Cheap flights to Finland from PLN63*

Finland is a cool and happy country – the happiest in the world, in fact. So why not go and see how the Finns do it? Tour the sweet-sized capital, Helsinki, or the old town of Turku, and indulge in culture that can range from thousand-year-old fortresses to avant-garde architectural wonders, classical music to heavy metal, hearty country meals to trendy nouvelle cuisine. In the most sparsely populated country in the European Union, there are also plenty of opportunities to explore the landscape of pine forests and rolling hills, thousands of lakes and islands. Experience the awe of the northern lights, or enjoy the summer midnight sun. Keep awake for either phenomenon with coffee – Finns consume more of it than anyone else in the world.

Travel to Finland to:

• Experience Helsinki, with architectural wonders from neoclassical to Russian Orthodox, Art Nouveau to avant-garde, hip cafés and trendy eateries. Or tour the old capital, Turku, your medieval gateway to adventure in the archipelago.
• Choose from 40 national parks, some dotted with lakes, some encompassing acres of islands, and stay in a peaceful lake- or seaside cottage. With sauna, of course.
• Take in six islands at once when you visit the vast Suomenlinna fortress. Walk the ramparts and descend into a WWII-era submarine, or picnic on a peaceful hillside.
• Visit Santa in his home in Rovaniemi, where you’ll also be able to see the northern lights, from August to April, and straddle the Arctic Circle.
• Make merry with the Moomins, the charming chubby stars of Tove Jansson’s books. They live in Moominworld, near Turku, and can also be spotted in Helsinki’s Moomin Kaffe.

The cool destination

Finland isn’t the coldest country in Europe, but it’s cool in more ways than one. It’s got at least 100 days of winter – 200 in Lapland. But that doesn’t deter the Finns, who invented the sauna, after all. Here you can make the most of long winter nights by hopping on a snowmobile or a dog sledge to chase the northern lights, for example. In summer, the sun doesn’t set for as many as 73 days, so your lakeside, island-hopping or city break holiday will last a lot longer than you think. Finns must spend their long nights, or long days, exercising their imaginations, since this small nation gave rise to the once-preeminent Nokia phones, whimsical Marimekko fabrics, beloved Moomin characters and the Kalevala-inspired music of Sibelius. Try a Finnish holiday and see if you find the secret to creativity or to happiness.

Hip Helsinki design and culture

Helsinki is a supercool choice for a city break. You can wander from the imposing Tuomiokirkko, Helsinki’s Cathedral, to the outdoor marketplace at the harbour, ride a ferry to its string of islands dominated by the Suomenlinna fortress, have a picnic on an island beach, and pop back downtown to a wine bar, into a sauna or to an art gallery. For more inspiration for your imagination, check out the Art Nouveau train station, the sweeping glass of the modernist Finlandia Hall, or sink into a contemplative state at the peaceful wooden Kamppi Chapel of Silence. Once refreshed, try reindeer chips, bear sausage, smoked fish, salmon soup or moose steak, choosing from a range of restaurants from traditional to ultra-trendy. If you’d like a musical evening, composer Jean Sibelius is Finland’s pride and joy, honoured with a kinetic sculpture, statue, park and a music academy in Helsinki as well as a museum in Turku, just an hour and a half away. The country also happens to have the most heavy-metal bands per capita in the world… remember Lordi, the monster-masked winners of Eurovision 2006?

Lakeside serenity and saunas

Not only does Finland have a 1,250-kilometre coastline and more than 100,000 islands, it has more than 180,000 lakes. These are the vacation favourites of Finns, especially in what’s called the Heart of Finland, between Tampere and Jyväskylä. Kayak through interlinked lakes, rivers, and rapids, cruise a lake on a steamship, or just jump in for a dip – after a fire-stoked sauna, of course. There’s no shortage of charming towns, either, such as Keuruu, and you can start your hike or bike on trails in two national parks nearby. Why not rent a rustic lakeside cottage for your serene holiday? You can also book a similar cottage for an island-hopping sea adventure – the archipelago off Turku alone has more than 20,000 islands, a paradise for birdwatchers, kayakers, and for the experience of living like a local, with fresh food from farm and sea.

Santa’s winter wonderland

Finland’s cities and countryside transform into wonderland in winter – it’s no surprise that Santa Claus has made his home in Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland, located right on the Arctic Circle. You can visit him and his elves at Santa Claus Village. Stay in an igloo, if you dare, and see the northern lights on a tour by snowmobile, snowshoes or sledges drawn by huskies or reindeer. (The reindeer don’t fly, only Santa’s are trained for that.) Skiing in Finland is unique for its long season, from October through May in many places, and there’s something for everyone, from beginner to expert, snowboarder to freestyler. One of Finland’s most northerly resorts, Saariselkä, has 200 kilometres of groomed cross-country ski trails – no wonder the Finns excel at this sport. Note that Finland isn’t mountainous: Levi is the only resort with Alpine World cup-level slopes, if that’s what you’re looking for, while Ruka is host to World Cup ski jumping, cross country and nordic combined competitions. Have we mentioned how crazy Finns are about ice hockey? Catch a match in pretty much any town for a fun Finnish night out.