According to the popular Russian anecdote, people in Finland like to go to the Helsinki Zoo and watch the sloths frolicking in the trees .In defense of its citizens, Finland categorically declares: it is not they that slow down, but we drive! Regardless of whose perception of time is correct, Finland for us is in every respect a close country: to fly here only about an hour, and other ways of entering mass: trains, buses and just cars .Among the "zamanuh" that Finland prepared for the attentive tourist is fishing on the Finnish lakes and the Åland Islands, excellent shopping, a lot of fortresses and old churches, cozy towns and, of course, the main excursion treasure of the country - Helsinki! In winter: ski resorts, the village of Santa Claus, plus the "aurora borealis" in half a gallon .Well, the meeting of the New Year on the main parallel of Finland to the Arctic Circle - and even more so the children's dream of many .

In general, tourists go to Finland in winter for many reasons .For example, to authentically celebrate the New Year with the whole family in a company with deer and a local species of Santa Claus, whose name with a touch and can not pronounce .Or to live in a hut in a breathtakingly beautiful winter forest, ride on ice of a frozen lake on skates or sledges, see the northern lights in at least five different ways .To properly steam in a hot sauna - Finland knows how to warm a long polar night ... For many, in general, things other than sharp skiing sensations .The local routes, although maintained in very good condition, can not boast of significant differences in altitude and interesting descents - so its slopes Finland is interesting except for beginners skiers .

Finland from Scantravel

Individual tours of any complexity. Tours with children. Weekend tours. Cruises on ferries Silja Line, "Princess Anastasia", "Princess Maria". Hotels, cottages. Excursions to Helsinki and from Helsinki, to Turku, Tampere, Lapland, etc. Railway , air tickets. Rent a Car. Fishing. Guide and interpreter services.

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The capital is Helsinki. Major cities are Kuopio, Tampere, Turku, Rovaniemi, Lahti, Imatra, Oulu. The entire list is on the city page and the resorts of Finland.

Major resorts in Finland

• Snow-skiing:
  • Northern Finland: Vuokatti, Levi, Kuusamo-Ruka, Rovaniemi, Paljakka and Ukkohala, Iso-Syote, Salla, Pyhä, Ylläs, Olos and Pallas, Saariselkä
  • Central Finland: Coley, Tahko, Kasurila, Maarianvaara, Himos.
  • Southern Finland: Ellivuori, Kalpalinna, Messilia.
• Island resort, where the main entertainment is fishing:
  • Åland Islands

Private cruises on motor ships and snow Lapland with the village of Santa Claus stand out.

How to get

Regular direct flights from Moscow to Helsinki are carried out by Aeroflot and Finnair. From St. Petersburg fly airline "Russia" and the same Finnair. Time in flight - 1 hour 40 minutes from Moscow and about 1 hour from St. Petersburg.

Between Moscow and Helsinki the Russian train "Leo Tolstoy" (departure at 22:50 from the Leningrad station) runs daily, to which the residents of St. Petersburg can also sit down. Travel time from Moscow is about 14 hours, from St. Petersburg - 6 hours and 45 minutes. Since December 2010, an Allegro high-speed train has been launched between St. Petersburg and Helsinki, which reduced the journey time to 3 hours 40 minutes.

Regular flights Kiev - Helsinki are carried out by the "International airlines of Ukraine" and Finnair (duration - two hours).

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• Do ferries to Finland cost from Russia?
• There is a ferry Finland - Sweden

Visa to Finland is

Russian and CIS citizens need a visa to Finland to visit the country.

Customs

Import of national and foreign currency is not limited to .Duty-free can be imported to persons over 18 years of age: a liter of alcoholic beverages stronger than 22 ° or 2 liters of aperitifs with a maximum strength of 22 ° or 2 liters of champagne, as well as 4 liters of wine and 16 liters of beer, 200 cigarettes or 100 cigars or 50 cigars or 250 grams of tobacco , 50 ml of perfume and 250 ml of toilet water, 100 grams of tea or 40 g of tea extract or tea essence (for tourists 15 years and older - 500 grams of coffee or 200 g of coffee essences) .Import of poultry eggs, meat and meat products, milk and dairy products is prohibited .Goods for which there are no quantitative restrictions are allowed to import for an amount not exceeding 430 EUR (including the total cost of imported beer) .

Useful phone numbers are

Embassy of Finland in Moscow: Kropotkinsky per., 15-17; tel .: (495) 787-41-78; website

The Russian Embassy in Helsinki: Tehtaankatu 1B; tel .: (9) 661-876, 661-877; website

Office in Lappeenranta: Kievarinkatu 1a; tel .: (5) 872-07-00

Consulate on the Åland Islands (Marienhamn): N. Esplanadgatan 11; tel .: (1) 819-524; website

Consulate General in Turku: Vartiovuorenkatu 2; tel .: (2) 233-64-41; website

Police, ambulance, fire brigade: 112

The international dialing code of Helsinki is 9.

Transport Finland

In Finland, you can travel by air (Finnair's domestic airlines are connected by 22 cities), by bus (discounts for children and groups, as well as special tourist tickets) and by train (there are also discounts for groups and 50% discount for children from 6 to 15 years) .

Public transport Helsinki - buses, trams and metro. Tickets are sold at newsagents or in the transport itself, the ticket for one trip costs 1, 1-1, 5 EUR, for 10 trips - 12 EUR. Passengers who do not have travel cards must enter the front door and buy tickets from the driver.

The subway operates from 5:25 to 23:20, on Sundays the interval is increased.

Rent a car

To rent a car, you must have a valid international driving license, have at least 21 years of earthly life (different firms have different minimum ages), and at least one year of driving practice .In addition, you must have a credit card (when you receive a car on it, a certain deposit is blocked) .If the car is taken for one way only, the customer pays gasoline and runs the car in the opposite direction .For more information, see the article "Driving in Finland" .If you prefer to go on your own car - read about the features in the article "To Finland by car - what to foresee" .

• Rules for transporting children in a car in Finland
• What are the nuances of traveling to Finland by car

Car Hire in Finland with Best Price Guarantee

The safety of tourists in Finland is

In Finland there is no need to fear for your personal security or property..However, several rules should be observed .For example, smoking in public places in the country is prohibited, and this is not a formal ban - the Finns are vigilantly watching for its compliance .In many of the night bars, the sale of alcohol ends at 1:30, and some institutions do not have a license to sell alcohol..For detailed information on the safety and rules of conduct in the country, see the articles "Safety of a tourist in Finnish cities" and "Finnish nature: rules of rest" .

The climate of Finland is

In Finland, snowy winter and a fairly warm summer. In winter, average temperatures range from -3 ° C in the south to -15 ° C in the north. In the winter in the northern part of the country comes the polar night, and to the south it gets dark at about 15:00.

Actual information: weather forecast for the main resorts in Finland for the next few days.

• What is the weather in Finland in the summer?

Hotels in Finland

There are no official "stars" in Finnish hotels, but there are local "chains" of hotels, each with its own internal standards. Even a 2 * hotel - a decent level, there is always a sauna included in the price. The rooms are simple, without too much "pathos", but invariably clean, serviceable and comfortable. Breakfasts in hotels are always offered in the form of a "buffet."

In some hotels there are water parks with "tropical pools": they give a special charm to rest in these northern latitudes. In addition to hotels and cottages, in Suomi there are also accommodation facilities such as campsites, farmsteads and farms. On the features of renting a cottage - on the page cottage holiday in Finland.

Banks and exchange points

Banks work on weekdays from 9:15 to 16:15. On holidays and weekends, all banks are closed.

You can exchange currency in banks, in some post offices (Postipankki), in many hotels, seaports and at the airport in Helsinki, but the most profitable course is in bank branches. Often you need to show your passport for an exchange. Exchange currency in the mail is available daily from 6:30 to 20:30.

Shopping and shops in Finland

On weekdays, shops are open from 9:00 to 17: 00-18: 00 (major shopping centers - until 20: 00-21: 00) and from 9:00 to 15:00 on Saturdays (major shopping centers - until 18:00 ). On holidays, all stores except R-kioski are closed.

As souvenirs from Suomi, you can bring designer items made of glass, ceramics, wood and metal, deer skins, horns, handcrafted Sami items (birch bark boxes, tin stamping), national Finnish dolls, bear and white deer figurines, famous Finnish chocolate Fazer. It is worth paying attention to quality knives (both hiking and kitchen). Decorate the house after a trip to Suomi can be hand-woven traditional mats-rugs with pretty embroidery.

In Finland, it makes sense to look in the local clothing stores - it is very cozy, warm and, as a rule, made of natural fabrics.

• Where Christmas sales are held in Finland?

Kitchen and restaurants

"As if they did not leave" - ​​Russian tourists can say, having got acquainted with the cuisine of Finland. Potatoes, smoked salmon and small fishes such as Baltic herring, vegetables and rye bread - here is a portrait of Finnish gastronomy by rough strokes. Do not shy away Finns and meat dishes: in the menu of restaurants and on the home table there are always different types of ragout, meatballs and sausages, as well as variations on the theme of meat in a pot.

From the recommended: first of all, unusually tasty salmon - hot and cold smoked, salted, marinated, roasted steak and in a dozen performances, Baltic herring, Karelian stew (pieces of beef and pork in the company of carrots, onions and potatoes), "maksalaaticko" - liver, rice and raisins baked in the oven, as well as fragrant "hernecate" - pea soup with bacon .We advise you to pay attention to dairy products, in particular, cheeses ("aura" - the most popular variety) and yoghurt drinks "piima" and "vili" .Sweetmongers will enjoy a variety of pies with berries, jams and local chocolate Fazer .

Trails

Strictly speaking, there are no mountains as such in Finland. There are only hills, interesting mainly for middle-level skiers and beginners. But the trails are in excellent condition (thanks to modern technology), the equipment that is given out for rent is new, and therefore it is always possible to have fun in the country, while skiing or snowboarding. Tourists who go to Suomi solely for the sake of skis, a little. The ski season lasts from November 10 to May 5. The cost of ski-pass for 5 days is 85-100 EUR.

Beauty of Turku

In the house of Santa Claus

Panorama of Helsinki

Entertainment, excursions and attractions of Finland

In Helsinki, there are more than 60 churches, the most famous and popular among tourists - Uspensky Cathedral and Temppelinaukio ("Snow Church" or "Church in the Rock"), cut in a granite rock .In addition, the guests of the capital will be interested in visiting three museums united under the auspices of the Finnish National Gallery - the Sinebryukhiv Museum of Fine Arts (a large collection of Western European paintings, porcelain, silver and furniture), the Ateneum Museum (a collection of Finnish and foreign art of the 18-20th centuries) and the Museum of Contemporary Art "Kyasma" (the work of Finnish artists since the 60s of the last century) .

Very popular among tourists is the group of islands of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) with a complex of the powerful Swedish fortress of the same name (1748-1772) and the old base of the Baltic Fleet of the Russian Empire. Both sites are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. For visitors there are 4 museums open, you can also see the oldest sailing ship of Finland - Alma and the Art Center of the Nordic countries.

Just 5 km from the center of Helsinki on the island of Seurasaari there is an ethnographic open-air museum with many picturesque old Finnish wooden buildings brought from different parts of the country. On the island of Korkeasaari is the Helsinki Zoo, which is considered one of the best in Europe.

In Rovaniemi you can visit one of the best zoos in Europe, stand up, until you get bored, in the Arctic Circle and go with children to visit a local species of dementia, to the village-residence of Santa Claus.

Family tourists should definitely visit the Moomin-Troll Valley - it is considered one of the best children's theme parks in the world.

In Suomi is very popular riding on reindeer and dog sleds. Winter riding on horseback and rally on the ice became fashionable.

Read also about the most popular attractions in Finland.

Fishing

The main Finnish game is always fishing. To join, tourists aged 18 to 65 years will have to get a temporary license to start, although fishing for float fishing is possible without a license.

In other cases, the following documents are required:

• the certificate of the state fee for fishing (approximate cost 22 EUR / year, 7 EUR / week), can be purchased at banks, post offices, kiosks network R-kioski, online
• a receipt for payment of the local fishing license (estimated cost from 29 euros / year, from 7 euro / week), can be purchased at stores, at gas stations, in information points.

It is important to remember that the license is valid only in the territory of one province - in the neighboring one you will have to purchase a new one. The receipt for payment must be kept for the entire rest period. Photos of Finland (832)