Sodankyla

Sodankyla sits on the Kitinen river in central Lapland, and its oldest building is a small wooden church of 1689, unpainted, plain and among the oldest surviving wooden churches in the country, standing beside its nineteenth-century replacement. The town has two other claims. The Midnight Sun Film Festival has been held here every June since 1986, screening around the clock in a place where the sun does not set, drawing directors from around the world to a small town in the middle of Lapland. And the geophysical observatory, established in 1913, has recorded the aurora and the magnetic field here for over a century.

What to look for

• The 1689 wooden church - unpainted timber, among the oldest in Finland.
• The Midnight Sun Film Festival - screenings around the clock in June.
• The geophysical observatory - aurora and magnetic records since 1913.
• The Kitinen river - the water the town is built along.

When to go

June for the festival and the midnight sun, or February to April for winter and aurora. Half a day otherwise. Festival week fills all accommodation in the region.

Things to know

Outside the festival the town is a functional service centre with little to detain visitors. The old church has limited opening hours. Accommodation during the festival is gone months ahead. The observatory is a research station, not a visitor attraction.

Nearby

Luosto is east; Rovaniemi lies south.

Key facts