Helsinki
Suomenlinna, the ‘fortress of Finland’, straddles a cluster of car-free islands connected by bridges. This Unesco World Heritage site was originally built…
Must-see attractions in Finland
Åland Archipelago
Following the war of 1808–09, Russia began building this major military structure as its westernmost defence against the Swedes. The fortress was still…
The Finnish Lakeland
One of Aalto's most admired works, this town hall was conceived as a 'fortress of democracy' and constructed between 1949 and 1952. Its sturdy brick tower…
Helsinki
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
Central Finland
Founded in 2017 to commemorate Finland's centenary of independence, the country's 40th national park stretches over 11,000 hectares of glittering lakes…
Åland Archipelago
One of Åland’s premier sights is this striking 14th-century castle on a picturesque inlet (signposted off Rd 2). The keep towers are 15m high in parts,…
Helsinki
Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy…
Tampere
This bright, modern glass-and-steel exhibition space in the renovated Tampella textile mill hosts regularly changing exhibitions on anything from bicycles…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
In a tanker-sized, wave-shaped building with walls of metal and printed glass, this state-of-the-art dockside museum recounts Finland’s seafaring life…
Tampere
An iconic example of National Romantic art nouveau architecture, Tampere's cathedral dates from 1907. Hugo Simberg created the frescoes and stained glass;…
Luostarinmäen Käsityöläismuseo
Turku
When the savage Great Fire of 1827 swept through Turku, the lower-class quarter Luostarinmäki escaped the flames. Set along tiny lanes and around grassy…
Lapland
Few things conjure fairy-tale romance like a snow castle. First built in 1996 as a Unicef project, this is a Lapland winter highlight and a favoured…
Turku
Like the bow of a ship tipped on its end, this unusual structure is perched on a rock and surrounded by forest on Hirvensalo island, 7km south of Turku…
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Turku
The ‘mother church’ of Finland’s Lutheran faith, Turku Cathedral towers over Turku. Consecrated in 1300, the colossal brick Gothic building was rebuilt…
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Finland
Once the private home of Gösta Serlachius, this world-class art gallery is one of Finland's premier cultural attractions. Situated 2km east of Mänttä's…
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The Finnish Lakeland
Built directly on rock in the middle of the lake (now accessed via bridges), this heavily restored 15th-century fortification was constructed as a…
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Tampere
This promontory-set amusement park complex offers dozens of rides, an observation tower, art gallery, aquarium, farm zoo and planetarium. A one-day pass…
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Central Finland
This excellent museum is by the Iijoki, whose banks are riddled with important Stone Age settlements. The informative display zeroes in on a handful of…
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Helsinki
Situated 5.5km northwest of the city centre, this excellent island-set museum has a collection of 87 historic wooden buildings transferred here from…
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Turku
Founded in 1280 at the mouth of the Aurajoki, mammoth Turku Castle is easily Finland’s largest fortress. Highlights include two dungeons and sumptuous…
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The Finnish Lakeland
'Lusto' is the Finnish word for a tree’s annual growth ring, and this well-curated and cleverly presented museum is all about forests and the growth of…
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Helsinki
One in a series of elegant, contemporary buildings in this part of town, curvaceous, metallic Kiasma, designed by Steven Holl and finished in 1998, is a…
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Rovaniemi
With its beautifully designed glass tunnel stretching out to the Ounasjoki, this is one of Finland’s finest museums. One half deals with Lapland, with…
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Turku & Finland's South Coast
One of Finland's most enticing old quarters, this tangle of cobbled alleys and wooden warehouses is entrancing. Once a vibrant port and market, Porvoo now…
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Rovaniemi
Downstairs in the Metsähallitus (Finnish Forest and Park Service) building next to the Arktikum, this is a highly entertaining exhibition on Finnish…
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Turku
Art and archaeology unite here under one roof. Aboa Vetus (Old Turku) draws you underground to Turku’s medieval streets, showcasing some of the 37,000…
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Tampere
An entire block of wooden houses – including 32 apartments in five residential buildings, a bakery, a shoemaker, a public sauna, two general shops and a…
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Turku & Finland's South Coast
Porvoo’s historic stone-and-timber cathedral sits atop a hill overlooking the quaint Old Town. This is where Tsar Alexander I convened the first Diet of…
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Helsinki
Set beneath the iconic 1936 Lasipalatsi building, art museum Amos Rex opened in 2018. Sweeping staircases take you below ground to the exhibition halls…
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Central Finland
If you're interested in the Kalevala or Karelian culture, pay a visit to this excellent resource centre inside a beautiful hand-hewn timber building made…
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Helsinki
Rambling over 4 hectares in the city centre alongside the north harbour, Töölönlahti, Helsinki's botanic gardens are filled with plants from Finland and…
Northern Lapland
Some of Finland's most breathtaking scenery is within the 712-sq-km Kevo Strict Nature Reserve along the splendid 40km gorge of the Kevojoki (off-limits…
Helsinki
This museum complex spreads over five buildings from different eras, including Sederholmin talo, Helsinki’s oldest central building (dating from 1757 and…
Ekenäs Archipelago National Park
Turku & Finland's South Coast
Almost 90% of the 5200-hectare Ekenäs Archipelago National Park is water, so to explore the 1300 islands you’ll need to take a tour from Ekenäs harbour,…
Helsinki
Locally known as 'Espa', oblong-shaped Esplanadi stretches for four blocks between the squares Erottaja to the west and the kauppatori to the east…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
Towering 52m above the waves 25km offshore from Hanko, the Nordic countries' tallest lighthouse was built in 1906 to protect ships from the perilous…
Lapland
The highlight of this protected old-growth forest, 80km southeast of Rovaniemi off Rd 81, is the 16m-high Auttiköngäs waterfall. It's reached by a 3.5km…
Central Finland
Stretching from Koillismaa to Lapland and along the Russian border, this superb national park was established in 1956 and covers 27,000 hectares of…
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The Finnish Lakeland
Connected to Säynätsalo by bridges, peaceful Muuratsalo islet was the summer retreat of Alvar and Elissa Aalto. Aalto built his Experimental House – a…
Helsinki
Hewn into solid stone, the Temppeliaukion church, designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1969, feels close to a Finnish ideal of spirituality in nature…
