Finland

Finland (Finnish: Suomi, Swedish: Finland) is one of the Nordic countries in northern Europe.

The country has comfortable small towns and cities, as well as vast areas of unspoiled nature. About 10% of the area is made up by 188,000 lakes, with a similar number of islands.

Finland extends into the Arctic, where the Northern Lights and the Midnight Sun can be seen. The mythical mountain of Korvatunturi is said to be the home of Santa Claus, and there is a Santaland in Rovaniemi.

While Finland is a high-technology welfare state, Finns love to head to their summer cottages in the warmer months to enjoy all manner of relaxing pastimes including sauna, swimming, fishing and barbecuing during the short but bright summer. Finland has a distinctive language and culture that sets it apart from the rest of Nordic Europe. While Finnish culture is ancient, the country became independent only in 1917.

The current formal divisions of the country do not correspond well to geographical or cultural boundaries, and are not used here. Formerly regions and provinces did correspond; many people identify with their region (maakunta/landskap), but mostly according to historic boundaries. These regions include Tavastia (Häme), covering a large area of central Finland around Tampere, Savonia (Savo) in the eastern part of the lakeland and Karelia (Karjala) to the far east. Much of Finnish Karelia was lost to the Soviet Union in World War II, which still is a sore topic in some circles.

• Helsinki. — the "Daughter of the Baltic", Finland's capital and largest city by far, including Espoo and Vantaa
• Jyväskylä. — a university town in Central Finland
• Oulu. — a technology city at the end of the Gulf of Bothnia
• Rauma. — largest wooden old town in the Nordics and a UNESCO World Heritage site
• Rovaniemi. — gateway to Lapland and home of Santa Claus Village
• Savonlinna. — a small lakeside town with a big castle and a popular opera festival.
• Tampere. — an industrial city, home of culture, music, art and museums
• Turku. — the former capital on the western coast. Medieval castle and cathedral.
• Vaasa. — a town with strong Swedish influences on the west coast located near the UNESCO world natural site Kvarken Archipelago

Helsinki. — the "Daughter of the Baltic", Finland's capital and largest city by far, including [[Espoo]] and [[Vantaa]]

Jyväskylä. — a university town in Central Finland

Oulu. — a technology city at the end of the Gulf of Bothnia

Rauma. — largest wooden old town in the Nordics and a UNESCO World Heritage site

Rovaniemi. — gateway to [[Finnish Lapland|Lapland]] and home of Santa Claus Village

Savonlinna. — a small lakeside town with a big castle and a popular opera festival.

Tampere. — an industrial city, home of culture, music, art and museums

Turku. — the former capital on the western coast. Medieval castle and cathedral.

Vaasa. — a town with strong Swedish influences on the west coast located near the UNESCO world natural site [[Kvarken Archipelago]]

• Archipelago Sea. - hundreds and hundreds of islands from the mainland all the way to Åland
• Finnish national parks, other protected areas, hiking areas or wilderness areas., e.g.
  • Koli National Park. – scenic national park in Eastern Finland, symbol for the nature of the country
  • Lemmenjoki National Park. – gold digging grounds of Lapland, and one of the largest wilderness areas in Europe
  • Nuuksio National Park. – pint-sized but pretty national park a stone's throw from Helsinki
• Kilpisjärvi. - "the Arm of Finland" offers scenic views and the highest hills in Finland
• Levi., Saariselkä and Ylläs – popular winter sports resorts in Lapland
• Suomenlinna. – island off the coast of Helsinki where there is a 18–19th century fort that you can visit by ferry
  

Archipelago Sea. - hundreds and hundreds of islands from the mainland all the way to [[Åland]]

Finnish national parks, other protected areas, hiking areas or wilderness areas., e.g.

• Koli National Park. – scenic national park in Eastern Finland, symbol for the nature of the country
• Lemmenjoki National Park. – gold digging grounds of Lapland, and one of the largest wilderness areas in Europe
• Nuuksio National Park. – pint-sized but pretty national park a stone's throw from Helsinki

Finnish national parks, other protected areas, hiking areas or wilderness areas., e.g.

• Koli National Park. – scenic national park in Eastern Finland, symbol for the nature of the country
• Lemmenjoki National Park. – gold digging grounds of Lapland, and one of the largest wilderness areas in Europe
• Nuuksio National Park. – pint-sized but pretty national park a stone's throw from Helsinki

Finnish national parks, other protected areas, hiking areas or wilderness areas., e.g.

• Koli National Park. – scenic national park in Eastern Finland, symbol for the nature of the country
• Lemmenjoki National Park. – gold digging grounds of Lapland, and one of the largest wilderness areas in Europe
• Nuuksio National Park. – pint-sized but pretty national park a stone's throw from Helsinki

Finnish national parks, other protected areas, hiking areas or wilderness areas., e.g.

• Koli National Park. – scenic national park in Eastern Finland, symbol for the nature of the country
• Lemmenjoki National Park. – gold digging grounds of Lapland, and one of the largest wilderness areas in Europe
• Nuuksio National Park. – pint-sized but pretty national park a stone's throw from Helsinki

Kilpisjärvi. - "the Arm of Finland" offers scenic views and the highest hills in Finland

Levi., [[Saariselkä]] and [[Ylläs]] – popular winter sports resorts in Lapland

Suomenlinna. – island off the coast of Helsinki where there is a 18–19th century fort that you can visit by ferry

Not much is known about Finland's early history, with archaeologists still debating when and where a tribe of Finno-Ugric speakers cropped up. The earliest certain evidence of human settlement is from 8900 BC. Roman historian Tacitus mentions a primitive and savage hunter tribe called Fenni in 100 AD, though there is no unanimity whether this means Finns or Sami. Even the Vikings chose not to settle, fearing the famed shamans of the area, and instead traded and plundered along the coasts.

In the mid-1150s Sweden started out to conquer and Christianize the Finnish pagans in earnest, with Birger Jarl incorporating most of the country into Sweden in 1249. While the population was Finnish-speaking, the Swedish kings installed a Swedish-speaking class of clergy and nobles in Finland, and enforced Western Christianity, succeeding in eliminating local animism and to a large part even Russian Orthodoxy. Finland remained as an integral part of Sweden until the 19th century, although there was near-constant warfare with Russia on the eastern border and two brief occupations. Along with Sweden, Finland converted to Lutheran Protestantism, which also led to widespread literacy in Finnish and still defines many aspects of Finnish culture. After Sweden's final disastrous defeat in the Finnish War of 1808–1809, Finland became an autonomous grand duchy under Russian rule.

The Finnish nation was built during the Russian time, while the Swedish heritage provided the political framework. The Finnish language, literature, music and arts developed, with active involvement by the (mostly Swedish speaking) educated class. Russian rule alternated between benevolence and repression and there was already a significant independence movement when Russia plunged into war and revolutionary chaos in 1917. Parliament seized the chance (after a few rounds of internal conflicts) and declared independence in December, quickly gaining Soviet assent, but the country promptly plunged into a brief but bitter civil war between the conservative Whites and the socialist Reds, eventually won by the Whites.

During World War II, Finland was attacked by the Soviet Union in the Winter War, but fought them to a standstill that saw the USSR conquer 12% of Finnish territory. Finland then allied with Germany in an unsuccessful attempt to repel the Soviets and regain the lost territory, was defeated and, as a condition for peace, had to turn against Germany instead. Thus Finland fought three separate wars during World War II. In the end, Finland lost much of Karelia and Finland's second city Vyborg (Viipuri, Viborg), but the Soviets paid a heavy price with over 300,000 dead. The lost territory was evacuated in a massive operation, in which the former inhabitants, and thus Karelian culture, were redistributed all over the country.

After the war, Finland lay in the grey zone between the Western countries and the Soviet Union. The Finno-Soviet Pact of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance committed Finland to resist armed attacks by "Germany or its allies" (read: the West), but also allowed Finland to stay neutral in the Cold War and avoid a Communist government or Warsaw Pact membership. In politics, there was a tendency to avoid any policies and statements that could be interpreted as anti-Soviet. This balancing act of Finlandization was humorously defined as "the art of bowing to the East without mooning the West". Practically, Finland was west of the Iron Curtain and travel to the West was easy. Thus, even many older people know English and German and have friends in the West, while Russian was not compulsory and is even today scarcely known. Despite close relations with the Soviet Union, Finland managed to retain democratic multi-party elections and remained a Western European market economy, building close ties with its Nordic neighbours. While there were some tense moments, Finland pulled it off: in the subsequent half century, the country made a remarkable transformation from a farm and forest economy to a diversified modern industrial economy featuring high-tech giants like Nokia, and per capita income is now in the world top 15.

After the collapse of the USSR, Finland joined the European Union in 1995, and was the only Nordic state to join the euro currency system at its initiation in January 1999. In 2017, Finland celebrated its 100 years of independence.

Unlike craggy Norway and Sweden, Finland consists mostly of low, flat to rolling plains interspersed with lakes and low hills, with mountains (of a sort) only in the extreme north and Finland's highest point, Mount Halti, rising only to a modest 1,328 m. Finland sits squarely on the taiga zone, covered in coniferous forest, which is interspersed with cultivated land, towns, lakes and bogs. Finland has 187,888 lakes according to the Geological Survey of Finland, making the moniker Land of a Thousand Lakes something of an underestimate. Along the coast and in the lakes are – according to another estimate – 179,584 islands, making the country an excellent boating destination as well. The Lakeland is more or less a plateau, so the lakes make up labyrinths of islands, peninsulas, sounds and open water, and the coastal archipelagos follow suite.

Finland is not on the Scandinavian peninsula, so despite many cultural and historical links (including the Swedish language, which enjoys co-official status alongside Finnish), it is not considered to be part of Scandinavia. Even Finns rarely bother to make the distinction, but more correct terms that includes Finland is the "Nordic countries" (Pohjoismaat, Norden) and "Fennoscandia".

Particularly in the eastern and northern parts of the country, which are densely forested and sparsely populated, you'll find more examples of traditional, rustic Finnish culture. Southern and Western Finland, which have cultivated plains and fields and have a higher population density, do indeed have very much in common with Scandinavia proper — this can clearly be seen in the capital, Helsinki, which has a lot of Scandinavian features, especially in terms of architecture.

Finland has a temperate climate, which is actually comparatively mild for the latitude because of the moderating influence of the Gulf Stream. There are four distinct seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn. Winter is just as dark as everywhere in these latitudes, and temperatures can (very rarely) reach -30°C in the south and even dip down to -50°C in the north, with 0 to -25°C being normal in the south. Snow cover is common, but not guaranteed in the southern part of the country. Early spring (March–April) is when the snow starts to melt and Finns like to head north for skiing and winter sports. The brief Finnish summer is considerably more pleasant, with day temperatures around +15 to +25°C (on occasion up to +35°C), and is generally the best time of year to visit. July is the warmest month. September brings cool weather (+5 – +15 °C), morning frosts and rains. The transition from autumn to winter in October–December — wet, rainy, no snow but maybe slush and sleet, dark and generally miserable — is the worst time to visit. There is a noticeable difference between coastal and southern areas vs. inland and northern areas in the timing and length of these seasons: if traveling north in the winter, slush in Helsinki often turns to snow by Tampere.

Due to the extreme latitude, Finland experiences the famous Midnight Sun near the summer solstice, when (if above the Arctic Circle) the sun never sets during the night and even in southern Finland it never really gets dark. The flip side of the coin is the Arctic Night (kaamos) in the winter, when the sun never comes up at all in the north. In the south, daylight is limited to a few pitiful hours with the sun just barely climbing over the trees before it heads down again.

Information on the climate and weather forecasts are available from the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

Buffeted by its neighbors for centuries and absorbing influences from west, east and south, Finnish culture as a distinct identity was only born in the 19th century: "we are not Swedes, and we do not wish to become Russian, so let us be Finns."

The Finnish founding myth and national epic is the Kalevala, a collection of old Karelian stories and poems collated in 1835, which recounts the creation of the world and the adventures of Väinämöinen, a shamanistic hero with magical powers. Kalevalan themes such as the Sampo, a mythical cornucopia, have been a major inspiration for Finnish artists, and figures, scenes, and concepts from the epic continue to color their works.

While Finland's state religion is Lutheranism, a version of Protestant Christianity, the country has full freedom of religion and for the great majority everyday observance is lax or nonexistent. Still, Luther's teachings of strong work ethic and a belief in equality remain strong, both in the good (women's rights, non-existent corruption) and the bad (conformity, high rates of depression and suicide). The Finnish character is often summed up with the word sisu, a mixture of admirable perseverance and pig-headed stubbornness in the face of adversity.

Finnish music is best known for classical composer Jean Sibelius, whose symphonies continue to grace concert halls around the world. Finnish pop, on the other hand, has only rarely ventured beyond the borders, but rock and heavy metal bands like Nightwish, Children Of Bodom, Sonata Arctica, Apocalyptica and HIM have become fairly big names in the global heavy music scene and latex monsters Lordi hit an exceedingly unlikely jackpot by taking home the Eurovision Song Contest in 2006.

In the other arts, Finland has produced noted architect and designer Alvar Aalto, authors Mika Waltari (The Egyptian) and Väinö Linna (The Unknown Soldier), and painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela, known for his Kalevala illustrations.

Finland has a 5.5% Swedish-speaking minority and is officially bilingual, with both languages compulsory in school. (Sámi, Romani and Finnish sign language are also recognized in the constitution but are not official languages.) Maps and transport announcements give both Finnish and Swedish names, eg Turku and Åbo are the same city. This helps the visitor, as English-speakers generally find the Swedish announcement easier to follow, especially if you have a smattering of German. Road signs often flip between versions, eg Turuntie and Åbovägen are both "Turku Road". This is common in Helsinki and the Swedish-speaking coastal areas, whereas Swedish is far less common inland. Away north in Lapland, you almost never see Swedish, but you may see signage in Sámi. And if you navigate by Google Map, there's no telling what language it may conjure up.

Although the country was once ruled by a Swedish elite, most Swedish-speaking Finns have always been commoners: fishermen, farmers and industrial workers. The educated class has been bilingual since the national awakening, while population mixing with industrialisation did the rest. In the bilingual areas the language groups mix amicably. Even in Finnish speaking areas, such as Jyväskylä, Pori and Oulu, many Finnish speakers welcome the contacts with Swedish that the minority provides; the few Swedish schools in those areas have many Finnish pupils and language immersion daycare is popular. In politics bilingualism remains contentious: some Finnish speakers see it as a hangover from Swedish rule, while Swedish speakers are concerned at their language being marginalized, eg when small Swedish institutions are merged with bigger Finnish ones.

Finns aren't typically very hot on big public carnivals; most holidays are spent at home with family. The most notable exception is Vappu on May 1, as thousands of people (mostly the young ones) fill the streets. Important holidays and similar happenings include:

• New Year's Day (uudenvuodenpäivä, nyårsdagen), January 1.
• Epiphany (loppiainen, trettondag), January 6.
• Easter (pääsiäinen, påsk), variable dates, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Tied to this are laskiainen, fastlagstisdag, 40 days before Easter, nominally a holy day that kicks off the Lent, practically a time for children and university students to go sliding down snowy slopes, and Ascension Day (helatorstai, Kristi himmelsfärds dag) 40 days after, just another day for the shops to be closed.
• Walpurgis Night (vappuaatto, valborgsmässoafton) and May Day (vappu, första maj), originally a pagan tradition that coincides with a modern workers' celebration, it has become a giant festival for students, who wear colorful signature overalls and roam the streets. Many people also use their white student caps between 6PM at April 30 and the end of May 1st. The latter day people gather to nurse their hangovers at open-air picnics, even if it's raining sleet. Definitely a fun celebration to witness as the students come up with most peculiar ways to celebrate.
• Midsummer Festival (juhannus, midsommar), Friday evening and Saturday between June 20 and June 26. Held to celebrate the summer solstice, with plenty of bonfires, drinking and general merrymaking. Cities become almost empty as people rush to their summer cottages. It might be a good idea to visit one of the bigger cities just for the eerie feeling of an empty city – or a countryside village, where the locals celebrate together.
• Independence Day (itsenäisyyspäivä, självständighetsdagen), December 6. A fairly somber celebration of Finland's independence. There are church services (the one from the cathedral in Helsinki can be seen on TV), concerts and a military parade. The most popular event is in the evening: the President holds a ball for the important people (e.g. MPs, diplomats, and merited Finnish sportspeople and artists) that the less important watch on TV.
• Little Christmas (pikkujoulu). People go pub crawling with their workmates throughout December. Not an official holiday, just a Viking-strength version of an office Christmas party season (lillajul on the other hand is the Saturday at beginning of Advent, mostly celebrated by families).
• Christmas (joulu, jul), December 24 to 26. The biggest holiday of the year, when pretty much everything closes for three days. Santa (Joulupukki, Julgubben) comes on Christmas Eve on December 24, ham is eaten and everyone goes to sauna.
• New Year's Eve (uudenvuodenaatto, nyårsafton), December 31. Fireworks time!

Most Finns take their summer holidays in July, unlike elsewhere in Europe, where August is the main vacation season. People generally start their summer holidays around Midsummer. During these days, cities are likely to be less populated, as Finns head for their summer cottages. Schoolchildren start their summer holidays in the beginning of June and return to school in mid-August.

New Year's Day (uudenvuodenpäivä, nyårsdagen), January 1.

Epiphany (loppiainen, trettondag), January 6.

Easter (pääsiäinen, påsk), variable dates, Good Friday and Easter Monday are public holidays. Tied to this are laskiainen, fastlagstisdag, 40 days before Easter, nominally a holy day that kicks off the Lent, practically a time for children and university students to go sliding down snowy slopes, and Ascension Day (helatorstai, Kristi himmelsfärds dag) 40 days after, just another day for the shops to be closed.

Walpurgis Night (vappuaatto, valborgsmässoafton) and May Day (vappu, första maj), originally a pagan tradition that coincides with a modern workers' celebration, it has become a giant festival for students, who wear colorful signature overalls and roam the streets. Many people also use their white student caps between 6PM at April 30 and the end of May 1st. The latter day people gather to nurse their hangovers at open-air picnics, even if it's raining sleet. Definitely a fun celebration to witness as the students come up with most peculiar ways to celebrate.

Midsummer Festival (juhannus, midsommar), Friday evening and Saturday between June 20 and June 26. Held to celebrate the summer solstice, with plenty of bonfires, drinking and general merrymaking. Cities become almost empty as people rush to their summer cottages. It might be a good idea to visit one of the bigger cities just for the eerie feeling of an empty city – or a countryside village, where the locals celebrate together.

Independence Day (itsenäisyyspäivä, självständighetsdagen), December 6. A fairly somber celebration of Finland's independence. There are church services (the one from the cathedral in Helsinki can be seen on TV), concerts and a military parade. The most popular event is in the evening: the President holds a ball for the important people (e.g. MPs, diplomats, and merited Finnish sportspeople and artists) that the less important watch on TV.

Little Christmas (pikkujoulu). People go pub crawling with their workmates throughout December. Not an official holiday, just a Viking-strength version of an office Christmas party season (lillajul on the other hand is the Saturday at beginning of Advent, mostly celebrated by families).

Christmas (joulu, jul), December 24 to 26. The biggest holiday of the year, when pretty much everything closes for three days. Santa (Joulupukki, Julgubben) comes on Christmas Eve on December 24, ham is eaten and everyone goes to sauna.

New Year's Eve (uudenvuodenaatto, nyårsafton), December 31. Fireworks time!

Finland is officially bilingual in Finnish (suomi) and Swedish (svenska), and both languages are compulsory in nearly all schools (with varying results). Also Sámi, Romani and Finnish Sign Language are recognized in the constitution, but they are not spoken outside their respective communities and the speakers are bilingual with Finnish.

Finnish, the mother tongue of 92 percent of the population, is not related to Swedish, Russian, English or any other Indo-European language. Instead it belongs to the Uralic group of languages (which includes Hungarian, Estonian and Sámi), making it hard for speakers of most other European languages to learn. While Finnish and Estonian bear some degree of mutual intelligibility, Hungarian and Finnish are about as close to each other as Spanish and Russian (but as major Uralic languages are few, there is a special relationship).

Reading signboards can be difficult, as Finnish uses relatively few loan words. Using a dictionary, especially for longer texts, is complicated by the word inflection; also the stem of many words varies somewhat (e.g. katto, "roof" in the example below). The relation between spelling and formal pronunciation, on the other hand, is straightforward (just learn how to pronounce individual letters – the difficulty lies in sticking to that), while colloquial speech differs substantially from what is taught in most language lessons.

The Finnish language has relatively few exceptions but quite many rules (where some rules might be considered cleverly disguised exceptions). There are 15 grammatical cases for "getting some coffee and getting the coffee, going into a pub, being in a pub, getting out of the pub, being on the roof, getting onto the roof, getting off the roof, using something as a roof and so on, which are encoded into the word endings (kahvia, kahvi, pubiin, pubissa, pubista, katolle, katolta, kattona). The conjugation of verbs is unfortunately somewhat more complex. Many different words are formed from the same root by other endings: kirjain, kirjasin, kirjuri, kirjoitin, kirje, kirjelmä, kirjasto and kirjaamo are all nouns related to kirja, "book" (letter, font, bookkeeper, printer, ...), and then there are related verbs and adjectives.

Swedish, closely related to Norwegian and Danish, is the mother tongue for 5.6 % of Finns. A lot of written material from public institutions (e.g. city governments, parliament, public museums) are available in Swedish. There are no large cities with a Swedish majority, and the Swedish-speaking communities are mainly smaller towns and rural municipalities along the coast and minorities in the cities. Many towns and road signs on the coast use alternative Finnish and Swedish names, so road signs can be confusing. The small autonomous province of Åland and e.g. the municipalities of Närpes, Korsnäs and Larsmo are more or less exclusively Swedish-speaking, and people there typically speak little or no Finnish, so English is a better bet. Swedish is a mandatory subject in Finnish-speaking schools since the 1970s (as Finnish in Swedish-speaking schools). In practice, it is rare to find fluent Swedish speakers in the street outside cities, towns and countryside with a significant Swedish-speaking community. About half the population regard themselves conversant in it, though, including e.g. any national-level politician. In cities like Helsinki and Turku most people know enough Swedish to deal with simple conversations you engage in as a tourist and often at least somewhat beyond, but living would be quite tough without knowledge of Finnish. In traditionally Swedish towns like Vaasa and Porvoo nearly half the population is Swedish-speaking and service in Swedish is expected by many Swedish-speaking locals. Most larger hotels and restaurants in areas where Swedish is widely spoken do have Swedish-proficient staff.

In larger cities, with the exception of the elderly, nearly all people you could possibly meet as a tourist speak English very well, and even in the countryside younger people will nearly always know enough to communicate. In fact, outside of the Swedish-speaking communities, English is usually far better understood than Swedish. Conversely, within some Swedish-speaking communities, English may be better understood than Finnish. 73% of the population in Finland are conversant in English. Don't hesitate to ask for help: Finns can be shy, but will usually be really pleased to help out people in need.

Businesses with a domestic customer base often have their web pages and other marketing materials in Finnish only. This is not an indication that they cannot provide service in English (although they might have to improvise more than businesses used to foreigners). If the business seems interesting, just call them to get the information you need.

Russian may be understood in shops and hotels that cater to Russian tourists, particularly near the Russian border, for example in Lappeenranta, Imatra and Joensuu, but also in some major stores in Helsinki such as Stockmann. Tourist destinations which are popular among Russians in Eastern and Northern Finland have some Russian-speaking staff. Otherwise, few Finns speak Russian.

Besides the languages above, some Finns can speak German (18% conversant) or French (3% conversant). Other secondary languages such as Spanish and Italian are rarer. However, some tourist services are also offered in a wider variety of languages, including for example Chinese and Japanese: tour packets often have guides proficient in them, and there are often brochures, web pages and similar for the most important destinations and sights.

Foreign TV programs and films, including segments of local shows with foreign language dialogue, are nearly always shown with audio in the original language but subtitled into Finnish or Swedish. Only children's programmes, children's films, certain types of documentaries (the narrator part) and nature films get dubbed into Finnish or Swedish.

A selection of top sights in Finland:

• Central Helsinki, the Daughter of the Baltic, on a warm and sunny summer day
• The historical sites of Turku and the Archipelago Sea around it, best viewed from a yacht or from the deck of a giant car ferry.
• Puttering around the picturesque wooden houses of Porvoo, Finland's second-oldest city
• Renting a car and exploring the Lake Land of Eastern Finland, an area dotted with around 60 000 lakes with a similar number of islands, which in turn have their own lakes...
• Olavinlinna Castle in Savonlinna, Finland's most atmospheric castle, especially during the yearly Opera Festival
• Hämeenlinna Castle in Hämeenlinna is Finland's oldest castle. Built in 13th century.
• Icebreaker cruising and the world's biggest snow castle in Kemi
• Seeing the Northern Lights and trying your hand sledding down a mile-long track at Saariselkä
• A ride on the historical "Linnanmäki" wooden roller coaster (Helsinki). Unlike modern designs, only gravity keeps it on the track, and it requires a driver on each train to operate the brakes.

There is a museum card (museokortti), which gives free entrance to most bigger museums for a week for €40. There are 40 participating museums in the capital region, 250 in all the country. There is also a one-year version, for €65.

• Finland in ten days by car, a suggested route showing some of the most important sights in Finland
• Highway 4 (Finland), part of the European route E75, stretching almost the full length of the country from south to north
• King's Road (Finland), the old postal route along the south coast

Central [[Helsinki]], the Daughter of the Baltic, on a warm and sunny summer day

The historical sites of [[Turku]] and the [[Archipelago Sea]] around it, best viewed from a yacht or from the deck of a giant car ferry.

Puttering around the picturesque wooden houses of [[Porvoo]], Finland's second-oldest city

Olavinlinna Castle in [[Savonlinna]], Finland's most atmospheric castle, especially during the yearly Opera Festival

Hämeenlinna Castle in [[Hämeenlinna]] is Finland's oldest castle. Built in 13th century.

Icebreaker cruising and the world's biggest snow castle in [[Kemi]]

Seeing the Northern Lights and trying your hand sledding down a mile-long track at [[Saariselkä]]

Notably lacking in craggy mountains or crenellated fjords, Finland is not the adrenalin-laden winter sports paradise you might expect: the traditional Finnish pastime is cross-country skiing through more or less flat terrain. If you're looking for downhill skiing, snowboarding etc., you'll need to head up to Lapland and resorts like Levi and Saariselkä.

The king of sports in Finland is ice hockey (jääkiekko), and winning the Ice Hockey World Championship is as close to nirvana as the country gets — especially if they defeat arch-rivals Sweden, as they did in 1995 and 2011. The yearly national championship is the Liiga (finnish), where 15 teams battle it out. Additionally, the Helsinki-based Jokerit, a former Liiga member, plays in the Kontinental Hockey League, a Russia-based league that also includes teams from several other post-Soviet states, Slovakia, and China. If you're visiting in season (September to March), catching a game is worthwhile. Tickets start from around €16, and while the action on the ice is brutal, fans are generally well behaved (if not necessarily sober). If you happen to be in Finland when they win the World Championship, the traffic in the city centers might be messy, as the fans are running in the streets celebrating, usually intoxicated.

The national sport of Finland, though, is pesäpallo, which translates literally as "baseball", but looks and plays rather differently to its American forebear. The single most notable difference is that the pitcher stands at the home plate together with the batter and pitches directly upward, making hitting the ball easier and catching it harder. The Superpesis league plays for the yearly championship in summer, with both men's and women's teams.

And if you'd like to try your hand at something uniquely Finnish, don't miss the plethora of bizarre sports contests in the summer, including:

• Air Guitar World Championships. August, Oulu. Bring out your inner guitar hero!
• World Fart Championships. July, Utajärvi. Yes, you read correctly.
• Mobile Phone Throwing Championship. Suspended 2016. August, Savonlinna. Recycle your Nokia!
• Swamp Soccer World Championship. July, Hyrynsalmi. Probably the messiest sporting event in the world. They also arrange a snow soccer world championships each February.
• Wife Carrying World Championship. July, Sonkajärvi. The grand prize is the wife's weight in beer.
• Sulkavan Suursoudut. July, Sulkava Finland's biggest rowing event

Air Guitar World Championships. August, [[Oulu]]. Bring out your inner guitar hero!

World Fart Championships. July, [[Utajärvi]]. Yes, you read correctly.

Mobile Phone Throwing Championship. Suspended 2016. August, [[Savonlinna]]. Recycle your Nokia!

Swamp Soccer World Championship. July, [[Hyrynsalmi]]. Probably the messiest sporting event in the world. They also arrange a snow soccer world championships each February.

Wife Carrying World Championship. July, [[Sonkajärvi]]. The grand prize is the wife's weight in beer.

Sulkavan Suursoudut. July, [[Sulkava]] Finland's biggest rowing event

During the short summer you can swim, canoe, row or sail in the lakes or in the sea. The water is at its warmest around 20 July, with temperatures about 20C. Local newspapers usually have the current surface temperatures, and a map of the surface temperatures can also be found from the Environment Ministry website. During the warmest weeks, late at night or early in the morning the water can feel quite pleasant when the air temperature is lower than the water's. Most towns also have swimming halls with slightly warmer water, but these are often closed during the summer. Many Finns swim outdoors in winter also. There are lifeguards in busy hours at some beaches, but non-obvious risks are rare; nearly any shore can be used as long as you do not jump in without checking for obstacles. Cyanobacteria plague the waters in the warmest period, due to eutrophication; if the water seems to contain massive amounts of blue-green flakes, do not swim or use the water, and do not let children or pets into it.

The right to access and the sparse population makes it easy to go hiking wherever you are. If you are serious about it, you might want to check Hiking in the Nordic countries for advice and Finnish National Parks for destinations. There are trails for easy day trips as well as for week-long hikes – and large backwoods for the experienced. The best season for hiking is early fall, after most mosquitoes have died off and the autumn colours have come out, but summer is good too, and all seasons possible. Making an open fire requires landowner permission (which you have at campfire sites at most hiking destinations) and is forbidden during wildfire warnings regardless of such permission.

A lighter version of being outdoors is to go berry picking in some nearby forest. Also in bigger cities, there are usually suitable woods interspersed with the suburbs (i.e. within half a kilometre from a local bus stop). Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) is common enough that you nearly anywhere (in July–August) quickly will find berries for your morning porridge for all the week, for pies and deserts with cream and sugar. Other common berries include wild strawberry (from late June), lingonberry (August–September), bog bilberry, raspberry and crowberry. On bogs you may find cloudberry and cranberry, the latter picked late in autumn. You can even sell excess berries at a local market (though this may be restricted for cloudberries in Lapland).

Many Finns also pick mushrooms, but that requires you to know what you are doing, as there are deadly ones, including the death cap and the European destroying angel, easy to mistake for an Agaricus (field/button/common mushroom and the like). A good rule of thumb is to never pick any white mushrooms, mushrooms growing on stumps or Cortinarius species, which have a cortina (a web of fibers resembling a cobweb) and usually reddish gills. You should of course not pick any mushrooms you do not know, but edible mushrooms in these categories are easily confused with common deadly ones.

In winter (and spring in the north) the way to go is of course cross-country skiing. There are maintained tracks around most cities, as well as around winter sports centres and in national parks. Wilderness back-packers use larger skis and do not rely on pre-existing tracks.

Many Finns are keen fishermen and recreational fishing is equally available to foreigners. In most still waters rod and hook fishing is free. Fishing with (single) reel and lure is allowed in most still waters, provided a national fishing fee has been paid, at a Metsähallitus service point (such as a national park visitor centre) or R-kioski, in the web shop or by bank giro (2016: €39 for a year, €12 for a week, €5 for a day, plus any bank or kiosk surcharge; children under 18 and elderly over 64 exempted). Report wanted starting date when paying and show the receipt on request. For streaming waters rich in salmon or related species and some specially regulated waters, also separate permits have to be bought. With the national permit and permission from the owner of the waters (most land-owners in the countryside have a share) you can fish with most legal methods. There are minimum sizes, protected species and other special regulations you should check, e.g. when getting the permit, from a visitor centre or a suitable business. More information from [tel:+35820692424 020-69-2424] (08:00–16:00), the web shop or e.g. ahven.net. Moving between certain waters you should disinfect your equipment, including boat and boots, and be careful in handling water and entrails (there are salmon parasites and crayfish plague). Many small businesses arrange fishing excursions. Catch-and-release fishing is not practised (but undersize fish is released).

Åland has its own fishing law, where nearly all fishing requires permission from the owner of the waters, which you can get for many specific areas by paying a fee. Residents may fish by rod and hook in their home municipality except 15.4–15.6 and Nordic residents may fish for household use by any legal means in waters without an owner (far enough from inhabited islands).

The Forestry Administration (Metsähallitus) maintains an online Excursion Map with trails and huts marked.

Finland hosts many music festivals during the summer. Some of the most notable festivals of popular music (festari) include:

• Sauna Open Air. Heavy metal, Tampere, early June
• Provinssirock. Rock, Seinäjoki, mid-June
• Nummirock. Heavy metal, Nummijärvi (near Kauhajoki), late June (Midsummer)
• Raumanmeren juhannus. Pop/disco music, Pori, late June (Midsummer)
• Tuska Open Air. Heavy metal, Helsinki, late June
• Tangomarkkinat. Tango, Seinäjoki, early July
• Ruisrock. Rock, Turku, July
• Ilosaarirock. Rock, pop, reggae, Joensuu, mid-July
• Pori Jazz. Jazz/world music, Pori, mid-July
• Flow. Indie/electronic/urban, Helsinki, mid-August
• Qstock. Rock, pop, rap, Oulu, end of july

Most of the festivals last 2–4 days and are very well organized, with many different bands playing, with e.g. Foo Fighters and Linkin Park headlining at Provinssirock in 2008. The normal full ticket (all days) price is about €60–100, which includes a camp site where you can sleep, eat and meet other festival guests. The atmosphere at festivals is great and probably you'll find new friends there. Of course drinking a lot of beer is a part of the experience.

There are also many festivals of classical music, most of them in summer. At these festivals people gather just for individual concerts.

Sauna Open Air. Heavy metal, [[Tampere]], early June

Provinssirock. Rock, [[Seinäjoki]], mid-June

Nummirock. Heavy metal, [[Nummijärvi]] (near [[Kauhajoki]]), late June (Midsummer)

Raumanmeren juhannus. Pop/disco music, [[Pori]], late June (Midsummer)

Tuska Open Air. Heavy metal, [[Helsinki]], late June

Tangomarkkinat. Tango, [[Seinäjoki]], early July

Ruisrock. Rock, [[Turku]], July

Ilosaarirock. Rock, pop, reggae, [[Joensuu]], mid-July

Pori Jazz. Jazz/world music, [[Pori]], mid-July

Flow. Indie/electronic/urban, Helsinki, mid-August

Qstock. Rock, pop, rap, Oulu, end of july

• Finncon, Helsinki, Turku, Tampere or Jyväskylä. Finland's biggest sci-fi convention and the only major sci-fi convention in the world to be completely free of charge. Held on a weekend in summer, usually in middle July. Free of charge.

Finncon, Helsinki, Turku, Tampere or Jyväskylä. Finland's biggest sci-fi convention and the only major sci-fi convention in the world to be completely free of charge. Held on a weekend in summer, usually in middle July. Free of charge.

Spotting the eerie Northern Lights (aurora borealis, or revontulet in Finnish) glowing in the sky is on the agenda of many visitors. Far north Lapland in Finland is one of the best places to observe aurorae, as it has good accessibility, high-quality accommodation and inland Finland has relatively clear skies, compared e.g. to coastal Norway. However, seeing them requires some planning and some luck. To have a good chance to see them you should stay at least a few days, preferably a week or more, in the far north in the right season.

In the south, northern lights are seldom seen. In e.g. Helsinki there are northern lights about once a month, but you are likely to be somewhere with too much light pollution. In the winter in northern Lapland, on the other hand, the probability of some northern lights is 50–70 % every night with clear skies, and light pollution is quite easy to avoid there.

The sauna is perhaps Finland's most significant contribution to the world (and the world's vocabulary). The sauna is essentially a room heated to 70–120°C; according to an oft-quoted statistic this nation of 5 million has no less than 2 million saunas, in apartments, offices, summer cottages and even Parliament (many agreements in business and politics are reached informally after a sauna bath). In ancient times, saunas (being the cleanest places around) were the place to give birth and heal the sick, and the first building constructed when setting up a new household. The old Finnish saying; "If it is not cured by sauna, tar and liquor, then it is for life" maybe crystallizes the Finnish honor for the holy room.

If invited to visit a Finnish home, you may be invited to bathe in the sauna as well — this is an honor and should be treated as such, although Finns do understand that foreigners may not be keen about the idea. Enter the sauna nude after taking a shower, as wearing a bathing suit or any other clothing is considered a bit of a faux pas, although if you are feeling shy, you can wrap yourself in a bath towel. Unlike in some other cultures, there is not much erotic involved in Finnish Sauna for Finns, even when they bath unisex, it is purely for cleaning and refreshing, or for discussions about e.g. life or politics. Public saunas in swimming halls and spas are generally segregated by gender. There may be a separate mixed sauna with exits to both men's and women's showers, useful for e.g. couples or families; entry to the wrong side is to be avoided. In places with a single sauna, there are usually separate shifts for men and women, and possibly a mixed-gender shift. Children under the age of 7 can usually participate in any shift. In private saunas the host usually organizes the bathing turns along similar lines.

After you've had your fill, you can cool off by heading outside, just to sit at the veranda, for a roll in the snow (in winter) or for a dip in the lake (any time of the year, beach sandals or the like can be practical in the winter) — and then head back in for another round. Repeat this a few times, then cork open a cold beer, roast a sausage over a fire, and enjoy total relaxation Finnish style.

These days the most common type of sauna features an electrically heated stove, which is easy to control and maintain. In the countryside you can still find wood-fired saunas, but purists prefer the (now very rare) traditional chimneyless smoke saunas (savusauna), where a large pile of stones is heated and the sauna then ventilated well before entering.

Anyone elderly or with a medical condition (especially high blood pressure) should consult their physician before using a sauna – although sauna bathing as a habit is good for the heart, you might need expert advice for your first visits.

If you like social dancing – foxtrot, tango, waltz, jive etc. – you should try the dance pavilions (Finnish: lavatanssit at a tanssilava), usually by a lake or in some other nice countryside setting. They have lost popularity since the 1950s, but do have a faithful audience. Similar dances are arranged in many rural community centres. In summertime there are dances at most dance pavilions at least weekly and often a dance somewhere in the region most days. In the winter you can find part of the same crowd at heated indoor locations (mostly community centres, a few of the pavilions, some dance restaurants). See also Tangomarkkinat, the tango festival of Seinäjoki.

In cash transactions in Finland all sums are rounded to the nearest five cents. Thus one and two cent coins are seldom used (although legal tender) and the rare Finnish ones are collectors' items. When paying with a card, the payment is honoured to the cent.

Prices are usually given without explicitly stating the currency. Cents are told after a comma, which is the decimal separator. Thus 5,50 means five euros and fifty cents, while 5,– means five euros. Notes of 100, 200 and 500 euro are not dispensed by ATMs and are rarely actually used. Prepare for a hassle if trying to pay with them. Buses and many types of smaller kiosks often do not accept them, local buses sometimes not even notes of 50 euro.

Currencies other than the euro are generally not accepted, although the Swedish krona may be accepted in Åland and northern border towns like Tornio (and Norwegian crowns likewise in the extreme north). As an exception, Stockmann accepts U.S. dollars, pound sterling, Swedish krona and Russian rubles. Also on the ferries from Sweden and Estonia many currencies may be accepted.

Most Finns use a chipped debit card (sirullinen pankkikortti or sirukortti) for their daily purchases. EMV contactless payment readers are becoming commonplace for purchases under €25. Credit cards (VISA, MasterCard, sometimes other cards) are widely accepted, but you will be asked for identification if you purchase more than €50 (and may be asked to show it even for smaller purchases). Visa Electron and Visa Debit card readers are found in all major and most minor shops, so carrying large amounts of cash is not usually necessary. For open air markets, small accommodation businesses, for buying handicraft at the workshop and similar, have cash (käteinen) or check in advance. A sign reading "Vain käteinen" means "Cash only". Many Finns use a card nowadays, even for small purchases, and the use of cash is rapidly decreasing. Using a foreign card might become an issue if you are not using chip-based card. Many vendors require PIN. Don't get annoyed if Finns pay small €1–5 amounts using cards, even when there is a long queue behind. Cheques are never used.

Getting or exchanging money is rarely a problem in cities, as ATMs (pankkiautomaatti) are common and they can be operated with international credit and debit cards (Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard, Maestro). Most banks belong to the Otto (literally "drawing") system, recognizable by the "Otto." logo. In the countryside ATMs are harder to find. Cash can be got with some cards at some shops. Exchange bureaux (e.g. Forex, recognizable from its bright yellow logo) can be found in the bigger cities and near borders and typically have better rates, longer opening hours and faster service than banks. Note that not all bank offices handle cash at all, and those that do may still not handle currency exchange. Because of widespread electronic banking, routine bill payment and other banking tasks are rarely conducted at a bank office. Consequently, banks have scaled down their personal service, so that you might have to queue for that.

Finland is a part of the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA), which covers EU and EEA, Monaco, San Marino and Switzerland. Any chipped credit or debit card issued by a SEPA bank should work, and money can be transferred between banks by giro over the whole SEPA area. Nevertheless, if you're moving into the country, get a Finnish bank account (pankkitili), because Finnish banks do not charge fees for giros within Finland if they are submitted online, and bank giro (pankkisiirto) is – for all intents and purposes – the only method to pay bills and get salaries paid. You will be issued electronic banking credentials, which can be used to execute most daily banking tasks including giro payments. Many vendors offer e-lasku (electronic bill), which sends the bill directly to your user account at the bank for approval, and you can also have the bank pay the bill automatically at a specified date, useful for e.g. rent. Banking credentials also serve as identity checks for e.g. insurance or government electronic services.

As a rule, tipping is entirely optional and never necessary in Finland and restaurant bills already include service charges. Indeed tipping is almost unheard of outside restaurants with table service and taxi fares; the latter are occasionally rounded up to the next convenient number. Cloakrooms (narikka) in nightclubs and better restaurants often have non-negotiable fees (usually clearly signposted, €2 is standard), and – in the few hotels that employ them – hotel porters will expect around the same per bag. Bar patrons may tip the bouncer when leaving for satisfactory service in the establishment in general. Consequently tips are most often pooled. Bars often have a brass tippikello (tip bell) near the counter. Upon receiving a tip, the service person strikes it with the largest denomination of coin given in the tip.

Tipping government and municipality personnel for any service will not be accepted, as it could be considered a bribe.

Declared the world's most expensive country in 1990, prices have since abated somewhat but are still steep by most standards, though somewhat cheaper than Norway; Norwegians living near the border often drive into Finland to purchase groceries. Rock-bottom travelling if staying in hostel dorms and self-catering costs at least €25/day and it's safer to assume double that amount. The cheapest hotels cost about €50 per night and more regular hotels start from about €100. Instead of hotels or hostels, look for holiday cottages, especially when travelling in a group and off-season; you can find a full-equipped cottage for €10–15 per person a night. Camp-sites typically cost €10–20 per tent or caravan, plus about €5/2 per person.

Museums and tourist attractions have an entrance fee in the range of €5–25. Using public transport costs a few euros per day and depends on the city. One-way travel between major cities by train or by bus costs €20–100, depending on the distance. Children, by varying definitions, often pay about half price or less (small children free), except at children's attractions.

A VAT of 24 % is charged for nearly everything (the main exception being food at 14 %), but by law this must be included in the displayed price. Non-EU residents can get a tax refund for purchases not intended for local use above €40 at participating outlets, just look for the Tax-Free Shopping logo and check how to get the refund.

As you might expect given the general price level, souvenir shopping in Finland isn't exactly cheap. Traditional buys include Finnish puukko knives and handwoven ryijy rugs. For any Lappish handicrafts, look for the "Sámi Duodji" label that certifies it as authentic. Popular foods to try or to bring home to astonish your friends include every conceivable part of a reindeer, lye-soaked lutefisk (lipeäkala), and pine tar (terva) syrup. If you can't bring yourself to try terva on your pancakes, then you can also get soap scented with it in nearly any grocery or drug store. There are also candies with tar flavour, the most common being the Leijona Lakritsi candies.

Popular brands for modern (or timeless) Finnish design include Marimekko clothing, Iittala glass, Arabia ceramics (especially their Moomin mugs are a must), Kalevala Koru jewelry, Pentik interior design and, if you don't mind the shipping costs, Artek furniture by renowned architect and designer Alvar Aalto. Kids and not a few adults love Moomin characters, which fill up souvenir store shelves, and Angry Birds products now plague the entire country.

Shopping hours are not regulated any more, and depend on the location, size and type of shop: it is best to check their websites for opening hours of the day. The most available are local grocery stores, such as Sale, Alepa or K-Market, which usually are open 07:00–23:00, in some cases around the clock. Larger shops, shopping centres and department stores are generally open until 20:00 or 21:00 on weekdays and 18:00 on Saturdays and Sundays. For small and speciality shops, normal weekday opening hours are from 9:00 or later to 17:00 or 18:00, but most of them close early on Saturday and are closed entirely on Sundays. Shopping hours in Helsinki are the longest, with some department stores open around the clock. Shopping hours in the countryside and small cities are shorter, although most national chains keep the same hours throughout the country (except for 24 hr operations). During national holidays, almost all stores are closed, although some grocery stores may remain open. Finally, shops may operate longer than usual hours during the Christmas shopping season.

Convenience stores like the ubiquitous R-Kioski keep quite long hours, but still tend to be closed when you most need them. If in desperate need of basic supplies, gas station convenience stores (Shell, Neste, Teboil, ABC!) are usually open on weekends and until late at night, and especially stores in ABC! stations commonly operate around the clock. Supermarkets in Helsinki's Asematunneli, underneath the Central Railway Station, are open until 22:00 every day of the year, except on Christmas Day (25 December).

For alcohol, see Drink below.

Most products need to be imported, and unfortunately this shows in the selection of goods and the pricing. It is not uncommon to see exactly the same product in different shops, at exactly the same price. When buying consumer electronics, one should be aware that the shelf life of products can be rather long, especially if the shop isn't specialized in consumer electronics. There is a risk of buying an overpriced product that has already been discontinued by the manufacturer or replaced with a newer model.

While shopkeepers may vehemently deny this to a foreigner, prices in smaller stores are by no means fixed. When buying hobby equipment, it is not uncommon to get 30% discount (hint: find the international price level from a web shop and print it out). The more specialized the goods, the higher the gap between Finnish and international prices, and mail order may save a lot of money. When a package is intercepted by customs (which is quite rare for physically small items), the buyer is notified and can pick it up from customs or it is routed to the closest post office after clearing. VAT and possibly import duty, when over certain value, and a clearing fee may be charged, bring a copy of the order that is then signed by the buyer and archived.

Finnish cuisine is heavily influenced by its neighbors (see Nordic cuisine and Russian cuisine), the main staples being potatoes and bread with various fish and meat dishes on the side. Milk or cream is traditionally considered an important part of the diet and is often an ingredient in foods and a drink, even for adults. Various milk products such as cheeses are also produced. While traditional Finnish food is famously bland, the culinary revolution that followed joining the EU has seen a boom in classy restaurants experimenting with local ingredients, often with excellent results.

Finnish taste is rather mild, and the spices are used sparingly. The traditional culinary experience included more fat and butter than what today is recommended, and was noticeably more down-to-earth, though certainly as delicious as today's food. Contemporary Finnish cuisine includes tastes and influences from all over the world. As the ingredients make much of the food, in Finland, the agricultural products might suffer of the cold climate. Yet the fish, while small in size and rare in occurrence, are tasty. Salmon in shops and on markets in Finland is often imported from Norway. When traveling in the middle of the Finland, there is a rare occasion to purchase freshly caught and prepared fish from one of the thousand lakes. Perhaps one of the most famous and tasty dishes is the "Kalakukko", a tasty and awesome combination of fish, meat and bread.

With tens of thousands of lakes and a long coastline, fish is a Finnish staple, and there's a lot more on that menu than just salmon (lohi). Specialities include:

• Baltic herring (silakka), a small, fatty and quite tasty fish available coal roasted (hiilisilakka), pickled, marinated, smoked, grilled and in countless other varieties
• Gravlax ("graavilohi"), a pan-Scandinavian appetizer of raw salted salmon
• Smoked salmon (savulohi), not just the cold, thinly sliced, semi-raw kind but also fully cooked "warm" smoked salmon
• Vendace (muikku), a speciality in eastern Finland, a small fish served rolled in a mix of breadcrumb flour and salt and fried in butter till crunchy. They are traditionally served with mashed potatoes and you will find them sold at most music festivals.

Other local fish to look out for include zander (kuha), an expensive delicacy, pike (hauki), flounder (kampela) and perch (ahven).

Around October each year, in Helsinki, Turku and possibly some other cities on the coastline, you will find a traditional Herring Fair. That is something awesome to try out, the fish is tasty and many people gather around.

Baltic herring (silakka), a small, fatty and quite tasty fish available coal roasted (hiilisilakka), pickled, marinated, smoked, grilled and in countless other varieties

Gravlax ("graavilohi"), a pan-Scandinavian appetizer of raw salted salmon

Smoked salmon (savulohi), not just the cold, thinly sliced, semi-raw kind but also fully cooked "warm" smoked salmon

Vendace (muikku), a speciality in eastern Finland, a small fish served rolled in a mix of breadcrumb flour and salt and fried in butter till crunchy. They are traditionally served with mashed potatoes and you will find them sold at most music festivals.

• Karelian stew (karjalanpaisti), a heavy stew usually made from beef and pork (and optionally, lamb), carrots and onions, usually served with potatoes
• Liver casserole (maksalaatikko), consisting of chopped liver, rice and raisins cooked in an oven; it tastes rather different from what you'd expect (and not liver-y at all)
• Loop sausage (lenkkimakkara), a large, mildly flavored sausage; best when grilled and topped with a dab of sweet Finnish mustard (sinappi), and beer
• Meat balls (lihapullat, lihapyörykät) are as popular and tasty as in neighboring Sweden
• Reindeer (poro) dishes, especially sauteed reindeer shavings (poronkäristys, served with potato mash and lingonberries), not actually a part of the everyday Finnish diet but a tourist staple and common in the North. In addition to poronkäristys also reindeer jerky (ilmakuivattu poro) is a known delicacy and hard to come by and slightly smoked reindeer beef cutlets are available at all supermarkets though they too are expensive (delicious with rye bread)
• Swedish hash ("pyttipannu"), (originally from Sweden, Swedish: "pytt i panna") a hearty dish of potatoes, onions and any meaty leftovers on hand fried up in a pan and topped with an egg
• Makkara traditional Finnish sausage. Affectionately called "the Finnish man's vegetable" since the actual meat content may be rather low.

Karelian stew (karjalanpaisti), a heavy stew usually made from beef and pork (and optionally, lamb), carrots and onions, usually served with potatoes

Liver casserole (maksalaatikko), consisting of chopped liver, rice and raisins cooked in an oven; it tastes rather different from what you'd expect (and not liver-y at all)

Loop sausage (lenkkimakkara), a large, mildly flavored sausage; best when grilled and topped with a dab of sweet Finnish mustard (sinappi), and beer

Meat balls (lihapullat, lihapyörykät) are as popular and tasty as in neighboring Sweden

Reindeer (poro) dishes, especially sauteed reindeer shavings (poronkäristys, served with potato mash and lingonberries), not actually a part of the everyday Finnish diet but a tourist staple and common in the North. In addition to poronkäristys also reindeer jerky (ilmakuivattu poro) is a known delicacy and hard to come by and slightly smoked reindeer beef cutlets are available at all supermarkets though they too are expensive (delicious with rye bread)

Swedish hash ("pyttipannu"), (originally from [[Sweden]], Swedish: "pytt i panna") a hearty dish of potatoes, onions and any meaty leftovers on hand fried up in a pan and topped with an egg

Makkara traditional Finnish sausage. Affectionately called "the Finnish man's vegetable" since the actual meat content may be rather low.

Cheese and other milk products are very popular in Finland. Large quantities of cheese (juusto) are consumed, much of it locally produced mild to medium matured. Imported cheeses are freely available and local farm cheeses can be sampled and purchased at open air markets (tori) and year round market halls. A flat fried bread-cheese (leipäjuusto) can be eaten cold with (cloud berry) jam, in a salad or reheated with meals, a baked egg cheese (munajuusto) block is a common food ingredient made with milk, buttermilk and egg. The most common varieties are mild hard cheeses like Edam and Emmental, but local specialities include:

• Aura cheese (aurajuusto), a local variety of Roquefort blue cheese, also used in soups, sauces and as a pizza topping.
• Breadcheese (leipäjuusto or juustoleipä), a type of very mild-flavored grilled curd that squeaks when you eat it, best enjoyed warm with a dab of cloudberry jam

Fermented dairy products help stabilize the digestion system, so if your system is upset, give them a try (those without jam or those labelled AB are probably best for this use).

• Piimä, a type of buttermilk beverage, thick and sour and contains naturally healthy lactic acid bacteria.
• Viili, a type of curd, acts like super-stretchy liquid bubble gum but is similar to plain yoghurt in taste. It is traditionally eaten with cinnamon and sugar on top.

Yoghurt, often premixed with jam, is commonly eaten. Skyr, a cultured milk product originally from Iceland, has become a popular yogurt substitute. Flavoured Kefir was launched in Finland and may be found in larger supermarkets. Soya, almond, hazelnut, rice and coconut milk drinks are to be found in larger supermarkets, sometimes flavoured, usually in long life packaging next to the dairy fridges. Cream and (sweetened) condensed milk is also available.

Aura cheese (aurajuusto), a local variety of Roquefort blue cheese, also used in soups, sauces and as a pizza topping.

Breadcheese (leipäjuusto or juustoleipä), a type of very mild-flavored grilled curd that squeaks when you eat it, best enjoyed warm with a dab of cloudberry jam

Piimä, a type of buttermilk beverage, thick and sour and contains naturally healthy lactic acid bacteria.

Viili, a type of curd, acts like super-stretchy liquid bubble gum but is similar to plain yoghurt in taste. It is traditionally eaten with cinnamon and sugar on top.

• Pea soup (hernekeitto), usually but not always with ham, traditionally eaten with a dab of mustard and served on Thursdays; just watch out for the flatulence!
• Karelian pies (karjalanpiirakka), an oval 7 by 10 cm baked pastry, traditionally baked with rye flour, containing rice porridge or mashed potato, ideally eaten topped with butter and chopped egg (munavoi)
• Porridge (puuro), usually made from oats (kaura), barley (ohra), rice (riisi) or rye (ruis) and most often served for breakfast

Pea soup (hernekeitto), usually but not always with ham, traditionally eaten with a dab of mustard and served on Thursdays; just watch out for the flatulence!

Karelian pies (karjalanpiirakka), an oval 7 by 10 cm baked pastry, traditionally baked with rye flour, containing rice porridge or mashed potato, ideally eaten topped with butter and chopped egg (munavoi)

Porridge (puuro), usually made from oats (kaura), barley (ohra), rice (riisi) or rye (ruis) and most often served for breakfast

Bread (leipä) is served with every meal in Finland, and comes in a vast array of varieties. Rye bread (ruisleipä, rågbröd) is the most popular bread in Finland. It can be up to 100% rye and usually it is sourdough bread, which is much darker, heavier and chewier than American-style mixed wheat-rye bread. Unlike in Swedish tradition, many Finnish types of rye bread are unsweetened and thus sour and even bitter. The sweet varieties are usually sweetened with malt (sometimes also with treacle).

Typically Finnish breads include:

• reikäleipä, round flat rye bread with a hole, western Finland, the hole was for drying it on sticks by the ceiling
• ruispala, the most popular type of bread, a modern unholed, single-serving, pre-cut variant of reikäleipä in a rectangular or oblong shape
• hapankorppu, dry, crispy and slightly sour flatbread, occasionally sold overseas as "Finncrisp"
• näkkileipä, dried, crispy flatbread, traditionally from rye
• ruislimppu, traditionally rye, water and salt only (limppu is a catch-all term for big loaves of fresh bread)
• perunalimppu, rye bread with potato and malt, quite sweet
• svartbröd (saaristolaisleipä or Maalahden limppu), sweet and heavy black bread from the south-western archipelago (especially Åland), made in a complicated process; originally less sweet, for long fishing and hunting expeditions and for seafarers, excellent as a base for eating roe with smetana
• piimälimppu, wheat bread with buttermilk, usually sweetened
• rieska, unleavened bread made from wheat or potatoes, like a softer and thicker variant of a tortilla, eaten fresh

Around Easter keep an eye out for mämmi, a type of brown sweet rye pudding. It looks famously unpleasant but actually tastes quite good (best eaten with creamy milk and sugar). At bigger supermarkets you can buy frozen pool mämmi nowadays around the year. One sweet speciality for the May day is tippaleipä, a palm sized funnel cake traditionally enjoyed with mead. At the Midsummer celebration in late June it is common to serve the first potatoes of that years' harvest with herring. From the end of July until early September it's worthwhile to ask for crayfish (rapu) menus and prices at better restaurants. It's not cheap, you don't get full from the crayfish alone and there are many rituals involved, most of which involve large quantities of ice-cold vodka, but it should be tried at least once. Or try to sneak onto a corporate crayfish party guestlist, places are extremely coveted at some. Around Christmas, baked ham is the traditional star of the dinner table, with a constellation of casseroles around it.

There are also regional specialities, including Savonia's kalakukko which is small vendace or other fish wrapped in bacon and enclosed in rye bread dough and baked for long time so the fish bones soften to become actually quite pleasant in texture and Tampere's fast food black sausage (mustamakkara) which is basically blood, fat and soaked barley kernels made into a sausage and is best with lingonberry jam if you can handle blood foods. When in Lappeenranta the local fast food to try is vetyatomi (hydrogen atom) a pie with meat and rice content and fillings (ham and fried egg) available at grillikioski, not only in Lappeenranta since it is very good if you want to eat local flavour fast food.

For dessert or just as a snack, Finnish pastries abound and are often taken with coffee (see Drink) after a meal. Look for cardamom coffee bread (pulla), a wide variety of tarts (torttu), and donuts. Traditional Finnish deep-fried doughnuts, which are commonly available at cafes, come in two varieties: munkki, which is a deep-fried bun, and munkkipossu, which is flat and roughly rectangular; both contain sweet jam. Whereas, ring-shaped donitsi is available for example at the American chain cafe Arnold's. In summer, a wide range of fresh berries are available, including the delectable but expensive cloudberry (lakka), and berry products are available throughout the year as jam (hillo), soup (keitto) and a type of gooey clear pudding known as kiisseli.

Finnish chocolate is also rather good, with Fazer products including their iconic Sininen ("Blue") bar exported around the world. A more Finnish speciality is licorice (lakritsi). Particularly the strong salty liquorice (salmiakki) gets its unique (and acquired) taste from ammonium chloride.

After a meal it's common to chomp chewing gum (purukumi) including xylitol, which is good for dental health. Jenkki is a popular domestic chewing gum brand with xylitol (many flavours available).

Finns tend to eat out only on special occasions, and restaurant prices are correspondingly expensive. The one exception is lunchtime, when thanks to a government-sponsored lunch coupon system company cafeterias and nearly every restaurant in town offers set lunches for the corresponding prices (around €9–10), usually consisting of a main course, salad bar, bread table and a drink. University cafeterias, many of which are open to all, are particularly cheap with meals in the €2–4 range for students, although without Finnish student ID you will usually need to pay about €5–7. There are also public cafeterias in office areas that are open only during lunch hours on working days. While not particularly stylish and sometimes hard to find, those usually offer high-quality buffet lunch at a reasonable price. Any lunch eatery will have these offers 11:00–14:00, while some have them e.g. 10:30–15:00, very few until dinner time.

For dinner, you'll be limited to generic fast food (pizza, hamburgers, kebabs and such) in the €5–10 range, or you'll have to splurge over €20 for a meal in a "nice" restaurant. For eating on the move, look for grill kiosks (grilli), which serve sausages, hamburgers and other portable if not terribly health-conscious fare late into the night at reasonable prices. In addition to the usual hamburgers and hot dogs, look for meat pies (lihapiirakka), akin to a giant savoury doughnut stuffed with minced meat and your choice of sausage, fried eggs and condiments. Hesburger is the local fast-food equivalent of McDonald's, with a similar menu. They have a "Finnish" interpretation of a few dishes, such as a sour-rye chicken sandwich. Of course most international fast food chains are present, especially Subway and McDonald's (which offers many of their sandwich buns substituted with a sour-rye bun on request.)

The Finnish word for buffet is seisova pöytä ("standing table"), and while increasingly used to refer to all-you-can-eat Chinese or Italian restaurants, the traditional meaning is akin to Sweden's smörgåsbord: a good-sized selection of sandwiches, fish, meats and pastries. It's traditionally eaten in three rounds — first the fish, then the cold meats, and finally warm dishes — and it's usually the first that is the star of the show. Though expensive and not very common in a restaurant setting, if you are fortunate enough to be formally invited to a Finn's home, they will likely have prepared a spread for their guest, along with plenty of coffee. Breakfast at better hotels is also along these lines and it's easy to eat enough to cover lunch as well!

If you're really on a budget, you can save a considerable amount of money by self-catering. Ready-to-eat casseroles and other basic fare that can be quickly prepared in a microwave can be bought for a few euros in any supermarket. Note that you're usually expected to weigh and label any fruits or vegetables yourself (bag it, place it on the scale and press the numbered button; the correct number can be found from the price sign), and green signs mean possibly tastier but certainly more expensive organic (luomu) produce. One should be aware that more often than not, cheap food contains disproportionate amounts of fat.

At restaurants, despite the high prices, portions tend to be quite small, at least when compared to USA and Canada, and even many European countries. Finns are used to eating a substantial breakfast (included in the price of hotels and some other lodgings) and lunch, so the dinner doesn't need to be very heavy, and can be two- or single-course. Dinner is served rather early, sometimes as early as 4 p.m., but usually at 5 or 6 p.m.

Traditional Finnish cuisine relies heavily on meat and fish, but vegetarianism (kasvissyönti) is increasingly popular and well-understood, and will rarely pose a problem for travellers. Practically all restaurants offer vegetarian options, often marked with a "V" on menus. Take note that egg (kananmuna or muna) is found in many prepared foods, ready meals and baked goods, so vegan meals are not common outside selected restaurants but the selection of raw ingredients, speciality grains and health foods is adequate for preparing your own. Likewise gelatine (liivate) in yoghurt, jellies and sweets is common. Both will always be indicated on labels.

Two ailments commonly found among Finns themselves are lactose intolerance (laktoosi-intoleranssi, inability to digest the milk sugar lactose) and coeliac disease (keliakia, inability to digest gluten). In restaurants, lactose-free selections are often tagged "L" (low-lactose products are sometimes called "Hyla" or marked with "VL"), while gluten-free options are marked with "G". However, hydrolyzed lactose (EILA, or HYLA brand) milk or lactose-free milk drink for the lactose intolerant is widely available, which also means that a lactose-free dish is not necessarily milk-free. Allergies are quite common among Finnish people, too, so restaurant workers are usually quite knowledgeable on what goes into each dish and often it is possible to get the dish without certain ingredients if specified.

Kosher and halal food are rare in Finland and generally not available outside very limited speciality shops and restaurants catering to the tiny Jewish and Islamic communities. Watch out for minced meat dishes like meatballs, which very commonly use a mix of beef and pork. The Jewish Community of Helsinki runs a small kosher deli in Helsinki.

A range of ingredients that have more common allergies and dietary restrictions associated with them may be printed in bold text in the list of ingredients (ainekset or ainesosat) on all packaged goods, at restaurants and markets you will have to ask.

Thanks to its thousands of lakes, Finland has plenty of water supplies and tap water is always potable (In fact, never buy bottled water if you can get tap water!). The usual soft drinks and juices are widely available, but there is also a wide array of berry juices (marjamehu), especially in summer, as well as Pommac, an unusual soda made from (according to the label) "mixed fruits", which you'll either love or hate. Juice from many berries is to be mixed with water, also when not bought as concentrate; sugar is often already added. Note the difference between mehu and mehujuoma, where the latter may have only traces of the nominal ingredient.

Finns are the world's heaviest coffee (kahvi) drinkers, averaging 3–4 cups per day. Most Finns drink it strong and black, but sugar and milk for coffee are always available and the more European variants such as espresso and cappuccino are becoming all the more common especially in the bigger cities. Starbucks has arrived in Helsinki, but all the biggest towns have had French-style fancy cafés for quite some time and modern competitors, like Wayne's, Robert's Coffee or Espresso House, are springing up in the mix. For a quick caffeine fix, you can just pop into any convenience store, which will pour you a cuppa for €2 or so. Tea hasn't quite caught on in quite the same way, although finding hot water and a bag of Lipton Yellow Label won't be a problem. For brewed tea, check out some of the finer cafés or tea rooms in the city centres.

Finnish coffee, however, is prepared usually using filters ("sumppi"), producing rather mild substance. Finding a strong high pressure espresso might be an issue somewhere, but tasting the smooth flavor of mocca blend is something to try about. Discussing the preparation mechanics of coffee with Finns is not such a bad idea, generally they are open for new ideas and tastes. The more traditional option for the filtered coffee in Finland is the Eastern style "mud coffee". In that preparation the grounded coffee beans are boiled in a large pot. Before serving, the grounded coffee is let to calm down, before serving the smooth flavored coffee on the top. Today, one might not be able to find this kind of "pannukahvi" in finer cafés (in big cities), but they are largely available pretty much anywhere else. You can even purchase special grounded coffee in most of the supermarkets for that purpose (it is not that fine-grounded like normal filter coffee let alone like espresso). It is specially tasty with cream, rather than milk.

In Finland it is quite common for people of all ages to drink milk (maito) as an accompaniment to food. Another popular option is piimä, or buttermilk.

Alcohol is very expensive in Finland compared to most countries (though not to its Nordic neighbours Sweden and Norway), although low-cost Estonia's entry to the EU has forced the government to cut alcohol taxes a little. Still, a single beer will cost you closer to €4–5 in any bar or pub, or €1 and up in a supermarket. While beer and cider are available in any supermarket or convenience store (9 AM to 9 PM), the state monopoly Alko is your sole choice for wine or anything stronger. The legal drinking age is 18 for milder drinks, while to buy hard liquor from Alko you need to be 20. ID is usually requested from all young-looking clients (nowadays all looking to be under 30). Some restaurants have higher age requirements, up to 30 years, but these are their own policies and are not always followed, especially at more quiet times.

Despite the unusually high cost of booze, Finnish people are well known of their tolerance and culture around celebration. Do not hesitate to join the Finnish parties, which usually are not very dry. While Finnish people tend to stick to individual bills in the bar, when you get with them into the summer cottage, things usually turn other way around and everyone enjoys together what there is on the table.

Surprisingly enough, the national drink is not Finlandia Vodka, but its local brand Koskenkorva or Kossu in common speech. However, the two drinks are closely related: Kossu is 38% while Finlandia is 40%, and Kossu also has a small amount of added sugar, which makes the two drinks taste somewhat different. There are also many other vodkas (viina) on the market, most of which taste pretty much the same.

A local speciality is Salmiakki-Kossu or Salmari, prepared by mixing in salty black salmiakki licorice, whose taste masks the alcohol behind it fearfully well. Add in some Fisherman's Friend menthol cough drops to get Fisu ("Fish") shots, which are even more lethal. In-the-know hipsters opt for Pantteri ("Panther"), which is half and half Salmari and Fisu. Other classic shots are Jaloviina (Jallu) cut brandy and Tervasnapsi "tar schnapps" with a distinctive smoke aroma.

Beer (olut or kalja) is also very popular, but Finnish beers are mostly nearly identical, mild lagers: common brands are Lapin Kulta, Karjala, Olvi, Koff and Karhu. Pay attention to the label when buying: beers branded "I" are inexpensive with low alcohol content, while "III" and "IV" are stronger and more expensive. In normal shops you will not find any drinks with more than 5.5% alcohol. You may also encounter kotikalja ("home beer"), a dark brown beer-like but very low-alcohol beverage. Imported beers are available in bigger grocery stores, most pubs and bars, and Czech beers in particular are popular and only slightly more expensive. Some microbreweries (Laitila, Stadin panimo, Nokian panimo etc.) have been gaining foothold with their domestic dark lagers, wheat beers and ales.

The latest trend is ciders (siideri). Most of these are artificially flavoured sweet concoctions which are quite different from the English or French kinds, although the more authentic varieties are gaining market share. The ever-popular gin long drink or lonkero ("tentacle"), a pre-bottled mix of gin and grapefruit soda, tastes better than it sounds and has the additional useful property of glowing under ultraviolet light. At up to 610 kcal/litre it also allows to skip dinner, leaving more time for drinking.

During the winter, do not miss glögi, a type of spiced mulled wine served with almonds and raisins, which can easily be made at home. The bottled stuff in stores is usually alcohol free, although it was originally made of old wine and Finns will very often mix in some wine or spirits. In restaurants, glögi is served either alcohol-free, or with 2cl vodka added. Fresh, hot glögi can, for example, be found at the Helsinki Christmas market.

Quite a few unusual liquors (likööri) made from berries are available, although they're uniformly very sweet and usually served with dessert. Cloudberry liquor (lakkalikööri) is worth a shot even if you don't like the berries fresh.

Home-made spirits (pontikka): you have been warned! More common in rural areas, illegal and frequently distilled on modified water purification plants – which are subject to import control laws nowadays – anecdotical evidence suggests that those are occasionally played as a prank on unsuspecting foreigners. Politely decline the offer, especially if still sober.

Finally, two traditional beverages worth looking for are mead (sima), an age-old wine-like brew made from brown sugar, lemon and yeast and consumed particularly around May's Vappu festival, and sahti, a type of unfiltered, usually very strong beer often flavoured with juniper berries (an acquired taste).

Finland enjoys a comparatively low crime rate and is, generally, a very safe place to travel. Parents often leave their sleeping babies in a baby carriage on the street while visiting a shop, and in the countryside cars and house doors are often left unlocked.

Use common sense at night, particularly on Friday and Saturday when the youth of Finland hit the streets to get drunk and in some unfortunate cases look for trouble.

Racism is generally a minor concern for tourists, especially in the cosmopolitan major cities, but some drunk people looking for trouble may be more likely to target foreign looking people. Avoiding arguments with drunk gangs may be more important if you fit that description. Immigration to Finland was quite limited before the 1990s and not everybody has got used to the globalisation.

Pickpockets used to be rare, but nowadays the situation has changed, especially in the busy tourist months in the summer, when organized pickpockets arrive from Eastern Europe. In restaurants, do not ever leave your phone, laptop, tablet, keys or wallet unattended. There have been some cases in Helsinki where thieves have been targeting breakfast buffets in hotels, where people often leave valuables unguarded for a few minutes. Regardless of that, most Finns carry their wallets in their pockets or purses and feel quite safe while doing it.

Bicycle thieves are everywhere, never leave your bike unlocked even for a minute.

Finnish police are respected by the public, respectful even to drunkards and thieves, and not corrupt. Should something happen, do not hesitate to get in contact with them.

In the case a police officer actually approaches you, staying calm and polite will help keep the situation on the level of discussion. They have the right to check your identity and your right to stay in the country. They might ask strange questions like where are you coming from, where are you heading next, where you stay or whether you have seen, met or know somebody. If you feel that some question could compromise your privacy, feel free to politely say so. Finnish police have wide powers for arrest and search, but they are unlikely to abuse them. If the situation deteriorates, however, they will probably take you in custody, with force if needed.

Whatever happens, remember that Finland is one of the world's least corrupt countries. Suggestion of bribes will be met by astonishment or worse. If you get fined, payment on the spot is never expected or even possible. A "police" asking for money would be a dead giveaway that they aren't real police. Ask the police officer to show his badge. In addition to the police proper, the border guard and customs officials have police powers; the border guard acts on behalf of the police in some sparsely populated areas.

Customs and the police are strict on drugs, including cannabis. Sniffer dogs are used in ports and airports and a positive marking will always result in a full search. Cannabis use is not generally tolerated among the population.

Although news coverage has included articles about various civil groups patrolling the streets, this phenomenon is rather marginal. Other than the police, no street patrols have any official powers, and the police will not tolerate any attempt to assume any powers. On the other hand, there are no street gangs or paramilitary either.

Prostitution is not illegal. However, pimping is, as is knowingly using the services of a prostitute who is a victim of human trafficking.

There are few serious health risks in Finland. Your primary enemy will be the cold, especially in wintertime and at sea.

Finland is a sparsely populated country and, if heading out into the wilderness, it is imperative that you register your travel plans with somebody who can inform rescue services if you fail to return. Always keep your mobile phone with you if you run into trouble. Dress warmly in layers and bring along a good pair of sunglasses in the snowy times to prevent snow blindness, especially in the spring and if you plan to spend whole days outdoors. Always keep a map, a compass and preferably a GPS with you while trekking in the wilderness. Take extra precautions in Lapland, where it can be several days' hike to the nearest house or road. Weather can change rapidly, and even though the sun is shining now, you can have a medium sized blizzard on your hands (no joke!) an hour or two later. Although weather forecast generally are of good quality, there are circumstances where the weather is hard to predict, especially in regions with fells or islands. Also remember that many forecasts only cite day temperatures, while it often is 10–15°C (20–30°F) colder in the night and early morning.

If out on the lakes and sea, remember that wind and water will cool you faster than cold air, and keeping dry means keeping warm. A person that falls into water close to freezing has to be saved quickly, and even in summer water will cool you pretty soon. Safety in small boats: Don't drink alcohol, keep seated and wear a life vest at all times. If your boat capsizes – keep clothes on to stay warm and cling to the boat (small boats are made to be unsinkable).

Given the size of the Finnish population, a surprisingly high number of people drown in the lakes every year in summer. As pointed out by an annual public awareness campaign (partly Finnish black humour, partly the truth), the stereotypical accident involves an intoxicated amateur fisherman who capsizes his boat while standing up to pee. Other risks include trying too long a distance across the water or hitting an under-water rock or submerged log when jumping in head first.

In winter, lakes and the sea are frozen. Walking, skating or even driving a car on the ice is commonly seen, but fatal accidents are not unheard of either, so ask and heed local advice. If the ice fails, it is difficult to get back out of the water, as the ice will be slippery. Ice picks are sold as safety equipment (a pair of steel needles with bright plastic grips, connected with a safety line). Stay calm, shout for help, break the ice in the direction you came from, get up, creep away and get indoors with no delay. Help from somebody with a rope, a long stick or any similar improvised aid might be needed (no use having both of you in the water).

The only poisonous insects in Finland are wasps (ampiainen), hornets (herhiläinen), bees (mehiläinen) and bumblebees (kimalainen). Their stings can be painful, but are not dangerous, unless you receive many stings or a sting by the trachea (do not lure a wasp onto your sandwich!) or if you are extremely allergic to it. In late summer, wasps can become a nuisance, but otherwise these insects tend to leave people alone if not disturbed.

There is only one type of poisonous snake in Finland, the European adder (Finnish: kyy or kyykäärme), which has a distinct zig-zag type of figure on its back, although some of them are almost completely black. The snake occurs across Finland all the way from the south to up north in Lapland. Although their bites are very rarely fatal (except for small children and allergic persons), one should be careful in the summertime, especially when walking in the forests or on open fields at the countryside. Walk so that you make the ground vibrate and snakes usually go away; they attack people only when somebody frightens them. If you are bitten by a snake, always get medical assistance. If you are planning to travel in the nature in summertime, it's advisable to buy a kyypakkaus ("Adder pack", a medicine set which contains a couple of hydrocortisone pills). It can be bought from any Finnish pharmacy. It is used to reduce the reactions after an adder bite somewhat, but you should see a doctor with no delay anyhow. The kyypakkaus can also be used to relieve the pain, swelling and other allergic reactions caused by bee stings. If you see an ant nest, ants have quite likely taken care of all snakes nearby.

As for other dangerous wildlife, although brown bears (karhu), wolves (susi) and some other big carnivores occur across Finland, these are listed as endangered species and usually avoid humans whenever possible. You are lucky if you see one. Talking with your company while in the forest should be enough to avoid getting between a bear and her cubs. If you do see a bear, back off calmly. Contrary to popular belief abroad, there are no polar bears in Finland, let alone polar bears walking on the city streets. While elks (hirvi) are already very good at avoiding humans and encounters are very unlikely, they nevertheless should be left alone, because especially bull moose can become aggressive and charge at humans.

112 is the national phone number for all emergency services, including police and social services, and it does not require an area code, regardless of what kind of phone you are using. The number works on any mobile phone, whether it is keylocked or not, and with or without a SIM card. If a cellphone challenges you with a PIN code, you can simply type in 112 as a PIN code – most phones will give a choice to call the number (or call without asking). The operator will answer in Finnish or Swedish, but your switching to English should be no problem.

For inquiries about poisons or toxins (from mushrooms, plants, medicine or other chemicals) call the national Toxin Information Office at [tel:+3589471977 +358 9 471-977]. Finns often have an "adder kit" (kyypakkaus, 50 mg hydrocortisone) at their cottages, although this is not enough by itself except for bee or wasp stings: with an adder bite, one should also call 112 immediately

The time for help to arrive can be quite long in sparsely populated areas (around an hour, more in extreme areas), so it makes sense to have basic first-aid supplies at hand when visiting cottages or the wilderness. First aid training is quite common, so amateur help may be available. In case of cardiac arrest, AEDs (Finnish: defibrillaattori) are often available in some locations, such as restaurants and marinas (still begin CPR immediately, to the best of your ability).

You're unlikely to have tummy troubles in Finland, since tap water is always drinkable (and generally quite tasty as well), and hygiene standards in restaurants are strict. If you have any sort of allergies, many restaurants often display in the menu the most common ingredients that people typically are allergic to. Examples: (L) = Lactose free, (VL) = Low Lactose, (G) = Gluten free, if you are unsure just ask the waitress or restaurant staff.

Medication is available in pharmacies only, not in ordinary shops (other than by special arrangements in many remote areas). Any non-trivial medication requires a prescription (stricter criteria than in many other countries).

Finland hosts a number of irritating insects, but if you are planning to stay in the centres of major cities, you are unlikely to encounter them. A serious nuisance in summer are mosquitoes (hyttynen), hordes of which inhabit Finland (particularly Lapland) in summer, especially after rains. While they carry no malaria or other nasty diseases, many species of Finnish mosquitoes make a distinctive (and highly irritating) whining sound while tracking their prey, and their bites are very itchy. As usual, mosquitoes are most active around dawn and sunset – which, in the land of the Midnight Sun, may mean most of the night in summer. There are many different types of mosquito repellents available which can be bought from almost any shop. Another summer nuisance are gadflies (paarma, common where there is cattle), whose bites can leave a mark lasting for days, even for a month. Another potential pest in Finnish summers are deer keds (hirvikärpänen), that can be particularly unpleasant if they manage to shed their wings and burrow into hair (although they rarely bite and humans are not their intended targets; they are mainly encountered in forests). Use repellent, ensure your tent has good mosquito netting and consider prophylaxis with cetirizine (brand names include Zyrtec, Heinix, Cetirizin Ratiopharm), an anti-allergen that (if taken in advance!) will neutralize your reaction to any bites. Topical anti-allergens in the form of gels and creams are also available as over-the-counter medication. A flea comb can be useful for removing deer keds.

In southern Finland, especially Åland, the Lappeenranta-Parikkala-Imatra-axis and areas near Turku's coast, there are ticks (punkki/fästing) which appear on summertime and can transmit Lyme's disease (borreliosis) and viral encephalitis (TBE) through a bite. Also Simo in Lapland is a high risk area. Although not all ticks carry the diseases, you should be aware of the risk if walking in tall grass or shrubs. You could put your trousers in your socks, and you should check your body (or have your mate check it) when you return or in the evening, especially areas with soft skin. You can buy special tick tweezers from the pharmacy (punkkipihdit) which can be used to remove a tick without squeezing it (minimizing risk of infection) if you happen to get bitten, but removing them when they are still searching for a spot to bite is better. If the tick bite starts to form red rings on the skin around it or if you experience other symptoms relating to the bite, you should visit a doctor as soon as possible. Also remember the bite if you get strange symptoms later.

Air quality is mostly good in cities and excellent outside city centres, but in cities there may be problematic streets and problematic times. A few weeks in spring is the worst time in many cities, when the snow is gone and the streets are dry, but dust from the winter remains. Inversion occurs in some cities but is usually a minor problem. The meteorological institute monitors the air quality.

Finnish healthcare is mostly public, in particular intensive care, advanced and emergency healthcare, provided by municipal, central or university hospitals. Types most relevant to travellers are terveyskeskus, municipal mainly outpatient clinic, (keskus)sairaala, (central) hospital with surgery, and yliopistollinen keskussairaala, university hospital. EU/EEA and Swiss citizens can access emergency and health services with their European Health Insurance Card, which means nominal fees for public healthcare in most cases (seeing a doctor usually €15–30, minors free, day surgery €100; some related costs can be reimbursed). Other foreigners are also given urgently needed treatment, but may have to pay all costs. Students have basic health care arranged by the student unions included in their student union membership (voluntary for postgraduates). There are also private clinics (lääkäriasema or lääkärikeskus), which often can schedule an appointment with less queuing, with more substantial fees (residents usually get reimbursements). If you are not an EU/EEA resident the difference in price may be less significant, check with your insurance company. The clinics may however have to refer the patient to a public hospital anyway, if advanced services are needed. The distinction between public and private care has been less clear in the last years, with some municipalities outsourcing part of the medical services, and a large controversial reform (say "sote" to get a deep sigh from anyone) intended to privatize much of the healthcare from 2019.

Finns generally have a relaxed attitude towards manners and dressing up, and a visitor is unlikely to offend them by accident. Common sense is quite enough in most situations, but there are a couple of things that one should keep in mind:

Finns are a famously taciturn people who have little time for small talk or social niceties, so don't expect to hear phrases like "thank you" or "you're welcome" too often. They usually go straight to business. The Finnish language lacks a specific word for "please" so Finns sometimes forget to use it when speaking English, with no intention to be rude. Also lacking in Finnish is the distinction between "he" and "she", which may lead to confusing errors. Loud speaking and loud laughing is not normal in Finland and may irritate some Finns. Occasional silence is considered a part of the conversation, not a sign of hostility or irritation. Notice that although the phrase mitä kuuluu translates to "how are you", it has a literal meaning in Finnish, i.e. a longer discussion is expected; it is not a part of the greeting as in English.

All that said, Finns are generally helpful and polite, and glad to help confused tourists if asked. The lack of niceties has more to do with the fact that in Finnish culture, honesty is highly regarded; one should open one's mouth only to mean what one is about to say. Do not say "maybe later" when there is no later time to be expected. A visitor is unlikely to receive many compliments from Finns, but can be fairly sure that the compliments received are genuine.

Another highly regarded virtue in Finland is punctuality. A visitor should apologize even for being a few minutes late. Being late for longer usually requires a short explanation. Ten minutes is usually considered the threshold between being "acceptably" late and very late. Some will leave arranged meeting points after fifteen minutes. With the advent of mobile phones, sending a text message even if you are only a few minutes late is nowadays a norm. Being late for a business meeting, even by one or two minutes, is considered rude.

The standard greeting is a handshake. Hugs are only exchanged between family members and close friends in some situations, kisses, even on the cheek, practically never. Touching is generally restricted to family members. The distance between strangers is ca. 1.2 m and between friends ca. 70 cm.

If you are invited to a Finnish home, the only bad mistake visitors can make is not to remove their shoes. For much of the year, shoes will carry a lot of snow or mud. Therefore, it is customary to remove them, even during the summer. During the wet season you can ask to put your shoes somewhere to dry during your stay. Very formal occasions at private homes, such as baptisms (often conducted at home in Finland) or somebody's 50th birthday party, are exceptions to these rules. In the wintertime, this sometimes means that the guests bring separate clean shoes and put them on while leaving outdoor shoes in the hall. Bringing gifts such as pastry, wine, or flowers to the host is appreciated, but not required.

In Finland, there is little in the way of a dress code. The general attire is casual and even in business meetings the attire is somewhat more relaxed than in some other countries, although sport clothing in a business meeting would still be bad form. Topless sunbathing is accepted but not very common on beaches in the summer, and thong bikinis have become fashionable in 2018. While going au naturel is common in saunas and even swimming by lakeside cottages, Finns aren't big on nudism in itself, as there are very few dedicated nudist beaches. At normal public beaches swimwear is expected for anybody over 6 years old.

Finns are highly egalitarian. Women participate in society, also in leading roles up to the Presidency. Equal respect is to be given to both genders, and there is little formal sex segregation. Social rank is not usually an important part of social code, thus a Dr. Roger Spencer is usually referred to as simply "Spencer", or even as "Roger" among coworkers, rather than "tohtori Spencer" or "herra Spencer", without meaning any disrespect. Nevertheless, compared to similar European nationalities, Finns are rather nationalistic. Finns are neither Swedes nor Russians or any mixture of the two and will reject any suggestion to this effect. Finland was not a part of the Soviet Union or the Soviet bloc, so prepare for strong opinions if you want to discuss these things. There is mandatory military service, so that most men (80%) have been in the army, and war veterans are highly respected.

When traveling with public transport, it is generally accepted to talk with your friends or ask for help, but only if you keep your voice down. No need to whisper, just don't shout or laugh too loud. It is of course appreciated if you give your seat to someone in need, but it is in no way a vital part to the culture, and most Finns are too self-conscious to do that themselves.

Finland's mail service is run by Posti. A postcard or normal letter to a domestic address costs €1.20/1.10 (express/economy; max 20g), to abroad €1.30/1.20. Åland has its own mail service, with stamps of its own. There are Poste restante services in the cities, but often a better option is to get the post to some trusted address, e.g. your accommodation.

As you'd expect from Nokia's home country, mobile phones are ubiquitous in Finland. GSM and WCDMA (3G) networks blanket the country, although it's still possible to find wilderness areas with poor signal, typically in Lapland and the outer archipelago. The largest operators are Telia and Elisa (a Vodafone partner) and DNA'. Prepaid packages can cost as little as €6. Ask at any convenience store for a list of prices and special offers. Note that Finland got an exception to the EU roaming rules because of low domestic prices, so if you need to use the SIM abroad, check the fine print (maximum EU prices still apply, and EU roaming is often free or cheap). Also note surcharges on incoming calls for some prepaid plans.

Public telephones are close to extinction in Finland, although a few can still be found at airports, major train/bus stations and the like. It is best to bring along a phone or buy one – a simple GSM model can cost less than €40.

The area codes (one or more digits following the +358) are prefixed by 0 when used without the country code, i.e. +358 9 123 456 (a land line number in Helsinki) can be dialled as 09 123 456 (123 456 from local land lines), and is often written "(09) 123 456". Mobile phone numbers – as other numbers without true area codes – are always written without the parenthesis: "0400 123 456" for +358 400 123 456. Mobile phone numbers usually start with 04x or 050 as in the example.

Numbers starting with 0800 or 116 are toll free with domestic phones. Numbers starting with 0700 are possibly expensive entertainment services. There is no guarantee that any service number is reasonably priced (e.g. Eniro number and timetable information is €6/min, with the price told in Finnish only), but prices should be indicated where the number is advertised ("pvm/mpm" or "lsa/lna" stands for the price of a normal call). Queuing may or may not be free. Service numbers usually start with 010, 020, 030, 060, 070 or 075 (here including the area code prefix 0) or 10 (without 0). There are also service numbers prefixed with a true area code (such as usually for taxi). Many service numbers are unavailable from abroad.

The prefix for international calls (from local land lines) is 00, as in the rest of EU. Other prefixes may be available.

Telephone numbers can be enquired from e.g. the service numbers 0200 16100, 020202, 0100 100, 0300 3000 and 118, with hard to discover varying costs (often given per 10s instead of per minute), e.g. €1–2/call+€1–6/min with some combinations of operators, service and time of day. Having the service connect the call usually costs extra. For the moment (June 2017) e.g. 0200 16100 costs €1.83/call+€2,5/min (€0.084/min during a connected call). Some services have a maximum cost of e.g. €24/call.

All of the main carriers offer good roaming services, so using your foreign SIM card should not be an issue. However the costs can be rather impressive. The European Union has agreed on the abolishing of roaming charges; domestic calls with an EU SIM via an EU operator should cost as domestic calls in the country of origin (and likewise with SMS and data), but again, check the fine print. The Finnish operators got an exception, but most will probably have reasonable surcharges and some have none – check before buying a Finnish SIM for use abroad.

Internet cafés are sparse on the ground in this country where everybody logs on at home and in the office, but nearly every public library in the country has computers with free Internet access, although you will often have to register for a time slot in advance or queue, unless there is Wi-Fi and you are using your own device.

Wi-Fi hotspots are increasingly common: in cafés, public transport, marinas, what have you. University staff and students from institutions in the Eduroam cooperation have access to that net on most campuses and at some other locations.

Mobile phone networks are another option, either for your smartphone or for a 3G dongle for your laptop. The dongles themselves (mokkula) are usually sold as part of a 24 months' subscription, so check how to get one if using this option. At least Elisa/Saunalahti and DNA offer a dongle with a prepaid subscription, likely a better alternative for most travellers. There are used ones to be bought on the net (tori.fi, huuto.net etc.), with seemingly random prices.

LTE (4G) networks cover the capital region and major cities. 3G covers most of the country. The mobile phone operators all offer SIM cards for prepaid Internet access (some tailored for that, some for all-round smartphone use – but check surcharges for incoming calls): DNA, Elisa/Radiolinja and Sonera. You can buy them as soon as you arrive at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport at the vending machine by baggage claim, or at R-kioskis, post offices and mobile phone stores around Finland. Remember that you can use your phone as a Wi-Fi hotspot for other devices. Prices start from under €10, with about €20–30 for thirty days (one month or individual calendar days) of unlimited use.

There are usually newspapers available in libraries for the public to read. In bigger towns these often include a few in foreign languages, including English. Foreign language newspapers are also on sale in some bookstores and in R kiosks.

The public broadcasting company YLE sends short news in English 15:55 on Yle Radio 1 (87.9 or 90.9 FM) and 15:29 or 15:30 on Yle Mondo, the latter a multilingual channel aired only in the Helsinki region. There are programmes also in Swedish (own channels), Sámi (Northern, Inari and Skolt) and Russian, and the weekly Nuntii Latini in Latin. The programmes can be heard also by Internet, usually up to a month since they where aired. There is additional written news.

Toilets are usually marked with "WC", an image of a cock, pictograms for men and women (now sometimes also unisex pictograms) or the letters "M" (miehet, men) and "N" (naiset, women). Where there is more than one toilet, there is usually also an accessible/family toilet marked with a wheelchair pictogram, equipped for use with wheelchair, for changing nappies and for small children. A family room can also have its own pictogram.

There should be toilet paper, sink and soap, some method for drying your hands, a waste basket for paper towels and often a towel with lid and pedal for used sanitary napkins. Bidet showers are nowadays common. In cottages without running water there are usually only outhouses of varying standard; for wilderness huts you might need to bring toilet paper and take care of hand washing on your own.

Toilets in public buildings are free, while toilets in the street (quite rare), at bus stations, in shopping malls and the like usually require a suitable coin (€0.5–2). There are toilets in all restaurants and cafés for the customers, while others often can use them for a token fee – but it is more polite to become a real customer. At festivals there are usually free (and stinky) portable toilets.

• Russia to the east. You will probably need a visa unless just visiting Vyborg or Saint Petersburg on a cruise, but even Moscow is just an overnight train away. There are tours and regular connections to some internationally less known destinations, such as Petrozavodsk (Finnish:Petroskoi).
• Sweden, which Finland was part of for 650 years, reachable by an overnight (or day) cruise, or overland from Lapland.
• Estonia, a couple of hours away from Helsinki.
• Norway, more precisely the county of Finnmark, can be accessed overland from Lapland.