Central Finland
An unearthly field confronts travellers 30km north of Suomussalmi, on Rd 5 to Kuusamo. Hiljainen Kansa is a thousand scarecrow-like figures with heads of…
Must-see attractions in Finland
Central Finland
Picturesquely set on a river island in the town centre, Kajaani's castle was constructed between 1604 and 1619 to guard the Swedish border from Russia,…
Åland Archipelago
In 1886 landscape painter Victor Westerholm invited fellow artists to his summer house in Önningeby, a tiny village in eastern Jomala. For almost 30 years…
Åland Archipelago
Near the bridge to Lumparland, Skeppargården Pellas is a rustic museum in an 1884 homestead. Furnished with period decor, the house tells the story of…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
At the edge of the village, Strömfors Ironworks is one of Finland’s oldest bruks, dating back to 1698. Today its red-stained buildings are an open-air…
The Finnish Lakeland
Showcasing the National Costume Centre, which includes regional dress from around Finland, this handicrafts museum has a small permanent collection and…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
Porvoo’s town museum occupies two buildings on the beautiful cobbled square at the heart of the Old Town. The town-hall building (Vanha Raatihuoneentori)…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
National poet JL Runeberg’s former home has become a museum, with a period interior including stuffed foxes and muskets that demonstrate the poet’s love…
Tampere
Tampere’s industrial era began with Scot James Finlayson, who established a cotton mill by the Tammerkoski in the 1820s. Later it grew massively and was…
The Finnish Lakeland
The Jalkaväkimuseo is one of the largest military museums in Finland, with 10 exhibition rooms in two 19th-century timber army barracks. These are…
The Finnish Lakeland
This extraordinary collection of mechanical musical instruments ranges from a ghostly keyboard-tinkling Steinway to a robotic violinist to a full-scale…
Åland Archipelago
Overlooking Käringsund harbour, the Hunting & Fishing Museum addresses the role of these two activities in the history and culture of the Åland islands…
Helsinki
Finland's national poet and composer of the Finnish national anthem, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, is commemorated by a statue in the city's central Esplanadin…
Helsinki
Architect CL Engel designed these naval barracks for the Russian military garrisoned here from 1816 to 1820 – the first of his many works in Helsinki. The…
Tampere
The 168m-high Näsinneula Observation Tower is in the Särkänniemi amusement park. This is the tallest such tower in these northern lands and that alone…
Qwensel House & Pharmacy Museum
Turku
On the riverfront, Qwensel House is Turku’s oldest, built around 1700. It contains the small Pharmacy Museum, with an old laboratorium featuring medicinal…
Helsinki
On the Suomenlinna island of Iso Mustasaari, Sotamuseo Maneesi has a comprehensive overview of Finnish military hardware, from bronze cannons to WWII…
Central Finland
Near the train station, the town museum has a good permanent exhibition on Kajaani’s history from prehistoric times to the mid-1900s, including…
Finland
Located across the main highway from the Old Church, Keuruu's museum is in one of a clutch of historic buildings housing craft shops and the like…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
Lohja Museum re-creates a schoolhouse and a cowherd’s cottage from centuries past. The collection includes an impressive range of horse-drawn carriages,…
Åland Archipelago
Southeast of Kvarnbo, some stone outcroppings remain of the Iron Age fortress of Borgboda, built in the mid- to late 1st millennium. About 2km east of…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
About 200m north of the town square, Loviisa Town Museum is set in an old manor house with three floors of interesting historical exhibits, particularly…
Turku
Designed by CL Engel, this gold-coloured turn-of-the-20th-century residence houses art and furniture that was donated by art collectors Alfred and Hélène…
Tampere
This stone observation tower is on the ridge of Pyynikki Park, and has a cafe serving delicious freshly made doughnuts. You can walk from the centre of…
The Finnish Lakeland
This is one of many buildings in Jyväskylä designed by its famous son, Alvar Aalto. Built between 1924 and 25, its a not particularly successful Italian…
Central Finland
In Hailuoto village, 8km east of Marjaniemi, Kniivilä is an open-air museum of old wooden buildings, including a shoemaker's cottage, a barn and a cowshed…
Tampere
Near the train station, this ornate, onion-domed Orthodox church is worth a visit. During the civil war, White troops besieged the church, which had been…
Turku
Naturalistic and cubist-tinged sculptures donated by artist Wäinö Aaltosen are on display in this gallery, along with temporary exhibitions of…
Helsinki
Across from the Vanha Kirkko is this memorial to Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the Kalevala epic, depicting the author flanked by his most famous character, …
Central Finland
Guided visits of this 1872-completed lighthouse run in July; be prepared to climb 110 steps. It originally had a Fresnel lens and was automated in 1962…
Helsinki
The gleaming glass headquarters of the main daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, is an iconic modern Helsinki building, designed by Finnish architects Jan…
Central Finland
Sprawling 48km southeast of Sotkamo, this national park surrounds forests and boggy flatlands, and is laced with 30km of marked hiking trails. The…
Helsinki
Famous Finns buried at this sprawling 1829-established cemetery include architect Alvar Aalto and military leader and statesman Carl Gustav Emil…
Central Finland
On the ground floor of the Arctic Lighthouse Hotel, in the former lighthouse pilot station, this exhibition details the local dune ecosystem and the…
Turku
In a beautiful 1907 building surrounded by parkland, the Turku Biological Museum shows off Finland’s fauna and flora in 13 realistic dioramas, including…
Åland Archipelago
Housed in a 19th-century warehouse, Degerby's little local museum contains the islanders’ personal collections of biros, bottle tops and biscuit cutters…
Åland Archipelago
An impressive collection of historic wooden sea craft of all sizes and functions, including rowing boats, fishing boats and one of the last remaining…
Helsinki
Overlooking the kauppatori, the striking neoclassical Presidentinlinna was designed by CL Engel and is one of the head of state's official residences. The…
Turku & Finland's South Coast
Learn about Hamina's history at the town museum, housed in Hamina’s oldest building. King Gustav III of Sweden and Catherine II (the Great) of Russia held…
Åland Archipelago
The small Bomarsund museum has information on and displays bits and pieces excavated from the site of the ruined Russian fortress Bomarsund.
