Vital Statistics | Weather | Food | Seasons | Nuisances | Why we love Finland

From Finland with Love

Finland is one of Europe’s best-kept secrets. Its unspoilt and unpopulated wilderness offers peace, quiet and freedom to roam. Whether you want to relax in a quiet spot by a lake, on your own island in the sea, or to get involved in one of the many outdoor activities on offer, Finland has something for everyone.

After a history of relative isolation, Finland is now more accessible and the world is waking up to its beauty and charms. Finland is a modern European country, but it retains a distinctly individual character with quirky customs and an even quirkier language.

Uncommercial

Part of Finland’s charm is the vast areas of land with no man-made distractions and nothing at all to buy! With the exception of the big cities, most towns offer what you need, but not much more and there is unlikely to be anyone forcing tacky souvenirs on tourists. In fact, Finns will generally leave you well alone unless you ask for help and, well, there aren’t very many tourists.

Land of forests, lakes and islands

What gives Finnish scenery its own particular charm is the dense forests interspersed with countless lakes, ponds and rivers; drive along a road and sooner or later the forest will part revealing a sparkling lake or pond. The lakes are dotted with small islands, some with summer cabins on them, most deserted and waiting for you to explore. This pattern continues on the coast, where Europe’s largest archipelago totals some 95,000 islands.

Finns and visitors alike enjoy ‘Everyman’s Right’ which allows you access to all land. In general, Finns leave each other in peace; so don’t moor up too close to a summer cabin. However, every island and every forest path is open to you.

Your own private beach?

The coastline of Finland is over a thousand kilometres long. However, if islands and lakeshores are included the total jumps to about 130,000 kilometres. This means 33m of shoreline for every person and an almost complete guarantee of privacy and peace in all but crowded resorts. Most summer cabins are built just back from the shore and have their own unique access to the water.

Midnight Sun

In the far north of the country the sun does not set for about 73 days, producing the white nights of summer. At midsummer in the south of country the period between sunset and sunrise isjust a couple of hours, although it never really gets dark.

North of the Arctic Circle, the darkest part of winter is the period known as the ‘polar night’, when the sun does not rise above the horizon at all. In the northernmost extremity of Finland, the polar night lasts for 51 days. In southern Finland, the shortest day is about 6 hours long.