SnowCastle of Kemi (LumiLinna)
SnowCastle of Kemi (LumiLinna) takes place Mid-Jan - Apr 2027 (annual season, rebuilt to a new theme each winter) in Kemi, Finland. The dress code is Warm layers for interiors held at around -5C, plus proper outdoor kit for the walk in. The snow hotel provides Arctic sleeping bags and thermal liners for overnight guests. Typical cost ranges from 30 to 500 EUR per person.
The world's largest annually rebuilt snow fortress, raised each winter on the shore of the frozen Gulf of Bothnia and redesigned around a new theme every year. Inside are a snow hotel, an ice restaurant and a snow chapel that hosts real weddings. Interiors sit at about -5C, and the whole structure melts away in spring.
- When
- Mid-Jan - Apr 2027 (annual season, rebuilt to a new theme each winter)
- Where
- Kemi, Finland
- Dress code
- Warm layers for interiors held at around -5C, plus proper outdoor kit for the walk in. The snow hotel provides Arctic sleeping bags and thermal liners for overnight guests.
- Cost
- Typical cost ranges from 30 to 500 EUR per person.
- Weather
- -10 to -20C, frozen sea, snow and long dark evenings brightening steadily through spring
- When to book
- Book the snow hotel and the Sampo icebreaker cruise 4 - 6 months out; day entry can be bought on arrival except over Christmas and the February school holidays.
- Getting there
- KEM (Kemi-Tornio), about 10 min to the SnowCastle; or OUL (Oulu), about 1 hr 45 min drive
- Where to stay
- Seaside Glass Villas (glass-roofed villas on the shore beside the castle), Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna Kemi (central, reliable, walkable), Hotel Merihovi (small historic hotel in the town centre)
- Official site
- https://www.visitkemi.fi/en/snowcastle
How to attend
Day-entry tickets to the winter park are sold online and at the door for roughly EUR 20 - 30 and cover the ice art, chapel and public spaces. The snow hotel, ice restaurant dinners and icebreaker combos are booked in advance through Visit Kemi and the operator. It is entirely open to the public. Kemi is reachable by direct train from Helsinki overnight, which is often cheaper and easier than flying.
The operator lists only a phone number and a sales email for the SnowCastle and has no online checkout, so entry is bought at the door or arranged directly with the operator.
Insider tip
Pair it with the Sampo icebreaker, which sails out of Kemi the same months and lets you float in the frozen Gulf of Bothnia in a survival suit - it is the better half of the day.
Get inside SnowCastle of Kemi (LumiLinna)
Booking matters here: book the snow hotel and the Sampo icebreaker cruise 4 - 6 months out; day entry can be bought on arrival except over Christmas and the February school holidays. Members track that window, what it really costs, and 573 more events across the season.
Free while in beta. One email when your invitation is ready, nothing else.