Helsinki Travel Guide - Day Trips

Gallen-Kallela Estate: situated at the edge of the sea, about six miles to the north-west of Helsinki and surrounded by magnificent pines, is the former home of the Finnish painter Gallen-Kallela. The home was designed by the painter and built in brick and stucco. He lived here from the completion of the construction in 1913 until his death in 1931.

Today, the rooms of the home’s interior, which included the artist’s former working spaces, display many of his works, as well as posters and sketches he made in preparation for the Paris Art Exposition in the early 1900s.

Hvittrask: at the north-western edge of Espoo you’ll come across Hvittrask, the studio complex and home of noted architects Gesellius, Lindgren and Saarinen. Situated in an idyllic spot atop a wooded slope, the structures date to the early 1900s and have since been turned into a museum.

Ainola: is the former home of the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It can be found about 30 miles to the north of Helsinki and was named after Sibelius’ wife, Aino. This intimate structure was built in 1904 in this wooded spot and today is open from late spring through the summer months to the public as a museum.

The parliament (or ‘diet’) of the first Duchy of Finland was held in the 1800s here, in the 15th century cathedral called Porvoon Tuomiokirkko. The Porvoo Museo, located inside the historic town hall chronicles the region's cultural and social past in a series of exhibits on daily life throughout the years. An art museum, also well worth visiting, is located adjacent to the Porvoo Museo.

Santa Claus Village: if you’re a real devotee of all things related to Christmas, this is the perfect place for you to visit. Santa’s ‘secret hideaway’ is a quaint, albeit commercialised attraction in Lapland, a region of northern Finland, where the great man himself meets and greets a half million visitors each year.