A country · 173 places · 4 regions

Finland, all of it.

173 curated places across 4 regions — photographed, mapped, and noted with the season each is best in.

Lake Saimaa · via Wikimedia Commons

Finland reads below in 4 chapters — Eastern Finland, Häme Province, Southern Finland Province and Uusimaa Province — in any order you like.

Chapter I · Eastern Finland · 5 places

Eastern Finland

Finland's largest lake and the fourth-largest in Europe by surface area, a vast labyrinthine waterway in southern Finland whose shoreline is so intricate that it would take many days of paddling to explore even a fraction. The lake system is home to the critically endangered Saimaa ringed seal, a subspecies that became isolated after the last ice age. The surrounding lakeland of birch-covered headlands, islands, and channels defines the popular Finnish conception of summer.

Lake Saimaa

Eastern Finland, Finland

✦ June to August · $$

Kuopio

Eastern Finland, Finland

✦ June to August

Tahko

Eastern Finland, Finland

✦ December to April

All 5 places in Eastern Finland →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter II · Häme Province · 4 places

Häme Province

A medieval brick castle beside a lake in the town of Hämeenlinna in southern Finland. It has served as a fortress, granary and prison over its long history.

✦ June to August

Meet Häme Castle All 4 places in Häme Province →

Chapter III · Southern Finland Province · 3 places

Southern Finland Province

A green industrial port on the Gulf of Finland, Kotka is famed for its maritime museum and a former Russian tsar's fishing lodge nearby. Island parks and seaside gardens make it a relaxed coastal city break.

Kotka Maritime Parks

Southern Finland Province, Finland

✦ June to August

Hamina Bastion

Southern Finland Province, Finland

Pyhtää Church

Southern Finland Province, Finland

All 3 places in Southern Finland Province →

via Wikimedia Commons

Chapter IV · Uusimaa Province · 3 places

Uusimaa Province

One of Finland's oldest towns, its old quarter a maze of cobbled lanes and wooden houses climbing to a hilltop cathedral. The row of ochre-red riverside storehouses is among the most recognised sights in the country.

✦ May to September · $$

Meet Porvoo All 3 places in Uusimaa Province →