Finland Travel Blog

Eija-Liisa Ahtila Parallel Worlds 19.4.–1.9. Eija-Liisa Ahtila has since the early 1990s introduced new creative idioms into moving image art. Using images, sounds and stories, she constructs installations that embody alternating viewpoints. The viewer is swept into the stories. In her most recent works, Ahtila addresses the themes of globalisation as well as relations between [...]

Minna Parikka – the flagship store Back in November of 2012, Minna Parikka, the acclaimed ‘Scandi Queen of Shoes’, opened her flagship store on Helsinki’s trendiest shopping street, Aleksanterinkatu. To ensure her store reflected all that the Minna Parikka brand is best known for, Minna chose the Helsinki based Joanna Laajisto Design Studio, whose work [...]

Founded in 1935 by four young Finns (Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl), Artek has become renowned for being one the most innovative companies in modern design. Originally Alvar Aalto began designing furniture as an extension of his architecture, and in 1931 created his first furniture for a sanitorium at Paimio. The [...]

Following the success of his restaurants in Tampere and Turku, American Top Chef finalist Stefan Richter has opened a third restaurant, the latest located near the top of the Esplanade on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki. The newest  Stefan’s Steakhouse opened mid November 2012, and is already garnering rave reviews from customers. Stefan Richter first came to [...]

The largest Finnish event featuring contemporary music, Musica Nova Helsinki will be held for the 22nd time between the 8th and 16th of February. This year’s festival will present a veritable smörgåsbord of music from Asia, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. The theme in for the 2013 event is “Orient-Occident”, one of the most [...]

Lux Helsinki – The Light is Loose: 4–8 January 2013 The city event Lux Helsinki invites residents and visitors to enjoy brilliant light installations during the darkest time of the year. Thirteen impressive and surprising light installations will light up a route stretching from the Olympic Stadium to Baana via the Amphitheatre at the Finnish [...]

This coming weekend will see the official beginning of the Christmas season in Finland, with Advent Sunday taking place on December 2nd. Already in Helsinki, and in many other Finnish towns and cities, the Christmas tree is up and illuminated in the square, and festive lights adorn the main shopping streets, as well as the [...]

Although it hardly seems credible, there is case to be made that Finland, rather than Argentina, is the foremost tango country in the world, at least in terms of numbers. The most obvious indication that this is so is the annual Tangomarkkinat (tango festival) held in Seinäjoki, where over 150,000 people take part every year. [...]

Organised every year since 1997 by the non-profit Night Visions, with support from the Finnish National Council for Cinema and the Cultural Office of Helsinki City (among others), the Night Visions Film Festival is the oldest, biggest, and most prestigious film festival in the country that focuses on fantasy, horror, and science fiction, with an [...]