Kuopio: Nature Trails and Cultural History

Kuopio offers a range of options for your trip: the forests and trails of Puijo, as well as museums, parks and historic buildings. If you’re looking for a hotel in Kuopio, first consider whether nature trails, museums or historic sites will shape your itinerary.

Puijo: Forest, Trails and Activities

About 200 hectares of the forests on Puijo are protected. Most of the forests in the Puijo area are part of the European Union’s Natura network. Activities and recreation options include disc golf, cross-country skiing and mountain biking.

There are three nature trails in the Puijo area, each about two kilometres long. The Puijo Trail has an elevation difference of more than 100 metres and is challenging in places due to its steep sections. At the summit, there is an accessible nature trail about 200 metres long. The trails have different features: the approximate lengths of the nature trails, the elevation difference and steep sections of the Puijo Trail, and the accessible design of the short summit trail.

The Puijonnokka shelter offers a place to rest and cook sausages over an open fire. From there, you can enjoy a good view of the northern part of Lake Kallavesi. The Konttila Trail lets you explore old-growth forests and Konttila’s traditional cultural landscape. Konttila is an old croft belonging to a vicarage and represents the traditional hill-settlement landscape of Eastern Finland. Information boards along the Puijo Trail cover the surrounding nature, former towers on Puijo, sledding and the area’s cultural history.

City History on Foot

The easy, self-guided City Center Walking Tour passes through culturally significant sites and parks. It is about two kilometres long and takes an hour. Historic buildings and alleys in the city centre are part of the Kuopio National Urban Park; the public beach at Väinölänniemi is also part of the park.

Snellman Park is Kuopio’s oldest park. The park and its surroundings are among the city’s most significant historic areas. The town hall is a protected building within a nationally significant built cultural environment. The cathedral also tells the story of the city: it was built in 1816 to plans by P. W. Palmroth, was Kuopio’s fifth church and, when it was built, was considered the city’s first public stone building.

Museums and Cultural Sites

Kuopio has four museums within the city. Their exhibitions cover visual arts, regional history and the nature of Eastern Finland. The Kuopio Museum is Finland’s third-oldest museum building. Its permanent exhibition takes visitors on a journey through the region, from the history of North Savo to the changing nature of Eastern Finland.

The exhibition “The Age of Humans” tells the story of North Savo from the Stone Age, when people arrived in the area, to the latest cultural trends. “Nature in Flux” explores the history and current state of nature in Eastern Finland. The second floor of the Kuopio Museum also has an engaging play space for younger museum visitors.

The Old Kuopio Museum is a historic wooden quarter in the centre of Kuopio, consisting of eleven old wooden houses. The interiors show how people in Kuopio lived from the late 18th century to the 1930s. Visitors can discover life in times gone by and learn more about Minna Canth, a pioneering advocate for gender equality and a writer. The Kuopio Art Museum has exhibition, visitor and meeting spaces.

Music and Events

The Kuopio Music Centre is home to the Kuopio Symphony Orchestra and hosts concerts by well-known Finnish popular music artists. The venue also offers facilities for meetings, conferences and exhibitions.

Discover more destinations: Mustinlahti, Runni, Hiltulanlahti, Varkaus, Siilinjärvi, Suonenjoki, Rautalampi, Airaksela

For the broader travel overview: North Savo.