Travel to Finland with travel insurance from Essential Travel

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Information on Finland with single trip travel insurance from Essential Travel

Finland is becoming an increasingly popular summer holiday destination. In the south, there are many uncrowded lakes, while Lapland in the north has a unique culture and beauty. Finland is sparsely populated and is full of history, including Scandinavian and Russian influences.

The capital, Helsinki, is in the south on a coastal peninsula. Despite being Finland’s cultural, financial and economic centre, it retains a small-town feel and is surprisingly unspoilt or built-up. There are no high-rise buildings, but rather plenty of parks, waterways, squares and open-air cafés where you can enjoy the fresh air. The most colourful and lively of these is the Kauppatori (Market Square), which is still surrounded by 19th century buildings.

A short ferry ride away on Suomenlinna Island is the sea fortress of Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Helsinki also boasts a church hacked out of solid stone, Rock Church. Additionally, there are plenty of museums and galleries in town; noteworthy ones include the Ateneum, the National Museum and Raitioliikennemuseo.

Finland is a great country to explore by car; its southern hinterland has thousands of lakes criss-crossed with roads, making for some idyllic summer driving.

Turku, in the south, is Finland’s oldest city and was the capital until 1812. Unfortunately, due to the city’s having been gutted by fire several times, the only surviving medieval quarter is Luostarinmäki, full of wooden houses where artisans work during the summer. You can also visit the 13th century Turku cathedral and the most notable historic building in Finland, Turku Castle, built in 1280. Both buildings house interesting museums.

Rauma, recently placed on the UNESCO World Heritage list, is a remarkably well preserved wooden town still full of artisans, lace-makers and goldsmiths working in the same 18th century studios their predecessors worked in. There are several interesting house museums and a 15th century Franciscan church.

In the beautiful Savonlinna Lakes area you will find Olavinlinna Castle, the best preserved medieval castle in northern Europe. Founded in 1475 to protect the country from the Russians, it ended up being occupied by them for 200 years, during which time they added some jaunty red towers and a yellow house.

Åland, an autonomous island province that consists of more than 6,400 islands, is ideal for cycling, camping and enjoying the islanders’ distinctive culture. Worth visiting are Kastelholm Castle in Sund, the open-air Jan Karlsgården Museum and the ruins of Bomarsund Fortress. In the far north is Lapland, where you can find the beautifully desolate, deserted wilderness of Lemmenjoki National Park and the pleasant lakeside town of Inari, famous for its Sami culture.

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