Finland Motorhome Hire |
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'Touring Helsinki Finland by road ...' |
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RV-ing around Helsinki, FinlandHelsinki is Finland's capital city and lies on the southern coast. Despite Helsinki being home to one tenth of Finland's population, this only amounts to 5 million, significantly smaller than many other European capitals. Helsinki has been built on a number of peninsulas and islands on the Baltic coast, making it a stunning city. Since it is not very expansive, most of the sights to see are located quite close together making a city tour a real pleasure. Being quite a young city, Helsinki contains some of the purest neoclassical architecture in the world and many visitors flock to it for this reason. One reason for much of the outstanding and unusual architecture in Helsinki is that the city was largely built by German architect Carl Ludvig Engel following an enormous fire in the first half of the 19th Century, following a design by Johan Albrecht Ehrenström. It has many large boulevards and white façaded buildings making it significantly different to the other Scandinavian capital cities. The Katajanokka district displays Finnish Art Nouveau architecture; the University Library is largely regarded as one of Engel's finest buildings as well as housing the largest collection of Slavonic works in the West. If your choice of entertainment is observing different architecture and absorbing a city's feel by walking around it, Helsinki has much to offer with numerous parks and seaside walks as well as the wonderful streets and boulevards. Why not visit the Sibelius memorial in Sibelius Park, a huge steel sculpture by Eila Hiltunen. If, on the other hand your preferred city entertainment is shopping, you cannot go wrong either since Helsinki is well known for its many different designers and markets. Some of the biggest markets are Kauppatori, selling fish, flowers, crafts and local produce and Hietalahden Tori, selling similar items to Kauppatori inside the market hall but having a flea market outside it. In addition, Helsinki abounds with museums and galleries. Why not visit the Presidentinlinna (President's Palace) or Sinebrychoffin Taidemuseo (Museum of Foreign Art) started by a wealthy Russian family. The Ateneum (National Museum of Art) houses the Finnish Academy of Art and Finland's finest art collection, including a sculpture hall; the Rock Church (Taivalladenkirkko) is an underground church blasted out of the granite in the late 60s and in the Old Town (Vanhakaupunki) you'll find the largest Arabia porcelain manufactory museum. For caravanners looking for relaxation after hours exploring the city, Helsinki offers numerous indoor pools and saunas, the most famous of which is Yrjönkatu Uimahalli where swimming is in the nude! Close to Helsinki the motor home visitor will be able to visit the fortified islands of Suomenlinna (20 minutes by ferry from the capital) where you will find Sveaborg, a Swedish castle built in the mid 18th century as well as the Nordic Art Centre. In Korkeasaari (5 miles from the city), your children can relax at the zoo and in Seurasaari to the west of the city there is a wonderful open-air museum with old peasant houses amongst other attractions. The intrepid trailer tourists can make arrangements to visit St Petersburg (previously Leningrad) but please enquire in advance about visa and passport requirements, as these are required and should be purchased before the proposed date of travel. Other interesting trips for motor home travellers include the Gallen-Kallela Estate, the seaside home of Finnish romantic painter Akseli Gallen-Kallela (1865-1931) which houses an exhibition of his work including sketches he made for the ceiling murals he made for the Paris Art Exhibition in the late 19th century; the garden city of Tapiola, Espoo designed by Alvar Aalto; Porvoo, a living record of the past incorporating a number of artisan boutiques and multi-coloured old wooden houses; Vantaa with numerous parks and green space suitable for biking, hiking and more. |
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