By way of an introduction, Finland is situated between the 60th and 70th degree of latitiude, covering an area of 130,000 square miles – 10% of this area is covered by water. It has a population of approximately 5 million people. The land in the north of Finland forms part of Lapland, an area inhabitated [...]

Take the Tram A tram tour, lasting about an hour, goes for the price of a tram ticket. The tram does a figure 8 to pass all the major city sights. They provide a brochure in English, which includes a well-marked map. Be sure to ask for "Helsinki Sightseeing 3T". The comprehensive and economical Helsinki [...]

We’ll finish this with a Finnish dish of Finnish fish like this… Perch Fillets with Mushroom and Sweetbread Stuffing The Finns love to drink and they love to eat. Perch, the Finnish national fish, is prepared delicately. The following recipe is the absolutely preferred recipe for the first perch of Spring: Ingredients 1/4 cup prawns [...]

Finland is located in Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north, Russia in the East and Estonia in the south. The 7th largest European country, Finland is mostly forests – over 2/3 of the country is covered in trees. There are almost 200,000 lakes containing 100,000 islands and [...]

Eating Out Food is consistently good. The favorite bar snack is a black sausage with a hard bread, accompanied by a hearty beer. Major hotels have a variety of international cuisine; the only casino in Finland is in the Ramada Presidentti Hotel located in downtown Helsinki, next to the Parliament House. Any of this hotel’s [...]

Tour Operators Sightseeing tours by bus, of the city and surrounding points of interest, are available year round. Tours from an hour to all day are available and the buses make pickups at your hotel. During the summer months, a waterbus tour of the Helsinki shoreline operates about once an hour from the Market Square [...]

I doubt you will find as many museums anywhere else in the world; following is a partial listing of museums available in the Helsinki area. Most are open during normal working hours all year round; some have guided tours. Fees, if any, are reasonable, and exhibits are excellent. The Finns are proud of their art, [...]

Loviisa. Located 54 miles east of Helsinki, this town belies the strong Russian influences along flavors of the eastern branch. There’s a historic residential district, the notable island fortress of Svartholm, and a pair of land fortresses (Ungern and Rosen) that offer insight into how the Swedes and Russians guarded the King’s Road from raids. [...]

Turku. This is Finland’s oldest town, third largest city, and former territorial capital (until Sweden lost Finland to Russia in 1809). Turku is the western terminus of the King’s Road and a ferry port to Stockholm and the Aland Islands. Topping the list of historic attractions are the sprawling 13th-century Turku Castle — Finland’s best-known [...]

During the 600 years Finland belonged to the Sweden, the Swedish royal court and its couriers traveled a road through Finland that ran to St. Petersburg. Hamlets, castles and forts sprung up along what naturally came to be called "The King’s Road." In modern times, the route consists of two branches of comfortably paved country [...]