Europe Traveler

Archive for the ‘Finland Travel Info’ Category

Ähtäri Zoo is a natural wildlife park near the town of Ähtäri, quite near the middle of the province of Western Finland. With an area of 60 hectares that has a varied terrain and flora, Ähtäri Zoo is able to provide a natural and reasonably spacious environment for their animals. Ahtari zoo has about 300 animals that belong to over 60 different species, mostly ones that live on the coniferous forest zone. In addition to providing a natural environment for its inhabitants, Ähtäri zoo also aims to promote knowledge of animals and nature, as well as to provide educational materials.

Lynx is one of the many species of animals in Ähtäri Zoo.

The animal species that are available for seeing in this zoo include bears, wild boars, snow leopards, european bisons, wolverines, arctic foxes, lynx, and much more. A recent arrival in the zoo were the snow leopards. The walking route through the zoo is about 3 km long. Ähtäri zoo is open every day around the year.

For additional information, see Ähtäri Zoo website.

The Santa Claus Village is located on the Arctic Circle in Northern Finland, in the vicinity of the city of Rovaniemi, just 2 km from the international airport of Rovaniemi. Visiting Santa’s Village can be an unforgettable experience for the whole family. See the Santa Claus Post Office, Santa Claus’s Office, Christmas Exhibition, and other attractions. Even more notably, you’ll get a chance to chat with Santa himself! Or how would you like to go to a snowmobile safari in the Arctic Circle Snowmobile Park?

Santa Claus Village is located near the city of Rovaniemi

There are restaurants and shops that sell Santa Claus and Lapland related items, and all of this takes place in the captivating Arctic environment. See also the Santa Claus Park that is connected to the village. It has been ranked by Topworld International as the 2nd best travel adventure in Finland.

For more information, see Santa Claus Village

Pori Jazz Festival – Brief Introduction
Pori Jazz Festival is one of among the oldest and most well-known jazz festivals in Europe, and evaluated on the basis of ticket sales, it is Finland’s biggest festival. The festivals are held annually in the city of Pori which is located on the west coast of Finland. Many of the concernts are held in Kirjurinluoto, including the Pori Delta Arena (also known as Kirjurinluoto Arena) which was built in 2001 and has the capacity for 80.000 people. Though the focus is obviously on various forms of jazz music, the variety of genres include other forms of pop music as well. Such big names as James Brown, Phil Collins, Bob Dylan, Alicia Keys, Jamiroquai, Stevie Wonder, Erykah Badu, Paul Anka, and many others have performed at the festivals.

Over 250.000 people attend Pori Jazz Festival each year.

Pori Jazz Festival 2010
This year’s festival is held 17-25th of July, and this is the 45th time that the festival has been held. Sharon Jones, Toto, Tori Amos, Gotan Project, N.E.R.D, Melody Gardot, Mayer Hawthorne, Massive Attack, Jeff Beck, and many more. The complete list of performers can be seen here.

Useful Resources
Hotels in Pori
Tickets to Pori Jazz Festival
Pori Jazz (official site)

Korkeasaari is an island in the Finnish capital city Helsinki, close to the city centre north of Kruununvuonselkä. It is the location for Finland’s largest zoo. Helsinki Zoo, also known as Korkeasaari Zoo, is among the most popular tourist destinations in Helsinki.

How to Get There
There is a bridge that connects the Island to the adjacent Mustikkamaa island, which in turn is connected via a bridge to Kulosaari, thus providing a route from mainland to Korkeavuori. In the summertimes, one can also get to Korkeasaari by ferry or water bus. For details on transportation, see here.

Animals and Plants in Korkeasaari
The diversity of nature is visible in Korkeasaari’s Zoo. When visiting the zoo, one travels from rainforest to tundra and from mountain peaks to wetlands. Among the 150 animal species that are on display, one can find such creatures as amur leopard, amurtiger, snow leopard, visent, emu, red wallaby, brown bear, snowy owl, camel, various kinds of monkey, and much more. There are also almost 1000 plant species in Korkeasaari.

Helsinki Zoo has amur leopards and snow leopards.

Services at Korkeasaari
There is a restaurant and a café at Korkeasaari. Buffet lunch and meals from standard menu are available. There are two shops that sell souvenirs and items like film and batteries for camera. There are alsothree kiosks and two cafes that are open only during the summertime.

Online Resources
Helsinki Zoo (Korkeasaari)

Forum Marinum is a Finnish National Special Museum in the city of Turku. It focuses on naval history and merchant shipping. It is also a Maritime Center in active use.

Suomen Joutsen (the Swan of Finland) is perhaps the most well-known item that can be seen at Forum Marinum. It is a full-rigger that was built in France in 1902 and it is considered to be a national ship of Finland. in 1930, it was bought by the Finnish government and prior to the second world war, it was used in 8 long ocean voyages. It was also used as a training ship for the Navy.

Suomen Joutsen

While Suomen Joutsen is the biggest attraction in Forum Marinum, its other exhibitions and collections are also interesting, and a tourist who has a special interest in seafaring and maritime history will probably find it to be a fascinating place to visit.

Online Resources
Forum Marinum

The Baltic Sea is an ideal setting for tourists who want to experience the luxury of spending time on a cruise ship while traveling between the countries that surround the beautiful Baltic sea. This form of transportation certainly beats a bus or train trip, and in some cases, it is also significantly faster, as well as reasonably priced.

The cruise ships sail on various routes between the coastal cities of Sweden, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Latvia, Poland, Denmark, and Germany. Some of the cruise ship lines are Viking Line, Tallink Silja, and Seawind Line.

From the passenger’s point of view, the cruise ship is more like a combination of a hotel, restaurants, shopping malls, casinos, and night clubs (but one that also just happens to float) than it is anything that one might associate with a regular ship that travels across the seas.

In addition to providing a means of transportation and recreation, a cruise can also function as an exciting setting for a conference.

Viking Line is one of the more popular cruise ship lines that sail the Baltic sea

Designed by the great Finnish architect Alvar Aalto in 1962, the Finlandia Hall is a popular tourist destination in Helsinki. It was built between 1967 and 1972. The style of the building has been charecterized as decorative functionalism. It stands to the north of the Municipal Museum in Helsinki, on the Töölöö Bay shores. Its main concert hall seats 1700, and it has some smaller halls as well.

The Finlandia Hall is the leading congress, event and entertainment venue in Finland. Many international conferences have been hosted there.

Finlandia Hall was designed by the famous Finnish architect Alvar Aalto

Online Resources
Finlandia Hall Website

Särkänniemi adventure Park is located in a beautiful spot on the shore of the lake Näsijärvi in the city of Tampere. It boasts a good variety of attractions that are likely to offer something of interest to just about anybody who pays a visit there.

Sarkanniemi Amusement Park

The attractions are as follows:

Amusement Park
Offers 35 different rides, ranging from ones that are intended for small children to the wild and speedy rides that may make even the more courageous want to scream.

Aquarium
Features more than 200 species of fish and sea animals, and over 3000 individual animals in total. Is built in two stories.

Childrens Zoo
Over 3o species and 200 individuals of cute and lovely animals. In a pleasant green environment.

Dolphinarium
Being the northernmost dolphinarium in the world, it features the world’s first chlorine-free, biological water purification system. Its five bottlenose dolphins can be seen in exhibition shows several times each day.

Sarkanniemi Dolphinarium

Näsinneula Tower
This 168 metres high tower is the tallest observation tower in the Nordic countries.

Planetarium
Offers spectacular and easy to understand audiovisual multimedia presentations on various subjects related to astronomy and planetary science. Narration is available in English, Russian, Swedish, and of course Finnish.

Sara Hilden Art Museum
Maintained by the city of Tampere, this museum features contemporary art (both Finnish and international) that is owned by the Sara Hildén Foundation.

For more information, see Särkänniemi’s Website

Jean Sibelius (1865–1957) was Finland’s greatest composer who is best known for his seven symphonies and compositions such as Finlandia, and the Karelia Suite. The Sibelius Monument is located in the Sibelius Park (Sibeliuspuisto in Finnish) in the district of Töölöö.

The Sibelius Monument in Helsinki

The monument was designed by Eila Hiltunen and it was unveiled in 1967. It is a piece of abstract art, consisting of over 600 hollow steel pipes. The monument is one of the more popular tourist attractions in Helsinki.

The Sibelius Monument seen from below.

The Helsinki Cathedral (Helsingin tuomiokirkko in Finnish) had its 200th anniversary in 2002. Located on a hill that can be viewed from most southeastern parts of the Helsinki city centre, this beautiful neoclassical style white cathedral with a green dome is an essential part of the silhouettes of Helsinki.

The cathedral was built in 1830–1852 in a place that was previously occupied by a smaller chuch called the Church of Ulrika Eleonora. Being built as a tribute to the Tzar of Russia, Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the cathedral was called St. Nicholas’ Church until Finland gained independence in 1917.

The cathedral is among the most popular tourist attractions in the city. More than 350.000 people visit the church annually. The cathedral is in regular use both in Worship services and as in weddings and other special events. It has a capacity of 1300 seats.