Planning a Trip to Finland

I never thought before to go to the North Pole, but once i met a friend who went there and told me how amazing is. So, I decided to go with four friends and it have been one of the best experiences in my life. We went during January, therefore, when we arrive it was all complete white. We went from Copenhagen to Ivalo aiport and there we took a taxi until the bus station where we needed to take a bus to Jokitorma/Kaamanen. It was perfect because the bus stopped just in front of our hostel. A wood house between nothing, just snow and silence. Silence. It was the first time in my life that I heard the silence, and it was amazing. In the hostel we contact with a very nice woman who rent her snowmobilings for us. We met some natural people from there, called Sami's and it was the best thing in our trip. They showed us a lot of things from there, their customs and works. They were farmers of rendieers, an really beutiful animal, more in their natural habitat. Also this people showed us how they live and they explain us how is Kaamanen in other seasons. How common is to see the Northen Lights and wich is the perfect weather to see it. In Inari, more or less near to Kaamanen by bus, you can find the Siida Museum, that it's so cheap and really nice. In this museum you can find all the information about Sami's culture as well as about the fauna, weather and all natural things in Lapland. Probably you will see as well expositions of Sami's artists (pictures, clothes, etc) and is really interesting. Moreover, in Siida there is a open air ice theater! that is sooo cold but very nice. In this ice theater during January they celebrate a Cinema Festival, where they show films of Sami's directors and producers, but also some films from other countries like England, Norway, etc. So some of this films are in finish but also you can see some of them with english subtitles. Definitly you should go there, but only if you love the nature, to know a really unknown and amazing culture, and if you want to meet a really kind and lovely people. Kiitos!!

Jarvenpaa is "widely" known as the city of Sibelius and a few other artists who have been important in the history of Finland. It is a good city to visit if you want to experience some peaceful life in Finland at day time. There are various possibilities for sports as well. Recently renovated swimming hall and various running tracks (which serve as skiing tracks at winter) are also available.

At night time at weekends things become quite oposite. There are many bars in Jarvenpaa. The best one for young visitors is probably Yano whereas more mature visitors might want to visit McArthurs or Korona.

Teenagers of Jarvenpaa like to hang around at the "Rantapuisto" (literaly Beachpark) which is quite near to the central. Avoiding the area at weekends is advised.

One of the best places to spend time in Tampere is Café Europa. The toasts and salads are excellent and the atmosphere! One must see it to feel it =D

Tampere... One of the big cities in Finland. The city centre is surrounded by lake and ridge scenery.Tampere is also one of the university cities in Finland. It gives youthful look and athmosphere. By day, you can relax from the busy athmosphere by shopping or sitting in cafés. At night, many bars and night clubs welcome you in to enjoy music and dance. Nightclub Onnela and Emma are two of the best places to spend your night of party... Various hotels and restaurants are there, when you need them. Hotels offer you lovely rooms and friendly athmosphere. Place to sleep well. :) Restaurants' food scale is variating. You can choose from steaks and chicken, mexican food, asian etc. Whereever you are, the food is great and tasty. During summer, you can also visit the theme park called Särkänniemi, which offer fun to kids and adults. Planetarium, aquarium and dolphinarium :) are the places to relax and enjoy. And of course... Spin,speed or splash? When wanting aerial rides can step aboard the modernised Time Clock, a dramatic and delightful experience. Corkscrew and Hurricane are waiting to give speed-lovers a good whirl.
A splash or two from a favourite ride, the Log River. The amazing rides of the theme park welcome you every day during summer. In Särkänniemi there is also the Näsinneula tower, where you have a brilliant view over the Näsijärvi lake and Tampere.

Tornio is a small city in north Finland very near to Swedish border. Actually, you can physically see Sweden and walk there as you step on the side of Haparanda. Tornio-Haparanda is best visited during summer since especially winter can be very cold.

Are you into golf? Here you can play golf in 2 countries on one course! Probably the only golf course like this in the world. Also you can try some shotgun target shooting, archery and more in this compact place.

Arriving and leaving to and from Tornio-Haparanda is very easy. You can use plane, train, bus or private vehicles.

!!Save money and time by choosing a cheaper flight from FinnComm (fc.fi) instead of the VR trainride of nearly 11 hours between the capital and here.

You can easily visit here on an around-north-Europe trip to or from Sweden.

Look for the Torni-building/hotel and try to get to use the toilets below the Caf'e. Each toilet has a panorama window and view of the city.

Turku is the Pub capital fo Finland. There is a theme of Pub called after their former uses like "Koulu" (the school) or "Pankki" (the bank) or "apptekki" (drog store) even one in a fomer public toilet. All worth a visit.

The locks (toilets...) turn the other way!!!

The Santa hotel is one of the nicest hotels in the city. The Hotel restaurant serves the best reindeer stew I've ever eaten. When you enjoy dinner over their don't forget the desserts, the typical suomi desserts are heavenly. Only 10 km north of the city, on the polar circle, you'll find Santa Village with his own Post office where letters from all over the world arrive daily. You can see all the elves writing a personal letter back to everyone who has sent a letter to Santa Claus.

very lively and busy city, important as for Finlnad where most cities are rather towns ;-) typical student's place, with big university and therefore multicultural, a lot of parties, festivals so just follow different events check on internet best

Nice national park in finland's lake plateau. There are several canoe and kayak rentals available, check the internet. I travelled 5 days through the park by canoe, absolutely stunning. Its between you, the lakes and the forest. Nice camping spots with fire wood, you will mostly be on your own. How to get there: flight to Helsinki, train to Mikkeli and then try to have the canoe rental company pick you up to bring you to the shore.

If you reached Santa claus village don't miss the post office:you can send an official Santa postcard with an official Santa stamp.Children will ask parents to let them be photographed with Santa(the "real"one).

Beautiful and peaceful beach for active people and also for the family with the children. Yliskylä, Helsinki.. Here is one photo from there.
http://www.panoramio.com/photo/11693558

If you're passing through Rovaniemi, skip the visit to Santa's village, unless you have kids. It's mostly a tourist trap, with gift shops and an expensive photo op with the Man himself. At one of the cafes, you can order reindeer. Does anyone else find this wrong? I enjoyed trying raindeer at another stop in Finland, but not at Santa's village!

Museum Centre Vapriikki Tue, Thu-Sun 10-18, Wed 11-20, Mon closed

Exhibitions:
Tibet
13 June 2008 – 13 April 2009 Tampere 1918
Exhibition on events of the civil war in Tampere Dora Jung – Fascination of Linen
5 December 2007 – 1 March 2009 Backlight 08 - Tickle Attack
International Photography Triennial Festival 20.9.-9.11. 2008

Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame
Permanent exhibition

Pirkanmaa - A journey into the history of the province
Permanent exhibition

Shoe Museum
Permanent exhibition Time for Play!
6 February 2009 – August 2009
Toys and dolls from the collections of the Haihara Museum Foundation Exhibition of the UNICEF year
Address and admission
Tampella Alaverstaanraitti 5 33101 Tampere
Tel. +358 3 5656 6966 Fax +358 3 5656 6808
www.tampere.fi/english/vapriikki/index.html
vapriikki@tampere.fi

We traveled to Finland in late June and for the first time we experienced what is called (almost)24 hour day light: I could take photos at midnight without flash!

Napapiiri is the name of the Arctic circle.For whatever reason here you can find also the well reknown Santa clause village.The village includes the official arctic marker painted on the road.Of course a photo with one leg on each side of the line is a must.

I never thought before to go to the North Pole, but once i met a friend who went there and told me how amazing is. So, I decided to go with four friends and it have been one of the best experiences in my life. We went during January, therefore, when we arrive it was all complete white. We went from Copenhagen to Ivalo aiport and there we took a taxi until the bus station where we needed to take a bus to Jokitorma/Kaamanen. It was perfect because the bus stopped just in front of our hostel. A wood house between nothing, just snow and silence. Silence. It was the first time in my life that I heard the silence, and it was amazing. In the hostel we contact with a very nice woman who rent her snowmobilings for us. We met some natural people from there, called Sami's and it was the best thing in our trip. They showed us a lot of things from there, their customs and works. They were farmers of rendieers, an really beutiful animal, more in their natural habitat. Also this people showed us how they live and they explain us how is Kaamanen in other seasons. How common is to see the Northen Lights and wich is the perfect weather to see it. In Inari, more or less near to Kaamanen by bus, you can find the Siida Museum, that it's so cheap and really nice. In this museum you can find all the information about Sami's culture as well as about the fauna, weather and all natural things in Lapland. Probably you will see as well expositions of Sami's artists (pictures, clothes, etc) and is really interesting. Moreover, in Siida there is a open air ice theater! that is sooo cold but very nice. In this ice theater during January they celebrate a Cinema Festival, where they show films of Sami's directors and producers, but also some films from other countries like England, Norway, etc. So some of this films are in finish but also you can see some of them with english subtitles. Definitly you should go there, but only if you love the nature, to know a really unknown and amazing culture, and if you want to meet a really kind and lovely people. Kiitos!!

If you're on the area, visit Nurmijarvi. A pretty famous finnish author Aleksis Kivi lived here and you can see the house he used to live in (I'm not sure if you can go in, though). In the summer there's a fest here called Kivijuhlat. If
you want to learn about finnish customs and culture, that's the place to go. You can even see the Prime Minister of Finland there, who is from Nurmijarvi!
Also if you want to visit Helsinki but think the hotels are too expensive, you can probably find a cheaper one here even with a short notice. Nurmijarvi is about 50km southwest from Helsinki, which is about an hour of driving. Easiest way to come here is to take a bus from Helsinki.

One of the best things if you visit this place is to take a boat trip along the Saimaa canal.You can also(I recomand it)cruise across the border into Russsia to Vyborg and if you return the same day with the same cruise no visa is needed.Do take your passport !Check for details a week in advance.

Iisalmi is a quiet town of 24000 inhabitants but I descovered thet it holds a Guiness book record:it has the smallest bar in the world.The wood building has place for one barman one customer at one table and one chair.It even has a small place to wash hands.The name of the bar is Kuappi.

If you visit Helsinki, you can easily visit Tallinn in Estonia for the day. It's only a few hours by ferry and sometimes you don't need a visa (I'm an Aussie and I didn't need one). The town itself is beautiful!

I never thought before to go to the North Pole, but once i met a friend who went there and told me how amazing is. So, I decided to go with four friends and it have been one of the best experiences in my life. We went during January, therefore, when we arrive it was all complete white. We went from Copenhagen to Ivalo aiport and there we took a taxi until the bus station where we needed to take a bus to Jokitorma/Kaamanen. It was perfect because the bus stopped just in front of our hostel. A wood house between nothing, just snow and silence. Silence. It was the first time in my life that I heard the silence, and it was amazing. In the hostel we contact with a very nice woman who rent her snowmobilings for us. We met some natural people from there, called Sami's and it was the best thing in our trip. They showed us a lot of things from there, their customs and works. They were farmers of rendieers, an really beutiful animal, more in their natural habitat. Also this people showed us how they live and they explain us how is Kaamanen in other seasons. How common is to see the Northen Lights and wich is the perfect weather to see it. In Inari, more or less near to Kaamanen by bus, you can find the Siida Museum, that it's so cheap and really nice. In this museum you can find all the information about Sami's culture as well as about the fauna, weather and all natural things in Lapland. Probably you will see as well expositions of Sami's artists (pictures, clothes, etc) and is really interesting. Moreover, in Siida there is a open air ice theater! that is sooo cold but very nice. In this ice theater during January they celebrate a Cinema Festival, where they show films of Sami's directors and producers, but also some films from other countries like England, Norway, etc. So some of this films are in finish but also you can see some of them with english subtitles. Definitly you should go there, but only if you love the nature, to know a really unknown and amazing culture, and if you want to meet a really kind and lovely people. Kiitos!!

Oulu is a great place to visit around the year. I suggest summer. It's not that expensive either. The best place to stay is Hotel-spa Eden, which is right next to the sea. It's one of the best spas in Finland, in my opinion. If you have a low budjet, there's a hostel called Turisti opposite the train station. And of course you can go camping, there's a great area for that next to Eden.

You have to visit Suomenlinna!!

Yyteri has the best sandy beach of western Finland.

when in Finland and love cartoon about Muminki must go there! unique muminki world is there on an island ;-) besiedes the city is lovely, extremely colorful with nice cafes and harbour, small cluster on a hill, good access to Turku city and here just half a day which is certainly enough there