2 weeks in Finland

Hi!
I'm going to spend 2 weeks in Finland in this summer (july 22 - aug 5) and I want to ask for some help. Wich are the places that we must visit and things like that:)

woow..i envy you...but i would definetely visit all the metalbars in the country:))...now seriously i think that the shores of the Gulf of Finland and the high fells of Lapland always worth a visit.Tourists can go fishing and canoeing. There are several large lakes, including lakes Saimaa, Inari, and Päijänne. Alcoholic drinks form an important part of the Finnish culture. When travelling through Finland it is imperative to try national favorites like: the national vodka Koskenkorva, the liquorice flavored Salmiakki Koskenkorva, and a mixture of vodka and sparkling wine that can be translated into English as the "Bitch slammer".(i think...or at least that is how it was translated by a friend)

Bareee wrote:Hi!
I'm going to spend 2 weeks in Finland in this summer (july 22 - aug 5) and I want to ask for some help. Wich are the places that we must visit and things like that:)

Hi there! Where are you located here when you come to Finland? Will you stay in Helsinki or perhaps some other city. Travelling across Finland isn't the cheapest of thrills especially during the summer time so in order to help you, you need to help a bit back. There are plenty to see already in the southern parts of Finland but as posted above...getting to know the "drinking" culture of Finland all you really need is a chair and a table

Admin wrote:

Bareee wrote:Hi!
I'm going to spend 2 weeks in Finland in this summer (july 22 - aug 5) and I want to ask for some help. Wich are the places that we must visit and things like that:)

Hi there! Where are you located here when you come to Finland? Will you stay in Helsinki or perhaps some other city. Travelling across Finland isn't the cheapest of thrills especially during the summer time so in order to help you, you need to help a bit back. There are plenty to see already in the southern parts of Finland but as posted above...getting to know the "drinking" culture of Finland all you really need is a chair and a table

sooo...firstly, we'll go with caravan, so we won't need to stay anywhere:) and also we know that's not the cheapest and we'll focus on the southern parts (okay, i hope that few years later i can travel to Lapland too, but now we don't have enough money for it:().

Congrats for your departure!

You can find interesting sights in cities like Tampere, Turku and Lahti, but I don't know much about them. Maybe you can reach Lake Saimaa and Olavinlinna castle. It's majestic!

Helsinki is really excellent and it asks for your time!! Spend an evening by going to the western beach, Hietaniemi... take some beer and sit on the rocks to watch the sunset. The water looks wonderful! Or stroll around in Vanhakaupunki, there's a cascade, old buildings and a lovely scenery!
If you don't feel like going too far, you can always stay in the city center. Facing the railway station, there's Kaivopiha. you can find there the bar called Praha (my favorite!) and Virgin Oil co. as you climb the stairs. Close to that area, on Mikonkatu, there's the famous bar, club & terrace On the Rocks. Very popular one. If you want cheap drinks, go to Kallio! (metal bar - Tauko)
There's plenty to do and see in Helsinki. If you enjoy fine architecture, take a walk on Bulevardi or other central streets. These will also lead you to the harbour and you can see the big Viking Line ferries.

If you have time, take a day trip to Suomenlinna. (The sea fortress in Helsinki harbour). My friend and I really enjoyed it, and ended up going back a few times.
If you're looking for a bar, try Heavy Corner. It's on the way to Hietsu beach. You can also walk through Hietaniemi cemetary, which is very beautiful if you like cemetaries (and even if you don't). Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki was well worth the visit.

Särkänniemi in Tampere was also very good, if you like amusement parks. There's an observation tower there that you can look out over the city and the lakes.

Turku castle is well worth the visit, but be prepared to spend all day there as there is a ton of stuff to look at. If I can remember correctly, most of the things in the museum are in Finnish and Swedish only, but you can take tours in English if you don't know Finnish or Swedish.

Rovaniemi is kind of tourist-y, with things like the Santa Claus Village and a line representing the Arctic Circle painted on the pavement. Lordi also has a restuarant there, which is kind of cool.


The 'little' places and things that you wouldn't normally find in a guidebook provide alot of charm as well.

reignofterror wrote:If you have time, take a day trip to Suomenlinna.

Oh yes, great tip! such enjoyable place! and my time was never enough to see everything on the islands! I'm a real freak for fortresses, old architecture and the Baltic Sea, so I was mesmerized... I went with friends, stayed on a blanket, ate and drank... but also got burned from too much sunshine :p

Storm wrote:

reignofterror wrote:If you have time, take a day trip to Suomenlinna.

Oh yes, great tip! such enjoyable place! and my time was never enough to see everything on the islands! I'm a real freak for fortresses, old architecture and the Baltic Sea, so I was mesmerized... I went with friends, stayed on a blanket, ate and drank... but also got burned from too much sunshine :p

Also Hämeenlinna is nice if you are into medieval castles.
BTW Olympos Mons (One of the best Power Metal bands of Finalnd) shot their band pictures for medevil in there.

Storm wrote:

reignofterror wrote:If you have time, take a day trip to Suomenlinna.

Oh yes, great tip! such enjoyable place! and my time was never enough to see everything on the islands! I'm a real freak for fortresses, old architecture and the Baltic Sea, so I was mesmerized... I went with friends, stayed on a blanket, ate and drank... but also got burned from too much sunshine :p

I got caught in a massive thunderstorm one time when I was out there, had had too much to drink that day, and managed to get seperated from my friends. That was a very interesting night to say the least. But there has always been an adventure story to come from Suomenlinna.

reignofterror wrote:
I got caught in a massive thunderstorm one time when I was out there, had had too much to drink that day, and managed to get seperated from my friends. That was a very interesting night to say the least. But there has always been an adventure story to come from Suomenlinna.

That's definitely very interesting! I'm trying to picture it.......... So you spend there a whole night or...?

reignofterror wrote:I got caught in a massive thunderstorm one time when I was out there, had had too much to drink that day, and managed to get seperated from my friends. That was a very interesting night to say the least. But there has always been an adventure story to come from Suomenlinna.

Well at night during a thunderstorm, it must have looked a bit like Suomenlinna during a battle

I visited Suomenlinna while in Helsinki too, and it is definitely worth seeing.
Another city I liked a lot was Turku. As reignofterror mentioned, the castle there is impressive. I liked their sense of detail, as while you were walking through the majestic building, you had stuff like plush rats on the ground in one hall, or a raven on a window in another one. Also, the Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova museum has some remains of medieval Turku to show if you are into history. And last but not least, I loved Luostarinmäki handicrafts museum, I would definitely recommend that one. It might not sound interesting judging from the name, but it is.

Love-Lies-Bleeding wrote:
Another city I liked a lot was Turku. As reignofterror mentioned, the castle there is impressive. I liked their sense of detail, as while you were walking through the majestic building, you had stuff like plush rats on the ground in one hall, or a raven on a window in another one.

Now I will be haunted in my dreams (in a nice way!), I MUST see that! I always like to rebuild the past in my mind and feel its atmosphere...

There are some Ruins of a mantion here Tampere too if you people are interested in old things.
It is not that well known but I have bee there many times as it is close to my home and there are no building close by.
Just trees some rocks and cliffs and a beatiful view from the hill to the kaukajärvi lake.

Storm wrote:

reignofterror wrote:
I got caught in a massive thunderstorm one time when I was out there, had had too much to drink that day, and managed to get seperated from my friends. That was a very interesting night to say the least. But there has always been an adventure story to come from Suomenlinna.

That's definitely very interesting! I'm trying to picture it.......... So you spend there a whole night or...?

Well, eventually one of my friends managed to find me, and then we had to find a lost camera and wallet that another friend left behind in the barrel of one of the cannons (which happened to be my camera and wallet.....lesson learned, never trust friends with cameras or wallets).
We were prepared to spend the entire night hiding in the tunnels there, even though it would have been damp and miserable. The friend who lost the camera was with a male friend, and texted my male friend's phone, saying the last ferry back to Helsinki had left and we were stuck there for the night. We figured we'd try and walk back to the main ferry area since there is also a hostel there, and see what happened. As we were wandering back, some kind of security people actually came around the corner with flashlights and pretty much ran right into us. Apparently they were out checking for people hiding in the tunnels, so I don't think the plan would have worked anyways.

I think the only reason that there was still a ferry was because a wedding had been going on on the island that day and the last few people in the wedding party were heading back to Helsinki. So while we were waiting for the ferry, the bride gave us as much free beer as we could drink and fit in our pockets. So eventually it all worked out after a very interesting few hours.

(Probably quite the boring story, but beer, Finnish men and forgetful friends make for some interesting adventures.)

Haha, not boring at all So it's quite impossible after all to get stuck for the night in Suomenlinna, right?
How lucky you were to get that beer for free - that's a great ending for the story!

I guess it is impossible.

The beer was Lapin Kulta...not my favorite, but you can never complain about free beer, right?