The land of saunas, Santa Claus, and tens of thousands of lakes, Finland has tourism attractions suitable to many tastes. Finland offers a lot for those visitors wanting to experience the charming Northern European nature with sparkling lakes, wide forests, and open fells, as well as outdoor enthusiasts enjoying skiing, hiking or fishing. You might also want to enjoy the cultural and architectural attractions offered by this modern Nordic country.
City destinations Another interesting travel destination in Finland, Turku is the former capital of Finland and a festive summer city hosting active entertainment facilities, fascinating parks, and interesting cultural attractions. This seaside city is also the gateway to a lovely and scenic archipelago, offering excellent surroundings for refreshing summer activities such as sailing, fishing, and kayaking. Tampere is also an interesting city destination in Finland with its museums and shopping and nightlife opportunities.
Northern culture and nature The home of Santa Claus, the midnight sun, Sami culture and reindeer, Finnish Lapland in the northern part of the country offers diverse attractions introducing you the most charming sides of the beautiful Finnish nature and fascinating local culture. Kuusamo in Northeastern Finland offers similar outdoor attractions a bit closer to the Finnish cities. Both Lapland and Kuusamo are still quite remote and far from big cities, but are also filled with astonishing natural beauty of open fells, highland lakes and wide forests, where you can enjoy a refreshing outdoor holiday with skiing, hiking, biking, snowmobile safaris, ice hole fishing or whatever outdoor activity you wish to choose. Visit to Finland is not complete without some of the wonders of the Finnish culture such as saunas, ice hole swimming and visiting Santa Claus.
Lakes and waterways. Eastern Finland hosts the majority of the odd 50,000 lakes in the country, and offers lots to see for visitors. You might want to visit for instance Savonlinna with medieval St. Olaf's Castle hosting a famous Opera festival. Another summer city in lakeside settings, Lappeenranta attracts many tourists with cruises around the Lake Saimaa and along the River Vuoksi, which flows to Vyborg in Russia, while the Karelian region of Finland offers yet more outdoor wonders and rural culture. The touch of the fresh Finnish sea air is widely available also on the Swedish-speaking Åland Islands, while many Finnish cities, including Tampere, Hämeenlinna and Kuopio, are situated by a lake or two.
Finland, the country of midnight sun and thousands of lakes
Finland is a large country by European standards, offering a lot to see. The attractions of Finland start from its capital, Helsinki. Modern capital and a dynamic coastal city surrounded by hundreds of small islands, Helsinki pleases the eye and mind of many international visitors. The Finnish capital might not be a huge metropolis, but it sure is big enough to offer you some of the best cultural and architectural attractions in Northern Europe. The lively shopping and entertainment scene of Helsinki also pleases many visitors.City destinations Another interesting travel destination in Finland, Turku is the former capital of Finland and a festive summer city hosting active entertainment facilities, fascinating parks, and interesting cultural attractions. This seaside city is also the gateway to a lovely and scenic archipelago, offering excellent surroundings for refreshing summer activities such as sailing, fishing, and kayaking. Tampere is also an interesting city destination in Finland with its museums and shopping and nightlife opportunities.
Northern culture and nature The home of Santa Claus, the midnight sun, Sami culture and reindeer, Finnish Lapland in the northern part of the country offers diverse attractions introducing you the most charming sides of the beautiful Finnish nature and fascinating local culture. Kuusamo in Northeastern Finland offers similar outdoor attractions a bit closer to the Finnish cities. Both Lapland and Kuusamo are still quite remote and far from big cities, but are also filled with astonishing natural beauty of open fells, highland lakes and wide forests, where you can enjoy a refreshing outdoor holiday with skiing, hiking, biking, snowmobile safaris, ice hole fishing or whatever outdoor activity you wish to choose. Visit to Finland is not complete without some of the wonders of the Finnish culture such as saunas, ice hole swimming and visiting Santa Claus.
Lakes and waterways. Eastern Finland hosts the majority of the odd 50,000 lakes in the country, and offers lots to see for visitors. You might want to visit for instance Savonlinna with medieval St. Olaf's Castle hosting a famous Opera festival. Another summer city in lakeside settings, Lappeenranta attracts many tourists with cruises around the Lake Saimaa and along the River Vuoksi, which flows to Vyborg in Russia, while the Karelian region of Finland offers yet more outdoor wonders and rural culture. The touch of the fresh Finnish sea air is widely available also on the Swedish-speaking Åland Islands, while many Finnish cities, including Tampere, Hämeenlinna and Kuopio, are situated by a lake or two.
Practical information for your trip to Finland
The climate in southern part of Finland is temperate, while the rest of the country is semi-continental.
Photo: Bet!ina, used under Creative Commons License (By SA 2.0)
Summers in Finland usually last from May to September, while the cold and snowy winters take place between November and April. In general, Lapland and the eastern part of Finland are colder than the rest of the country. In the northernmost Lapland snow stays on ground until early June. Rainfall in Finland is evenly distributed throughout the year. Finland is at its best for summer activities between June and September and for skiing between February and March. Christmastime in Finland is also worth seeing, especially in Lapland.
How to get there. Located in Northern Europe, Finland is best reached by air. The main airport of the country is located in Helsinki and is reachable from the main European and Asian airports. In addition, the smaller airports of Turku, Tampere, Oulu and Vaasa offer a limited amount of international flights to Finland. Traveling to Finland is possible also by ferry from Sweden, Estonia, Russia and Germany, or by train from Russia. Baltic Sea cruises also visit Finland.
Getting around. For travelling inside Finland, domestic flights are available from Helsinki to all corners of the country. Buses and trains are also frequent between Finnish cities and towns and the roads are in good condition, making travelling in Finland comfortable, yet a bit expensive. Tourism services in Finland are good with some hotels, restaurants and tourist information available in all major cities and resort areas. These services are of high quality, which unfortunately is also reflected in their price.
Independent from Russia since 1917, Finland was also a part of Sweden for 600 years during its history. The main language is Finnish, in addition to which there is a Swedish speaking minority living on the coastal areas of Finland, and indigenous Sami people in Lapland. However, in most parts of Finland you can also get by with English. Finland is a quite safe country where natural disasters and violent attacks towards visitors are rare, and where general attitude to tourists is friendly, although many Finns tend to be a little shy.
