13 Best Sights in The Lakelands, Finland

The only museum in the western world devoted to Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, otherwise known as Lenin, the Russian revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union, is in the Worker's Hall in Tampere, and it's a fascinating collection of posters, photos, and Soviet-era paraphernalia. The location was the meeting place of Lenin and Stalin in 1905 before the 1917 revolution, and the museum has an impressive list of visitors from cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to General Secretary Brezhnev. Founded in 1946, the museum was long an itinerary fixture for Soviet tourist groups right up to the collapse of the USSR in 1991. It remains one of Tampere's most surprising and memorable attractions.   

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.

The Orthodox Church Museum possesses one of the most interesting and unusual collections of its kind. When parts of Karelia (the eastern province of Finland) were ceded to the Soviet Union after World War II, religious art was taken out of the monasteries and brought to Kuopio. The collection is eclectic and includes one of the most beautiful icon collections in the world, as well as embroidered church textiles.

One of the city's best museums consists of more than 30 apartments in a collection of wooden houses, plus a sauna, a bakery, a haberdashery, and more from the 1880s to the 1970s. Its cozy Café Amurin Helmi has garden seating in summer and serves fresh bread baked on the premises with breakfast and a soup lunch.

Tampere's cathedral was built in 1906, designed by National Romantic architect Lars Sonck in his own whimsical style, and is worth a visit if only to view some stunning masterpieces of Finnish art, including Hugo Simberg's Wounded Angel and Garden of Death and Magnus Enckell’s The Resurrection.

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).

Called maailman napa—the belly button of the world—by locals, Kuopio's Market Square should be one of your first stops, as it hosts one of the most colorful outdoor markets in Finland. Try the famous kalakukko (fish and bacon baked in a rye crust). Kuopio's tourist office is nearby. The Market Hall, founded in 1902, is likewise one of the liveliest in the country and is decorated with stucco images of pigs, cows, and squirrels.

Finland’s best-loved fictional characters, the Moomins, created by Tove Jansson, are celebrated at the world’s only Moomin Museum. It’s in the Tampere Hall, the city’s main concert and conference hall, and is a dream come true for Moomin fans, where you can relive some of the Moomintroll stories and see a collection of Moomin art. There is a Moomin Museum Reading Room and a gift shop selling all things Moomin. Free guided tours are at 1 on weekends.

The slender, 75-meter-tall tower, 3 km (2 miles) northwest of Kuopio, is best visited at sunset, when the lakes shimmer with reflected light. It has two observation decks and is crowned by a café, bar, and revolving restaurant with truly marvelous panoramic views of the lakes spreading in all directions.

Traditional lumberjack evenings take place at the Jätkänkämppä log lodge on the expansive lakeside grounds of the Rauhalahti Spa Hotel on Tuesday throughout the year and also on Thursday in the summer. These feature live accordion music, dancing, and a delicious buffet as well as log-rolling demonstrations on the lake (weather permitting). Nearby is the world’s biggest smoke sauna, with capacity for 70 bathers at one time. 

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. 

The Näsineule observation tower dominates this amusement park on Lake Näsijärvi. It remains a perennial family favorite, offering all manner of rides from the Crazy Bus and Rapids Rides to the Swing Carousel and Tornado roller coaster. There's also an aquarium and a Doghill Fairy-Tale farm, the latter an offshoot from the popular Koiramäki (i.e., "dog hill") children's book series by Mauri Kunnas. Adults are catered to as well as kids in the restaurant and café, both with sensational Lakeland views, which are reached by an elevator at the top of Näsineule (be sure to make a reservation).    

If you were fascinated by the treasures in the Orthodox Church Museum, you'll want to visit the Orthodox Valamo Monastery in Heinävesi, between Varkaus and Joensuu. The original Valamo monastery remains on the Russian side of the border on islands in Lake Ladoga in what used to be Finland, but monks were transferred to these newer premises in the midst of turmoil after World War II. As a major center for Russian Orthodox religious and cultural life in Finland, the monastery church hosts daily services and is especially lively and well-frequented at Easter when important services are held. Precious 18th-century icons and sacred objects are housed in the main church and in the icon conservation center. The Orthodox library is the most extensive in Finland and is open to visitors, as is the absorbing museum containing ecclesiastical artifacts and photographs. A café-restaurant is on the grounds, and modest guesthouse and hostel accommodations are available (book ahead).