Finland

Finland - the land of a thousand lakes, sauna, Sisu, Sibelius and an archipelago with around 6,500 islands in the Baltic Sea. Finland has snowy winters, pleasantly warm summers, and colourful spring and autumn. Nature's habit of granting Finland the midnight sun during summer and robbing it of day during winter has a profound effect on the national character. Winter is commonly accompanied by peace while summer is a time of relief and pleasure-seeking. Although like the climate, Finns are considered to be cool, a bit quiet and reserved - in reality they are warm, friendly, hospitable and honest people.

Tours in Helsinki will help you to discover a northern European country. During the winter months visitors can enjoy a skiing holiday in Lapland or visit Santa Claus and take a reindeer tour. Summer offers a wide variety of activities from trekking and urban holidays to relaxing at a hidden summer cottage with a sauna. The mainland with its vast forests and thousands of lakes and the Baltic Sea archipelagos offer plenty of possibilities for sailing and fishing. The summer season in Helsinki has many different happenings, otherwise tourists can enjoy the space and silence in pure northern nature, which is never more than half an hour away.

Your daily grind will quickly be forgotten in the unique natural surroundings of Finland. Finland's ruggedly beautiful wilderness provides the ideal terrain for outdoor activities like fishing, snowmobiling, skiing, dog sledding, sailing, kayaking or hiking. Eat berries from the forest, drink from a mountain brook or guide your raft down the white waters of a northern river.

Contrasts are the main ingredient of cultural life in Finland. Here, high-tech engineers and bohemian designers live happily side by side. Finns dance to a modern Western beat spiced with a traditional melody from the East. Discover heavy metal played on cellos, films with virtually no dialogue and art museums collaborating with skateboarders.

Finland is not a land for mass tourism. But those who are attracted by Finland's rugged northern interior can enjoy Europe's largest unspoilt wilderness here.