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What and where are Helsinki and
Finland? by Jenni Frilander Finland, the land of thousands of lakes Finland is a Nordic country between East and West,
famous for its scenic beauty, thousands of lakes, which dot Finland's
landscape, long and light summer nights, when the sun never sets and
thick forests which cover almost two-thirds of the land. In Finland you
can also find versatile cultural life, friendly and straightforward
people as well as the highest density of mobile phones in the world,
thanks to Nokia, the most internationally known trademark of Finnish
hi-tech knowledge. |
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Characteristic for Finnish cultural life is the music of Jean Sibelius. Some other well-known Finns are conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen, ice hockey player Teemu Selänne and former Formula 1 driver Mika Häkkinen and besides them Santa-Claus who lives up in the North in Finnish Lapland. From Lapland comes also reindeer meat which is a specialty of the Finnish kitchen as well as many species of fish and fish roe and wild berries. And when talking about Finland, one cannot forget the Finnish invention, the sauna, which almost every Finnish house has one of its own. |
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Helsinki with its half a million inhabitants is often
called as "Daughter of the Baltic Sea" because it is built on
peninsulas and islands. The air is clean as in the whole country.
Helsinki has something to offer for everyone; historical sights combine
with stunning nature and the pulse of a modern city. As a busy cultural
centre, it is a heaven for art lovers, known also for its numerous
annual festivals. Favorite activities for visitors include exploring the
Market Square and taking a boat trip around the extraordinarily
beautiful archipelago. Distinctive structures include the Temppeliaukio
Church, carved inside solid rock; the Sibelius Monument, made of steel
pipes; and the lineup of neo-classical buildings around Senate Square. |
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 Photos: Finland Convention Bureau |
How to get there? There are direct daily flights from most European cities and also good connections from North-America and Asia. From Central Europe it takes 2 - 3 hours and from New York 7 - 8 hours to fly to Finland. Altogether 22 airlines offer scheduled flights to Helsinki. For further information on flights check out the internet pages of Finnair (www.finnair.com) and SAS (www.sas.fi). Find out more about Helsinki and Finland:
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