Why Finland?
Located in northern Europe, Finland borders Russia and Sweden. The country has much to offer, including beautiful summers, northern lights, snowboarding and Santa Clause. Yes! Santa does live there in Rovaniemi. Falling in love with this country and most specifically Helsinki when last year. It seemed like a hidden gem, that was yet to be discovered. It wasn’t over crowded, filled with noise or even dirty. It’s shockingly quiet and really safe for solo female travelers.
Beautiful Helsinki:
Staying in Helsinki, close to the city center was great. The Sokos Hotel in Helsinki was in an amazing centrally located area. There was a large mall and several restaurants connected to the hotel. It was also located across from the train station. There’s much to experience inside the hotel, including a rooftop restaurant with a fresh catch of the day to die for. There’s also a sauna on site, great for those cold winter nights. The food was amazing, especially the seafood. The seafood was always fresh, whether it was street food or in a restaurant. Heading to the Helsinki market try the fried sardines, potatoes and vegetables. Most of all stop at the fruit vendors for some of the best strawberries, they were juicy and sweet and organic.
There’s a lot of natural beauty to experience there as well. Take a ferry to Suomenlinna and explore the one time fortress that is now a living museum and location for amazing concerts and picnics.
Best Time to Arrive: May, June, July and August for mild weather and January for the Northern Lights in Lapland.
Recommendations:
Accommodations: Crowne Plaza Hotel and Hotel Helka
Food: Casa Largo and Sea Horse or Street Food (Highly Recommended)
Shopping: Stockmann’s Department Store and Marimekko
Where to visit: Temppeliaukio Church (Rock Church) and the Sibelius Monum
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I would love to go to Finland, I’ve seen so many pictures of it and I would love to go to see the northern lights there. Thanks for a good little guide.
Thanks for the insight on Finland. Would love to watch and photograph the Northern Light, but the distance but worried on the distance in travel. Loved the photos
I heard Finland is an introvert’s paradise. Would love to visit this place just for that reason. And also Santa’s hometown can not be missed.
It’s heaven on earth! I’m serious!
Meeting Santa Claus is a good enough reason to visit Finland for me hahaha 😊. A visit to the Nordic country has been long on my list, especially to witness the Northern Lights. Hope to visit by next year. Thanks for the share.
You will love it. Be sure to visit the northern and southern parts of the country. Much to see and experience.
I visited Helsinki, Finland this year and loved it, as a male traveler I also felt safe! I loved the UNESCO site, Suomenlinna but unfortunately I didn’t make it to the Temppeliaukio Church. On my next visit I’ll definitely visit the Temppeliaukio Church, maybe see the northern lights too!
The church is very interesting. I was blown away by how grand yet simple it was. Definitely worth it to visit Finland.
I’ve always wanted to take a Nordic tour, so I really enjoyed this post! Helsinki looks like an amazing place to start my adventure
Glad you liked it. I really love northern Europe.
I love Northern Europe, and my best friend has just moved to Helsinki so lots of excises to visit! I’ll definitely be bookmarking some of your experiences and advice!
Finland is on our list. We loved it in Copenhagen and live in Austria, so it is not hard to get to Finland. I am sure we would have a great time.
[…] inspired to start my blog after a trip to Finland. Check out some of the reasons why I love Finland here. After visiting Helsinki and learning about the education system I became even more curious about […]