What's on in Kiruna, Sweden through the year

Busy — Christmas holidays in Sweden, school holidays in 7 of the markets that fill it

• Festival

  Kiruna Snow Festival

  20 Jan – 5 Feb · usuallyIce season

  Snow sculpting, reindeer racing and a dog-sled start in the last days of January, when the sun has only just come back over the horizon. A February market weekend follows it. Source ↗

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually)), Icehotel season (1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Winter sports week in Sweden, school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in February.

Still on: Kiruna Snow Festival (20 Jan – 5 Feb (usually)), Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually)), Icehotel season (1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Winter sports week in Sweden, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in March.

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually)), Icehotel season (1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Busy — Easter break in Sweden, school holidays in 6 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in April.

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually)), Icehotel season (1 Dec – 15 Apr (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

Nothing new starts in May.

Peak crowds — Midsummer, Summer holidays in Sweden

• Holiday

  Midsummer

  19–20 JunNational holidayClosuresCrowdedBook early

  Midsummer Eve, the Friday between 19 and 25 June, is the day Sweden stops: most shops, offices and many restaurants close, people dance round maypoles over herring and schnapps, and accommodation wherever Swedes go for the weekend books out. Source ↗

• Season

  Mosquito season

  25 Jun – 10 Aug · usuallyInsects & disease

  The thaw leaves standing water across the fells and the mosquitoes arrive with it, worst in still weather away from the ridges. A head net is standard kit here, not an over-reaction.

Quiet — travelers describe it as quiet, Summer holidays in Sweden

Nothing new starts in July.

Still on: Mosquito season (25 Jun – 10 Aug (usually))

Peak crowds — Fjallraven Classic, Summer holidays in Sweden

• Festival

  Fjallraven Classic

  1–16 Aug · usuallyTrail seasonCrowdedBook early

  A mass trek of about 110 km along the Kungsleden from Nikkaluokta, spread over the first fortnight of August. Thousands walk it, so the huts and the Kiruna beds either side are spoken for. Source ↗

Still on: Mosquito season (25 Jun – 10 Aug (usually))

Shoulder season — school holidays in 3 of the markets that fill it, an ordinary month

• Nature

  Aurora season

  1 Sep – 5 Apr · usually

  Inland and dry, which is the real advantage over the coast: fewer cloudy nights than Norway at the same latitude, and the Abisko rain shadow an hour west is better again.

Busy — Autumn break in Sweden, school holidays in 4 of the markets that fill it

Nothing new starts in October.

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Arctic Light Film Festival, Autumn break in Sweden

• Festival

  Arctic Light Film Festival

  5–16 Nov · usuallyCrowded

  Sweden's northernmost film festival runs five days in mid-November at Folkets Hus, a rare reason to be in town in the dark weeks before the snow properly sets in. Source ↗

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually))

Peak crowds — Christmas closures, Christmas holidays in Sweden

• Opening

  Icehotel season

  1 Dec – 15 Apr · usuallyIce seasonBook early

  The hotel at Jukkasjarvi is rebuilt each winter from Torne river ice, opens at the start of December and melts in spring; a year-round wing runs alongside it. Rooms go a season ahead. Source ↗

• Holiday

  Christmas closures

  24–26 DecChristmas & New YearClosures

  Christmas Eve on the 24th is Sweden's main celebration: most shops close by early afternoon, many restaurants shut from the 24th to the 26th, and public transport runs a holiday timetable. Book a Christmas table well ahead. Source ↗

Still on: Aurora season (1 Sep – 5 Apr (usually))