3 Best Sights in Savonlinna, The Lakelands

A 10-minute stroll from the quay to the southeast brings you to Savonlinna's most famous site, the castle Olavinlinna. First built in 1475 to protect Finland's eastern border, the castle retains its medieval character and is one of Scandinavia's best-preserved historic monuments. Still surrounded by water that once bolstered its defensive strength, the fortress rises majestically out of the lake. Every July the Savonlinna Opera Festival is held in the castle's courtyard, which creates a spell-binding combination of music and surroundings. The festival is a showcase for Finnish opera, but it also hosts foreign companies. You will need to make reservations well in advance for both tickets and hotel rooms (note higher hotel rates during the festival), as Savonlinna draws many music lovers. The festival also includes arts and crafts exhibits around town.

Believed to be the biggest wooden church in the world at 45 meters in length and 42 meters wide, the church at Kerimäki has the capacity to seat 3,000 worshippers, with another 2,000 standing. There is a nice story about how the size of the church was due to the architect’s confusion about centimeters and inches, but in fact it was meant to be this big, in order to accommodate half of the people living in the area. If you happen to be in the region at Christmas, don't miss the atmospheric candlelit service here. The church is a 30-minute drive east of Savonlinna on Lake Puruvesi, or take a train from Savonlinna to Kerimäki station (about 15 minutes) and call a taxi (the number is on a sign at the station) to cover the remaining 12 km (8 miles).

Also housing Savonlinna Tourist Information, the museum on the island of Riihisaari, adjacent to Olavinlinna, offers a glimpse into the history of the town and lake traffic, including the fascinating floating timber trains still a common sight on Lake Saimaa today. The Saimaa Nature Centre is also here. Historic steamships moored on the island are open in summer.