rovaniemi, people of North Bothnia and Upper Lapland and stories of how humans have survived in these environments (titled "Northern Ways"). There are also a few temporary exhibition spaces which at this time looked at the Aurora Borealis and the Lappish working people. The museum features mostly static displays (with some beautiful dioramas and models), and some multimedia however limited interactive exhibits. As noted by Stuart this lack of interactivity may make it harder to keep kids engaged. It was interesting to see some of the equipment used by the Inuit (including a full kayak made of skins) learn about the ecology of the Arctic and understand some of the rich culture and history of those living in the north. The museum is inside a modern building, although the glass atrium area at the center of the building can get cold in the winter. Friendly staff. Worth a visit!

There are two Lapland museums worth seeing in Finland- this is one, and Siida is the other (I've also reviewed that). It's housed in a very unusual custom-built building, a strange sort of greenhouse built into the rock which stretches under a road and reaches towards the water. It's a beautiful setting and it's well worth going for a walk around the building as well as into it. The exhibition spaces are on either side of the main corridor. On one side the dominant exhibition is about the Arctic in change, with particular emphasis on the environmental changes that have happened to the area, how they've affected the wildlife and the people etc. It's very bright and colourful, though kids might be disappointed that it's not quite as hands-on as you might think from a modern museum. On the opposite side of the corridor is the more traditional history section, complete with costumes, stuffed animals, vignettes, models and lots of photos about the area's history. The order in which the displays are arranged is a bit strange but you can walk around in any direction and just get a flavour.