Ice Hotels

Every winter it is built again, from ice cut out of the Torne River. Every spring it melts back into it.

The village of Jukkasjärvi lies about 200 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle, a short drive from Kiruna. The first ice structure went up here around 1990, and the seasonal hotel has returned each winter since. Artists and designers are invited to shape its art suites, so no two years look the same.

Guests sleep on beds of ice under reindeer hides and thermal sleeping bags, at a steady temperature a few degrees below zero. Warm rooms are available on the same site for the rest of the stay. A permanent building, Icehotel 365, keeps ice suites and an ice bar open all year using solar-powered cooling.

Winter brings dog sledding, snowmobiles and, on clear nights, the northern lights. In summer the midnight sun takes over.