Finland: UNESCO World Heritage, Nature and Sauna

Finland offers a wide range of reasons to visit: UNESCO World Heritage, Bronze Age history, national parks and a deeply rooted sauna culture each give a trip its own focus. When planning your hotel stay, you can first consider whether you want to focus on cultural sites, nature experiences or both. The places and activities below offer some concrete ideas.

World Heritage and history

Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Finland’s most popular attractions. The HSL ferry connects Helsinki Market Square with Suomenlinna year-round; the crossing takes about 15 minutes. It’s helpful to check the timetable before your visit. On the island, the Blue Route runs for about 1.5 kilometres in one direction. Blue signs and a blue line on maps mark the route. There are also five museums: the route and museums offer different ways to tailor your visit to the distance you want to walk and your interest in exhibitions.

The Kvarken Archipelago is also a unique natural heritage site: it is Finland’s first natural World Heritage site. Together with Sweden’s High Coast, it forms a geological complex shaped by land uplift. The cross-border perspective is part of the landscape’s story. For travellers interested in geology and the development of coastlines, it offers a different way to experience World Heritage than the island and museum visits on Suomenlinna.

Another historic destination is Sammallahdenmäki, an exceptionally valuable Bronze Age site in Lappi, Rauma, in Lower Satakunta. The Verla Groundwood and Board Mill, in turn, is a unique, small-scale industrial complex from the early years of Finland’s wood-processing industry. The Aalto Works comprise 13 architectural sites spread across Finland that are recognised as a serial UNESCO World Heritage property. A Bronze Age site, early wood processing and a nationwide architectural ensemble offer three distinct historical perspectives.

National parks and outdoor activities

Nuuksio National Park has more than 30 kilometres of marked trails. One option is the two-kilometre Maahisenkierros Circle Trail, which is suitable for wheelchair users and families with pushchairs or strollers. You can choose between the larger network of marked trails and the shorter Maahisenkierros Circle Trail. In summer, local providers rent out canoes, SUP boards and fat bikes in Nuuksio National Park.

In the Archipelago National Park, you can go boating, canoeing, swimming, diving, hiking and cycling. The national park protects a large part of the world’s largest archipelago and encompasses more than 2,000 islands. Koli offers a different focus, with its hills and lakes providing opportunities for outings and activities throughout the year. If you want to focus on water, the Archipelago National Park offers suitable activities; Nuuksio and Koli each offer different options for trails and year-round outings.

In Finland, everyone has the right of public access, which allows people to walk, cycle, ski and forage in nature regardless of land ownership. Local restrictions and national park rules must be observed. These rights and conditions are particularly relevant if nature experiences are part of your travel plans: they describe what is possible, but the rules of each area still apply.

Sauna and Finnish food culture

The Finnish sauna is deeply rooted in tradition and open to everyone. Finnish cities from the Lakeland to Lapland have several public saunas that visitors can use. This means you can consider sauna not only as a tradition but also as a possible activity during your trip. Which sauna is right for a particular stay depends on the places you include in your plans.

Baking together can also offer a glimpse into Finland’s culinary history. At a rye bread workshop, visitors hear stories, learn old techniques and take home a piece of Finnish culinary history. Availability of such workshops varies by provider. Experiences awarded the Sustainable Travel Finland label also include berry picking, mushroom foraging and gathering wild foods for holidaymakers; offerings may change.

The range of experiences makes it possible to plan different kinds of trips, without needing to settle on a single focus for all of Finland. Find hotels in Finland to suit the themes that interest you most on your trip.

Discover more destinations

Discover more destinations: Varsinais-Suomi, Eastern Uusimaa, Ostrobothnia, South Ostrobothnia, Central Ostrobothnia, Kainuu, Northern Ostrobothnia, North Karelia, Northern Savonia, Central Finland, South Karelia, Lapland, Lake Saimaa, Uusimaa, Kanta-Häme, South Savo, Kymenlaakso, Satakunta, Pirkanmaa, Päijät-Häme

For the main travel overview: Europe.