Every winter the world’s biggest snow castle has been built at Kemi in northern Finland, and every springs it melts away to nothing. Each year it is slightly different. Sometimes it stands 20 m or three stories high, or even 1,000 m long. Whatever is built, the castle attracts tens of thousands of daytime visitors. Many include it in the package of winter activities, such as a trip on an ice-breaking ship or a husky-sled safari.

Colourful lighting makes castle’s architecture stunning and the striking carved ice sculptures dotted around the site. Among its walls, corridors, turrets, and chambers, the building always include a chapel, a restaurant, and a hotel.

The temperature inside is minus five degrees, so guests must dress in serious winter clothing at all the times, even in the restaurant which has ice tables and ice seats covered with reindeer fur. The restaurant offer many specialties like reindeer soup, lappish potatoes, and loganberries. Everything is served in foil to keep them warm.

Inside their windowless snow bedrooms, guests stay warm in heavy-duty insulated sleeping bags, although they are advised to wear a ski hat and socks in bed. There are toilets and television in the lounge area, but a shower involves a transfer bus to a more conventional based hotel.