Finns enjoy simple pleasures – like clean air, pure water and walking around in the woods – to the fullest. Finnish happiness is the calm and peaceful type; it’s an appreciation for how things work and the ability to pause and admire the little things in life.
Things such as: spending time in nature from forests to fells, enjoying a good steam in the sauna, that quintessential Finnish steam bath, and soaking up the endless sports and cultural offerings from live music to visual art, biking and skiing.
Europe’s most densely forested country is a place where you can find saunas in any constellation or location; hike through more than 41 national parks while breathing in the world’s cleanest air; cycle under the Midnight Sun, and enjoy world-class art, design events and undisturbed island hopping.
Saunas
Image: Visit Finland
The healing power of nature is the core of Finnish sauna. With around 75% of Finland covered in forest and more than 188,000 lakes, the most authentic way to have a sauna bathe is in a shore of a lake or the Baltic Sea. It is the perfect place to relax, rest, cherish health, and engage in social interaction. Saunas can be found literally everywhere, like in Tampere, the sauna Capital of the world, where there are more than 43 public saunas to visit. Saunas can be found in every hotel and swimming pool in every Finnish city.
The Midnight Sun
Summer in Finland is a spectacular time of the year. For those who venture north of the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set at all from May to August, while further south the sun can be visible for nearly around the clock during June and July.
When nights are almost as light as day it is possible to do all the same things that you would do during the day. The greatest difference comes from the incredible change in the nature of the light. The sun takes on a reddish-yellow colour – almost like during sunrise or sunset – and everything around you is bathed in an unimaginably warm, bright light.
The Midnight Sun extends your day with those extra hours you keep hoping for in your daily life. Make use of it and go hiking, canoeing, fishing or play a round of golf in the wee hours.
Photographer Tiina Tahvanainen. Image: Visit Finland
Tree Hugging
Every summer nature lovers gather together in Levi, Finnish Lapland, to see who can best express their passion for trees at the Tree Hugging World Championships. The cuddly competition is all about tapping into the benefits that forests have for mind and body in Europe’s much-forested country. It takes place on 19 August 2023, in Kittilä, Finnish Lapland.
Image: Visit Finland/Photographer: Harri Tarvainen
Blog posts about Finland
See blog posts here about the trip.