Reasons to Visit Finland

Bestowed with natural beauty, friendly people and history, Finland is a great European tourist destination. The metropolitan capital city of Helsinki has a delightful countryside as well. Here are seven reasons as to why you should consider visiting Finland.

 

Beautiful Parks

Helsinki has a number of beautiful parks where you can stroll whether it is a crisp fall day or a sunny summer day. Even the University Botanical Gardens features small footpaths. Other parks in the city are Kaivopuisto (a seaside park), Central Park, Esplanadin puisto and Sinebrychoffin puisto.

 Churches

The Lutheran Cathedral in Senate Square, built in 1852, is an imposing as well as impressive church on top of a magnificent staircase. The Church in the Rock that was built in 1969 by blasting rocks is a modern church. It has a unique design, setting and acoustics which make it a popular venue for concerts.

 Shopping For Designer Goods

If you are interested in designer shopping, Helsinki is the place for it. You can shop whatever you want, high-end fashion goods to innovative home decor materials. One of the main shopping streets in Helsinki is Aleksanterinkatu. You can find several large stores like the Stockmann department store. The street that is parallel to Aleksanterinkatu is Esplanadi which has smaller, but more boutiques for luxury items. Both the streets can be easily accessed by tram. In Iittala Shop, a renowned brand for Finnish home designer goods, you will find innovative and beautiful designs of kitchen utensils and glassware.

 Sibelius

The Sibelius music festival, an annual event held in September, celebrates and honors the contemporary composer Jean Sibelius’ works. Finland’s musical genius was born in 1865 and he lived as well as studied in the capital city. He moved to the quiet country home in 1903 with his family. You can also visit Sibeliustalo, meaning Sibelius Hall, in the nearby place called Lahti and one of the favorite hangouts of the composer the luxurious Hotel Kamp, in central part of Helsinki city.

 Fabulous Finnish Food

The Finnish cuisine is not only delicious, but also healthy. This is a perfect combination for the tourists who want to enjoy authentic Finnish cuisine without adding extra pounds because of overeating. There are a number of restaurants in Helsinki that serve typical Finnish preparations made out of locally grown produce. Berries such as cloudberries, blueberries and lingoberries are a common part of the menu. You will also find fish commonly on all menus as Finland has as many as 188,000 lakes. Some of the popular options in menus include smoked salmon, perch, pike and Baltic herring. If you are a meat-lover, you can go for moose and reindeer meat.

Cruise

Helsinki is located along Finland’s southern Baltic Sea coast. It is, therefore, a perfect location from where other European destinations can be accessed. There are several Baltic cruise lines that offer services from Helsinki to Stockholm. The sailing time is around 15 to 17 hours. There are also short ferry rides to Tallinn in Estonia from Helsinki which take about one and a half hours. You can go to St. Petersburg from Helsinki by train in about 7 hours.

 

The seventh reason as to why you should visit Finland is that most people in Helsinki can converse in English.