Tourism in finland
Finland attracted more than 6.8 million foreign tourists in 2018, 53% of which came from other EU states. In 2017, the value added by tourism was approximately €4.6 billion, or 2.6% of Finnish GDP, providing approximately 140,200 jobs.
Finland is famous for its many lakes, nearly 200,000 of them (more than 500 m²/0.12 acres). Tampere is the largest Finnish lake city, the other major cities being Jyväskylä, Mikkeli, Lahti, Joensuu, Lappeenranta, Kuopio and Savonlinna. Finland is also known for its excellent water quality and green woods and forests around the sea, rivers and waterways. In winter, Finland offers cross-country and downhill skiing. Most of the popular ski resorts are located north of the Arctic Circle in Lapland, but there are exceptions such as Kuusamo in the northeastern part of Oulu province and Himos in Jämsä, just 200 kilometers (120 mi) north of Helsinki.
Throughout Finland, Santa Claus (Joulupukki) is generally considered to live on the grave of Korvatunturi in Lapland. In addition, the largest city in Finnish Lapland, Rovaniemi, has two theme parks dedicated to the character: Santa Claus Village and Santa Claus Park. Finnish Lapland (Rovaniemi and its surroundings) is also the best place in the country to watch the Northern Lights.
The best time to go to Finland
The period between late November and early March is ideal for visiting the northern part of the country. The snowy terrain and mountains are perfect for skiing, snowboarding, deer sledding or tobogganing while you enjoy a cozy cabin in the middle of the woods under the beautiful polar lights.
Finland, Popular destinations
Finland is considered one of the best tourist destinations in the world. It is also full of tourist attractions. In this article, we will present to you the best popular destinations in Finland, according to the opinions of international tourists in Finland.
Helsinki
A modern city with some of the world's most distinctive architecture, both old and new, Helsinki is one of Northern Europe's cultural hotspots. An ideal vacation destination for both art lovers and those who enjoy its lively and vibrant nightlife, Helsinki is also a child-friendly city, ideal for a family vacation. Surrounded by forests, lakes and the sea, it is also a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts.
Located on the Baltic Sea, the Finnish capital, Helsinki, is a modern city of more than half a million people and the second northernmost capital in Europe. Surrounded by an archipelago of hundreds of small islands and culturally influenced by both East and West, Helsinki is unique, combining modern and historic architectural styles with a love of the great outdoors that is at the heart of the Finnish identity.
Helsinki is world famous for its architecture. The city center is famous for its neoclassicism, especially around the Senate Square. Near the top of a hill stands the Uspenski Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox church in Europe, and a stunning example of the Russian Byzantine style. The city is dotted with beautiful examples of Jugendstil or Art Nouveau. Elsewhere, the Temppeliaukio Church and Finlandia Hall represent the beginning of modernity. As befits one of Europe's premier capitals, Helsinki is dynamic, but also quiet as the Finns call it home. Wide streets and avenues provide plenty of outdoor cafes and restaurants where you can sit and relax, and at night there is no shortage of bars, clubs and venues. Throughout the year, Helsinki offers a wide variety of activities for people of all ages, whether they prefer challenging sports or gentle discoveries of the natural beauty that surrounds them. Cruises around the archipelago, hiking in the nearby forests and a traditional Finnish sauna are some of the most popular options.
Rovaniemi
Located at the junction of the majestic Kemijoki and Ounasjoki rivers on the Arctic Circle, amidst a captivating and rugged wilderness, Rovaniemi is the capital of Lapland, an energetic northern gem that claims to be Santa's home. Indeed, visitors from all over the world come here to meet him, at the famous Santa Claus Village or Santa Park, located in a deep underground cave, while many other winter tourists arrive on vacation at the Ounasvaara Ski Center & Resort. Rovaniemi Finland also has a rich cultural life for your Lapland Rovaniemi vacation with its own orchestra, theater, 6 art galleries, 4 excellent museums and 2 science centers.
Rovaniemi, Finland is also famous for having 8 distinct seasons, each with its own distinct type of daylight, temperatures and natural phenomena. These seasons are known as Christmas, freezing winter, crusted snow, ice break, midnight sun, colorful autumn, and first snowfall, and each seasonal variation provides an opportunity to experience the city in a different light, literally! Each seasonal variation comes with different experiences to be had here, from midnight sun cruises to the many types of snow-related activities of the snow seasons. The key to Rovaniemi's fame are the Northern Lights, or aurora borealis, which can be seen up to 200 times a year in Finnish Lapland. Rovaniemi is an ideal destination for your Lapland vacation.
Turku
Finland's oldest city and its gateway to the West, Turku is a thriving city whose rich cultural heritage is complemented by its forward-looking people. Of the many sights here, Turku Castle (the largest medieval castle in all of Scandinavia) and Turku Cathedral are perhaps the most popular. Turku has nearly 20 museums, including the Kylämäki Living History Village and the Sibelius Museum, which is the only museum devoted entirely to music in Finland. A short drive from Turku is another ideal vacation destination, the sunny seaside town of Naantali. Its busy calendar of events includes Europe's oldest rock festival, Ruisrock, a city festival (Down By The Laituri) and the Turku Music Festival, which attracts internationally renowned classical musicians every year.
Turku covers an area of 245 km², distributed on both sides of the river. On the east side, known locally as "this side of the river", is the beautiful Turku Cathedral which was consecrated in 1300. This building, together with the Dominican monastery and the Turku castle, have allowed the city to play the central role in the Finnish medieval architecture. life. Thanks to its rich heritage, Turku is one of the most visited cities in Finland, with nearly 4 million passengers passing through the port each year. Visitors to Turku have a multitude of historical and cultural sites to discover and explore, the main one being Turku Castle. This imposing building was built at the end of the 13th century and remains today the largest medieval castle in Scandinavia. The Luostarinmäki Handicraft Museum is located in the "Old Town", which is the only section of Turku that survived the devastating fire that destroyed the city in 1827, and preserves many old houses exactly as they were built. Also popular with tourists, the Wäinö Aaltonen Art Museum offers exhibits ranging from classical to contemporary. Just outside the city, you can get a glimpse of Bronze Age religious and social structures and practices at the Sammallahdenmäki burial site, where more than 30 granite burial cairns can be explored.
Tampere
So what makes Tampere so special? Sun-drenched lakes and lush ridges, buttery eye rolls from the local baker, European experiences and our own special stuff. Morning coffee in Laukontori market square with the wind in your hair. Fresh urban nature caressing you. Unfailing classics and unique destinations as we love them. One exciting event after another. Tampere is at its lively and peaceful best. Tampere is as welcoming as a small village with a cosmopolitan atmosphere. There is nothing not to like about Tampere. And yes, the central square of Keskustori is probably the best place in Finland to watch people and the world go by.
Oulu
It is also the cultural capital of northern Finland, with many artists, writers and musicians living in the city, including the "screaming choir" of Mieskuoro Huutajat, otherwise known as The Screaming Men. Each year Oulu hosts a large number of festivals and concerts, with almost every genre covered, from rock to jazz, classical to folk, even holding an Irish music festival in the summer. It is home to the Oulu Music Video Festival, the Musixine music film competition, the World Air Guitar Championships, the Qstock Rock Festival, the Oulu Music Festival in winter, the Oulunsalo Music Festival in summer and the International Children's Film Festival in November. There are many museums in the city, including the impressive Tiedekeskus Tietomaa, Finland's first science center with year-round themed exhibitions, a giant movie theater, the Sirius Science Store, the Saturnus Cafe and Restaurant, and the Observation Tower, which can be reached by a glass elevator. If you are interested in the history of the region, a visit to the North Ostrobothnia Museum will take several hours. See a miniature of the town as it was in 1938 or enjoy the ethnological collection of Lappish artifacts collected by ethnologist Samuli Paulaharju. Near the town, the Turkansaari Open Air Museum has more than 40 museum buildings, including a church built in 1694 and the former country manor of Ylikärppä, completed in 1894.
Sixty kilometers north, on the banks of the Iijoki River, is the Kierikki Stone Age Center and the Stone Age Village. The permanent exhibition of Finland's largest prehistoric and cultural history center presents artifacts found and the history of the area, and gives an insight into how people lived in the Stone Age. The largest island in the Bothnia Bay, Hailuoto, is located about 50 kilometers from Oulu, with the ferry ride taking about 25 minutes. Hailuoto is a very popular recreation area because of the intrinsic beauty of the island - it is one of Finland's national landscapes - with about 600 summer cottages and a permanent population of 1,000 people. There is a traditional fishing village, windmills, the Marjaniemi lighthouse and beautiful sandy beaches.
porvoo
Most visitors to Finland consider the country's second oldest city to be the most beautiful. Only an hour's drive or a few hours on a relaxing cruise through the archipelago from Helsinki, Porvoo's unique charms include its charming waterfront of red ochre huts, medieval cobblestone streets and alleys and the charm of Old Porvoo where you'll find the magnificent Porvoo Cathedral. Another popular site for visitors is the museum of J.L. Runeberg, Finland's national poet.
Saariselkä
Saariselkä is located in Lapland, the largest and northernmost region of Finland. The village of Saariselkä is located in Finland's largest municipality, Inari. It is 250 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle, along the E75 highway. Urho Kekkonen National Park is right next to Saariselkä. This vast park stretches eastward from the resort town of Saariselkä through the wilderness of Finnish Lapland to the Russian border. The remote Korvatunturi waterfall is famous among Finns as Santa's house. The night sky is illuminated by the northern lights in winter and the midnight sun in summer.
Oy Levi Ski Resort
As a very important peak, Levi Falls was already known for its impressive views in the 19th century, but the area was completely roadless and difficult to access. Lake Immeljärvi between the Levi and Kätkä hills has been a sacred place for the Sami people for centuries. Small-scale tourism in Levi began in the 1930s when the southern road was completed. At that time, visitors had to travel by bus; staying in the villagers' houses was the only option. The first rental cottages were built in the 1950s and the first hotel, now called Hotel Levitunturi, was opened in 1981.
In the 1960s, downhill skiing became popular in Finland, and the municipality of Kittilä built the first ski run with a lift on the north side of Levi Falls in 1964. When a small airstrip in a forest near the village of Kittilä was expanded for military purposes during the 1970s, making the strip wide enough for commercial flights as well, things really started happening. Regular flights to Kittilä Airport began in 1982 and the first international charter flights arrived in 1993, giving Levi substantial customer potential. The great economic depression of the 1990s allowed a group of Levi entrepreneurs to buy ski resort equipment at very low prices in the bankrupt ski resorts of southern Finland, causing a boom in local business. In 2004, Levi hosted the FIS Alpine Skiing World Cup for the first time, making it a world-class winter sports resort for good.
Espoo
Enjoy sustainable events, services and culture throughout the year in Espoo. The city's beautiful nature invites you to enjoy activities on land and at sea. The south of Espoo offers culture, events, coastal and archipelago delights, and plenty of shopping opportunities. Heading north, you will find enchanting lakes, rural views and old country houses. Meanwhile, Nuuksio National Park offers wilderness experiences. The metro will take you to nearby forests, museums or the waterfront, while city bikes and city boats are available as transportation in the metropolitan area when weather permits.
Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä (Finnish: Jyväskylä) is a Finnish city of 139,260 (2017), the capital of Central Finland in south-central Finland. Jyväskylä is an important university campus for applied sciences and other leading Finnish educational institutions, so it is nicknamed "the Athens of Finland". It is home to several buildings designed by Alvar Aalto and a museum dedicated to his work in architecture (Alvar Aalto Museum). Jyväskylä hosts the annual Rally Finland (Nestioil), one of the stages of the World Rally Championship. The city also hosts the annual Jyväskylä Summer Arts Festival. It is located about 140 km northeast of Tampere and 270 km north of Helsinki, near lakes Payani and Ketele, and is the center of the Jyväskylä sub-district of 161,400 inhabitants.In addition to Jyväskylä, this region includes: Lauka, Murami, Petayavici and Toivaka.
In a 2004 survey, Jyväskylä (along with Tampere, Turku, Kuopio and Oulu) was considered one of the most likely destinations for Finns to move to. The city has grown rapidly and, due to the city's modest land size, the cost of housing has increased and its municipal reach has expanded. Jyväskylä was one of the fastest growing Finnish cities during the 20th century, In 1940, its population was only 8,000.
