Must-see attractions in Central Finland

  • Aerial view of a boat, canyon lake and forest in Julma-Ölkky, Hossa National Park, Finland; Shutterstock ID 2023369706; purchase_order: 65050; job: ; client: ; other:
2023369706

    Hossa National Park

    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…

  • Kierikkikeskus

    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…

  • Juminkeko

    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…

  • Canoeing on the Oulanka river in Oulanka National Park, Kuusamo region, Finland.

    Oulanka National Park

    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…

  • Haukipudas church in Finland.

    Haukiputaan Kirkko

    Central Finland

    Haukipudas, 21km north of Oulu at a scenic spot along the Kiiminkijoki, is renowned for its cream-painted, terracotta-roofed wooden church, one of Finland…

  • Paltaniemen kuvakirkko

    Central Finland

    Paltaniemi's enchantingly weathered wooden church was built in 1726 and contains some of Finland’s most interesting church paintings: rustic 18th-century…

  • Hossa National Park Visitor Centre

    Central Finland

    The visitor centre at Hossa National Park has a detailed exhibition on the Värikallio Stone Age rock paintings. Only discovered in 1977, the paintings of…

  • Kuusamon Suurpetokeskus

    Central Finland

    There’s a great backstory to this bear sanctuary 35km south of Kuusamo on the Kajaani road. Rescued as orphans, the bears were nursed by their ‘father’…

  • Syöte National Park

    Central Finland

    This national park is a favourite winter-sports escape 140km northeast of Oulu, with a downhill resort, Iso-Syöte. It covers discrete areas of old-growth…

  • Raatteen Portti

    Central Finland

    Some of the most bitter fighting of the Winter War took place 88km south of Hossa (23km east of the lakeside town of Suomussalmi) along the Raate road…

  • Petola Luontokeskus

    Central Finland

    On the main road 3.5km east of central Kuhmo, this centre has an informative exhibition in various languages on Finland’s quartet of large carnivores,…

  • Hossan Poropuisto

    Central Finland

    Within Hossa National Park, this reindeer farm offers the opportunity to get to know these gentle, antlered beasts. You can feed the reindeer (€5 per bag)…

  • Kuhmon Talvisotamuseo

    Central Finland

    Situated 4.5km southeast of central Kuhmo, by the Hotelli Kalevala, this Winter War museum documents that bitter conflict in the Kuhmo area, mostly…

  • Riisitunturi

    Central Finland

    Consisting of fells and hillside bogs, this 77-sq-km national park 58km northwest of Kuusamo offers spectacular views and rewarding hiking, including…

  • Tuupalan Museo

    Central Finland

    At this house-museum, traditional Karelian red-painted wooden farm buildings have been fitted out to depict traditional Kuhmo life at the turn of the 20th…

  • Hannun Luontokuvakeskus

    Central Finland

    In the tourist office building, this rotating exhibition displays the work of famous Finnish nature photographer Hannu Hautala with great accompanying…

  • Eino Leino-Talo

    Central Finland

    The Eino Leino-Talo is a re-creation of the place where Leino, one of Finland’s foremost independence-era poets, was born in 1878. It’s a lovely lakeside…

  • Liminganlahti

    Central Finland

    Liminka Bay, 34km southwest of Oulu, attracts numerous avian species, with several rare waders nesting here during summer, and many species of waterfowl…

  • Hiljainen Kansa

    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…

  • Kajaanin Linna

    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,…

  • Kainuun Museo

    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…

  • Kniivilä

    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…

  • Marjaniemi Lighthouse

    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…

  • Hiidenportti National Park

    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…

  • Luototalo

    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…

  • Sotkamon kirkko

    Central Finland

    Sotkamo's 19th-century wooden church rises above the treeline on the lake shore.