Siida - Sámi Museum and Nature Center

We had a truly wonderful time visiting the Sámi Museum Siida — it is one of the most interesting, if not the most interesting, museums we have ever visited. The entire experience felt thoughtful, immersive, and beautifully designed. The museum has both indoor and outdoor sections, each offering a different perspective on Sámi culture and Arctic life. The indoor exhibitions are extremely well curated, with artifacts and displays arranged in a clear and engaging way. Each piece is accompanied by explanations on touchscreens available in different languages (including several versions of the Sami language!), making it very convenient and accessible even without a tour guide. The outdoor open-air section captures Sámi heritage and traditions so vividly. The detailed explanations help you understand how different structures — such as traditional houses, sauna, storage buildings, and traps — were used in daily life. Walking among these spaces really brings the history and lifestyle of the Sámi people to life. The museum also offers excellent practical amenities, including plenty of lockers and clean bathrooms. We enjoyed a lovely lunch at the cafeteria, which offers a daily-changing buffet featuring local ingredients and flavors. They also serve specialty coffees and pastries if you prefer something lighter. Finally, the gift shop was beautifully arranged, with a wide selection of unique local handicrafts, books, and souvenirs — perfect for bringing a piece of the experience home. If you are visiting the region, we highly recommend making time for this museum. It is an inspiring and eye-opening experience that deepens your appreciation for Sámi culture and the Arctic environment.

The museum impressed me with its thoughtful design and diverse exhibits, offering something for everyone—archaeology, Lapland’s natural beauty, Sami culture, and their modern traditions. The outdoor section stood out, allowing visitors to step inside buildings and gain a deeper appreciation of Sami life. At least two hours are ideal to explore without rushing. The staff were welcoming and helpful, enhancing the experience. The museum’s interactive displays, multilingual translations, and well-maintained facilities, including lockers and restrooms, added convenience throughout.

It's a nice place to get to know more about Finland itself and about the Sami culture. They also have a very nice outdoor museum.

A good looking building on the main road with plenty of parking. We enjoyed a quality buffet lunch on the on-site Cafe before heading upstairs to the museum. The museum has various rooms from ancient Sami through to more modern times. Some of the photography is brilliant. The electronic screens display the information in various languages which was very helpful. The information was very varied covering ecology, flora, fauna & Sami custome. Various videos on display along with art installations. Unfortunately due to snow the external display was closed. Downstairs is a good shop with some very interesting & unique items. Highly recommended!

Nicely made and informative museum. Also the shop has most of the products made locally. I would recommend!

What a great experience. STUNNING imagery, informative descriptors and immersive audio. Indoor installments were incredible, but don’t skip the outdoor installments.

Recommend visiting this place as it also informs of Lapland’s ecosystem and weather/seasons. Modern complex with outside part, I spent 2.5h here. Nice café and shop too.

Fantastic and very informative place. Lovely displays, great outdoor area and brilliant cafe. Worth the short drive. Also, there is a good walk to some lovely rapids just over the bridge, make sure you visit.

This Saami museum is a must, has a lot on the entire region from ancient to modern. Information from the ice age to current, history of the indigneous population spread across 4 countries and persecuted for being different. There's an outdoor walking path where you can see buildings and walk into them. They have a great gift shop of crafts made by local Saami people, jewelry, teas, clothing, music, cards. Large parking lot.

Bures boahtin! This means "Welcome!" in Sámi language. And indeed, this museum of Sámi history and culture is so inviting and educating that I did not want to leave at all! All staff members are so friendly and the lady at the tourist information counter provided me with everything to make my stay in Inari an unforgettable one. Siida is not only a Sámi museum, but also a nature centre. Thus, you will get lots of information about Lappish plants and animals when visiting the permanent exhibit. Since the Sámi, the northernmost European natives, have a close relationship with nature, both parts of Siida go hand in hand providing a comprehensive overview of their way of living as well as of the eight seasons they distinguish. There is also a very interesting open-air museum during summertime with Sámi log buildings, movable lodges and sod huts along the path. The two temporary exhibitions were rewarding, too. I could even listen to Sámi music from traditional songs to hip-hop! Get the combined ticket at Siida including the boat trip on Lake Inari to Ukkokivi, the famous sacred island of the Sámi, to grasp a sense of these tribes´ spiritual relationship with nature. Boats leave daily at 1 and 5 pm and tickets are 22 € (boat trip only) or 29 € (entrance to Siida included).

There are various museums around Finland and Norway documenting their native Sami culture, but this one and the Arktikum in Rovaniemi are the best. It was opened in 2000 and has a very modern approach. There's a large outdoor exhibition which comprises a wide variety of Sami huts, ranging from very primitive early designs to early 20th century three-bedroom wooden houses, as well as builds of animal traps and food stores, many of which you can walk into as well as around. Upstairs besides the cafe (ordinary) there are several large museum spaces illustrating Sami history. What this museum does well, that others don't, is put the Sami in context with what was happening in the rest of the world and other similar cultures at the same time. There's a temporary exhibition space on the ground floor and a very well-stocked shop, containing a variety of serious books on the subject matter in various languages, as well as naturally the novelty toys and logo-embossed pens for the kids. Definitely worth a visit if you're passing.