City Life & Culture

Finland owes much of her distinctive flavour to the intriguing history with twists and turns to match a great suspense novel. The centuries-long influence from both East and West is manifested in architecture and cultural heritage. Finland has both old medieval cities and newer industrial cities to discover, built by the Swedes, the Russians and the Finns themselves. Buildings designed by the world renowned architect Alvar Aalto can be found in almost all the major Finnish cities.

But what are buildings without people and culture! Finns are culturally oriented people. There are orchestras and theatres in all the larger cities, not to mention the hundreds of cultural festivals organised in the summer all around the country. Music, featuring famous composers, conductors, musicians and performers, is internationally recognised. Also the minimalistic, functional and yet colourful art and design catered by various Finnish artists and designers is unique in its style and can be found in several stores, shops, galleries and museums. The cities also offer excellent facilities for leisure activities. Nights can be spent in classy hotels, fuelled by superb Nordic cuisine and a great variety of cultural and sporting events. Yet, even in the largest cities, nature is always close by.