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You've heard of ice hotels, and they sound absolutely magical. You might have seen photos of the interior of an ice hotel, made from gleaming, glittering, glassy ice and sometimes full of fantastical carved ice...

The Northern Lights are a magical sight, an experience you'll remember forever. Can you make it any better? Yes, you can. Staying in an ice hotel lets you soak up a whole lot more of the unique arctic atmosphere, feel closer to nature in all its wild, snowbound glory, and enjoy a truly intimate relationship with the endless, pristine snow and ice. When you're staying inside what's effectively a giant block of ice, it's almost as though you're part of nature rather than observing it from the outside.

If you'd like to get more out of the aurora's remarkable splendour, put an ice hotel at the top of your holiday wish list. The best ones are designed with the Northern Lights in mind, and some are even created specially for viewing the Lights from your bed. Imagine sleeping in an ice house surrounded by the snow and mountains, under a clear sky so dazzlingly starry it goes on forever.

The world's ice hotels are transient, and their temporary nature somehow makes them even more magical. The first hint of spring sees them melting, disappearing without a trace, to be rebuilt as soon as the cold weather returns. Plenty come with skiing nearby, plus a host more exciting snow-inspired activities to enjoy. Here's our special ice hotel feature, revealing some of the very finest ice hotel northern lights opportunities.

Igloos keep you toasty and warm even in the worst winter conditions. But how do they do that when snow itself is naturally really cold? How does it work when, in places like Lapland, temperatures can easily drop many tens of degrees below freezing with a wind chill factor to match?

Intuition suggests an igloo shouldn't work. Why don't they melt as you sit inside, freezing you like a human icicle? Why doesn't the snow itself cool down the air inside the igloo so much that it just gets colder and colder? What about the wind? And how do you sleep on a bed of actual ice? It's fascinating.

If you're considering igloo holidays and have ever wondered how does an igloo keep you warm, here's the science bit.