Helsinki

Amos Rex is an art museum where the past, present and future meet. The iconic Functionalist Lasipalatsi (glass palace) and the new gallery spaces under its undulating square provide 10 000 m2 for unique experiences both under- and aboveground and on the silver screen of Bio Rex. Generation 2020, on view 12 Feb – 23 Aug 2020, presents young art that is on the rise. Dive into Ancient Egyptian Art and Culture in the Egypt of Glory exhibition 9 Oct 2020 – 28 Mar 2021.

At the Tram Museum, you can take a seat in an old tram that instantly transports you to the Helsinki of yesteryear. Let your imagination wander in the tram hall built in 1900! Sit on the driver’s bench, watch old films and study tram tickets. The Tram Museum is located in Töölö, at Korjaamo Culture Factory. Entrance to the Tram Museum is always free of charge.

Slip in through the yellow gate and get acquainted with the life of the middle-class in the 1860s Helsinki. The Burgher’s House was completed in 1818. It is the oldest remaining wooden house in central Helsinki. Head Fireman Alexander Wickholm bought the house in 1859 as his home with his wife Erika and their three children. The rooms of the house have been restored and decorated according to information obtained from estate inventories to illustrate the life of a wealthy minor official’s family.

ATENEUM PRESENTS CLASSICS WITH A TWIST Ateneum is Finland’s best-known art museum and the home of Finnish art. The well-loved works in Ateneum's collection cover the period from the 19th century to Modernism. The museum's hugely popular special exhibitions of Finnish and international art open up new perspectives into the past and the present. Reconnect with your old favourites and fall in love with new ones. Our doors in the heart of Helsinki city centre are open just for you. Welcome!

Linnanmäki is the most popular amusement park in Finland and has the biggest selection of rides in Northern Europe. Come and experience the world-attraction Taiga, a double-launch coaster which will take you upside down four times per ride! The entrance to the park is free.

Seurasaari is a popular museum island that shows how Finns lived from the 1600s to the 1900s. The beautiful walking paths around the island are popular all year round.

Kiasma is closed due to renovation and will reopen in spring 2022. Kiasma breaks the barriers of traditional art museums with exhibitions that provoke and invite debate. The building itself is a work of art.

The City Theatre’s extensive repertoire includes domestic and foreign dramas; comedies; musicals; productions by its own dance group, the Helsinki Dance Company; children’s plays and plays in Swedish on the stage of the bilingual theatre, Lilla Teatern.

Seurasaari Island, which was established as a folk park over 120 years ago, is one of the cultural attractions that the City of Helsinki offers for tourists. The park also features an open-air museum with 87 historical wooden buildings from different parts of Finland. Seurasaari form a splendid natural venue for organising traditional festivals and events. One of the oldest events in Seurasaari is Midsummer Bonfires.

Espoo’s lovely islands are within easy reach from Helsinki. In summer, a ferry service will take you to outdoor recreation islands such as Iso Vasikkasaari with an island restaurant. In the mainland, enjoy Espoo’s 40 km long Waterfront Walkway. There are places to stop for a bite to eat and drink, and you can try swimming, fishing, kayaking, paddleboarding, a RIB ride or wakeboarding. During cold winters the frozen sea offers the perfect setting for skiing, snowshoe walking and ice fishing.

The Finnish Aviation Museum is an exciting visiting destination for the whole family, located in the heart of the Aviapolis area in Vantaa. Our collections include dozens of aircraft related to the history of Finnish aviation. We are a treasure chest of aeronautical information, offering something new for everyone, whether you’re a devoted airplane aficionado or a novice. Fly with us!

HAM, officially the Helsinki Art Museum, looks after an art collection that belongs to the people of Helsinki, which includes over 9,000 individual works of art. HAM maintains and accrues this art collection, which also includes the city’s public artworks. In its domestic and international exhibitions held at Tennis Palace, HAM showcases modern and contemporary art.

Nuuksio National Park is wild woods and lakes on Helsinki's doorstep, 40 minutes from the city centre. Escape into wild natural settings and enjoy typically Finnish scenery, with lovely lakes, forests and crags. Visitors can feed reindeer in Finland’s southernmost reindeer park, spend a night in a Tentsile tree tent, go hiking or canoeing, forage and prepare wild food or visit the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, for example. NuuksioResort (nuuksioresort.fi) offers services for travellers.

Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland from 14th century and it is located only 50km east of Helsinki. The city has over 50,000 inhabitants and about one third speak Swedish as their mother tongue. Porvoo is the most popular day trip destination in Finland. Over 1,6 million visitors come every year to admire the colorful wooden houses and stroll along winding pebbled streets to enjoy what this city can offer to you.

The exhibition at the Military Museum’s Manege Finnish Defence Forces 100 Years at War and Peace portrays the wars Finland has fought during its independence: the Civil War in 1918, the Winter War in 1939–40, the Continuation War in 1941–44 and the Lapland War in 1944–45. The exhibition continues in the adjacent building, Artillery Manege, telling the story of the Finnish Defence Forces in the post-war period up to the present day.

Korjaamo Culture Factory is a hub for living urban culture located in an old tram depot unit in Töölö. Korjaamo hosts events across various fields, including music, stand up, films and markets. Two restaurants, Korjaamo Bar & Kitchen and Sushibar + Wine, serve delicious food and drinks all year long. Korjaamo Kino, a small arthouse cinema, has a varied program including premieres, opera and ballet and music documentaries. Helsinki Tram Museum is located in the culture centre as well.

Lake Tuusula is located 15 min from the airport and 30 min from Helsinki. The lakeside is attractive and tranquil and it is difficult to believe you are not far from Helsinki. Historical artists’ villas such as Jean Sibelius’ Ainola, log-built wilderness studio Halosenniemi and many others are open for public and tell the story of how Finnish culture was created. Beautiful scenery, historical sights and safe cycle paths entice to cycle around Lake Tuusula. Perfect and easy day trip destination!

The Theatre Museum offers information, insights, joy and entertainment. Liveliness, interactivity and easy access to information are brought to the fore in the exhibitions. Theatre Museum introduces visitors to the art of theatre by and large, to the act of performing, and to the different eras of theatre in Finland. In the exhibitions there are several hands-on-exhibits and experimentation points that invite visitors to touch, do and experiment on different elements and features of theatre.

Oodi is Helsinki’s new Central Library and a living meeting place. Its wide range of services and facilities are available to everybody seven days a week, from early in the morning till late in the evening. Oodi functions as a living room for residents, located right at the heart of Helsinki.

Hotel and Restaurant Museum is specialised in the history of hotels, restaurants, cafés, tourism and Finnish culinary culture. The permanent exhibition covers the history of catering and also the history of alcoholic beverages and sales of alcohol in Finland. Guidance by arrangement.

Helsinki Zoo is one of the few zoos in the world located on an island. A 20 minute ferry (summer) or bus ride from the city centre will take you to a zoo where you can travel from cold mountain regions to dry steppes and from northern coniferous forests to the tropical rainforest. Helsinki Zoo is home to 150 animal and 1000 plant species showcasing the diversity of nature. The zoo was established already in 1889 and this makes it one of the oldest zoos in the world. Despite the long history and historic surroundings, Helsinki Zoo is a modern zoo with a mission to conserve biodiversity.

The History of Life exhibition presents the development of living organisms from the Big Bang to dinosaurs and from giant mammals to the Ice Age. The interactive exhibits invite visitors to discover the astonishing diversity of nature.