SnowCastle of Kemi
Kemi, Finland
Each winter the structure goes up again from scratch on the shore of the Gulf of Bothnia, and each spring it melts. The SnowCastle has followed that cycle since the mid-1990s, with a new plan, new carved rooms and a new set of sculptures every season.
Guests can sleep in a snow room, where the interior holds near freezing and the bedding — insulated sleeping bags on ice platforms, reindeer hides — does the work. Warm accommodation stands alongside it for anyone who wants one night of the cold and one of ordinary heat. There is a chapel, an ice restaurant and a set of carved corridors open to day visitors.
Kemi is far enough north for long winter darkness and, with luck, aurora. An icebreaker cruise operates from the same harbour, and most visitors pair the two.