Helsinki
From mid-August to May, opera, ballet and classical concerts are staged at Helsinki's opera house, set in landscaped parkland next to Töölönlahti bay. Designed by Eero Hyvämäki, Jukka Karhunen and Risto Parkkinen, the building was completed in 1993. Performances of the Finnish National Opera are subtitled in Finnish.
Its main auditorium has a capacity of 1350 seats; the smaller studio seats an audience of 500.
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Suomenlinna, the ‘fortress of Finland’, straddles a cluster of car-free islands connected by bridges. This Unesco World Heritage site was originally built…
0.93 MILES
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
1.4 MILES
An unmissable stop for Finnish design aficionados, Helsinki's Design Museum has a permanent collection that looks at the roots of Finnish design in the…
0.48 MILES
Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy…
1.58 MILES
Situated 5.5km northwest of the city centre, this excellent island-set museum has a collection of 87 historic wooden buildings transferred here from…
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One in a series of elegant, contemporary buildings in this part of town, curvaceous, metallic Kiasma, designed by Steven Holl and finished in 1998, is a…
29.32 MILES
One of Finland's most enticing old quarters, this tangle of cobbled alleys and wooden warehouses is entrancing. Once a vibrant port and market, Porvoo now…
0.83 MILES
Set beneath the iconic 1936 Lasipalatsi building, art museum Amos Rex opened in 2018. Sweeping staircases take you below ground to the exhibition halls…
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Host of the 1952 Summer Olympics, this still-attractive functionalist stadium is a city landmark. The complex is closed for major renovations and will…
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Transport enthusiasts and kids will especially enjoy checking out the vintage trams at this engaging museum, which depicts daily life in Helsinki’s…
0.48 MILES
Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy…
0.54 MILES
Close to Linnanmäki, Sea Life is an enjoyable aquarium complex with walk-through tunnels that let you spot sharks, rays, octopuses and myriad fish up…
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Famous Linnanmäki is a real kid pleaser with rides (some free) including several roller coasters and a panoramic 75m free-fall tower, as well as nightly…
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In the leafy, waterfront Sibelius Park (Sibeliuksen puisto, or just 'Sibban'), this famous, striking sculpture was created by artist Eila Hiltunen in 1967…
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Finland's imposing parliament building was designed by Finnish architect Johan Sigfrid Sirén and inaugurated in 1931. Its pared-back neoclassicism…
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Opened late 2018 as a 100th anniversary gift to the people of Finland, the central library is as aesthetically pleasing as it is intellectually…