The Arctic
North Pole Marker (huffingtonpost.com)
Okay, you’re probably not going to visit this one. But no discussion of Santa Claus’ home would be complete without the North Pole. Its difficult to say exactly where the tradition of St. Nicholas ends and the tradition of Santa Claus begins, but a good place to start looking is here. Exactly how Santa Claus came to make this isolated, desolate place his permanent residence has been explored by the good folks at Rankin Bass Studios as well as many others. However, that this tradition has been a prevailing part of the Santa Claus legend for almost two centuries cannot be denied. For true believers, Santa’s workshop is but a quick reindeer flight or train ride to the Arctic Circle.
The North Pole, and its counterpart the South Pole, mark the invisible axis around which the world revolves. The idea of the North Pole has been around since at least the 1500s, not too long after European explorers finally abandoned the long-standing flat Earth concept. Located in the midst of a vast, frozen wasteland of ice that literally floats on the Arctic Ocean, many explorers of the 1800s tried to find their way to this distant frontier. It was not conquered until the early 20th century, possibly on foot by Robert Peary in 1909, definitively by plane by Richard Byrd in 1926.
However, no explorer has ever found the North Pole’s Holy Grail: Santa Claus’ home and workshop. The legend of Santa residing at the North Pole has been around since the early 19th century, though its not exactly certain how this idea got started. It may simply have derived from Santa’s association with reindeer, which came about at the same time, thus tying him closely to northerly regions of Scandinavia. While the exact location and nature of Santa’s true home are still a matter of conjecture, it will always be the North Pole in the minds of children the world over.
Polar Cap (wikipedia.com)
Although the North Pole was included in this list for tongue-and-cheek reasons, it is possible to take helicopter flyover tours of the top of the world during the Summer months. These usually depart from Norway’s Svalbard Island in the Arctic Sea. Obviously the North Pole is an open sight, with no hours or charge for admission. Web: N/A
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