The Glories of the Helsinki Region

After taking a couple of city tours and wandering around Helsinki city centre, you may want to explore a bit further out...unless, of course, you're a couch potato.

The neighbouring city of Espoo is much appreciated for its beautiful beaches, its scenic islands and its diversity of shops and restaurants. As for culture, the WeeGee Exhibition Center contains five museums under one roof: Emma, Finland's biggest art museum, the Espoo City Museum, a museum of foreign cultures, a toy museum and a horology museum to help you keep track of the time you spending in this huge place. There is also the magnificent Espoo Cathedral dating back to1480, Glims Farmstead Museum, and Haikaranpesä water tower where you can enjoy a splendid lunch while you marvel at the breathtaking seascapes and landscapes of Espoo...let's hope you're not afraid of heights.

Espoo offers a plethora of recreation activities, everything from Serena, the largest tropical water park in Europe, to the Nuuksio wilderness area with its rich variety of flora and fauna...and lack of fast-food restaurants. And just beyond Espoo is Hvitträsk, the former studio and living quarters of the great architects Saarinen, Gesellius and Lindgren.

Vantaa, sometimes called the Airport City, is known for its excellent hotels, agreeable restaurants and abundant shopping opportunities. The Vantaa River, which flows through the city, provides an idyllic landscape with eye-pleasing rapids, inviting shorelines and tranquil rowing sites.

The city’s cultural offerings include Heureka, Finland’s foremost science centre with world-class exhibitions; Helsinge Parish Village, the magnificently preserved 18th century community of houses and buildings; and the Aviation Museum featuring the colourful history of Finnish flying. The city is full of surprising, serene settings such as Kuusijärvi Outdoor Center, Nissbacka Manor’s sculpture park, Viherpaja Japanese Garden and the many undisturbed green areas.

Then, if you go a bit further north of Vantaa there are Järvenpää and Tuusula. Järvenpää has various important sites of cultural significance including Ainola and Villa Kokkonen. Ainola – the former residence of composer Jean Sibelius and his wife Aino – is today a home museum and preserved as it was during Sibelius' time. Villa Kokkonen is a private home designed by architect Alvar Aalto, to be a home as well as a place of work for composer Joonas Kokkonen.

The nearby Tuusula also has a rich cultural atmosphere. Homes of many famous artists of the turn of the 19^th and 20^th century, who were actively involved in the forming of the Finnish national identity, can be found along the shores of Lake Tuusula. On the road that follows the shore you can still enjoy the historical setting and pay a visit to one of its several attractions, e.g. to Halosenniemi, the studio home of the painter Pekka Halonen in National Romantic style. Right at the start of this museum road, amid this nationally prestigious environment, is located Krapi, which today operates as a business offering first class accommodation and restaurant services together with a wide variety of activities.

So, it's definitely worth investigating the surroundings of the capital city. After all, most people can claim to have visited a marketplace or a church...but how many have dined at the top of a high water tower?

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