Espoo lies close to Helsinki in southern Finland and despite not being as well known as the capital city, it is a lovely place to spend a few days. The city boundary covers the attractive centres of Tapiola and Matinkylä and the beautiful Nuuksio National Park.
Getting there:
Arrive into Helsinki Vantaa Airport (flights from the U.K. with British Airways, Finnair and the low cost carrier Ryanair). From the terminal building rail station take one of the I or P trains (every 15 minutes’ to Helsinki Central Station and then transfer to the metro onto to Matinkylä taking just 55 minutes with a single ticket €4.10 (£3.62).
Stay:
Hotel Matts is a luxurious, modern 4 star hotel in Matinkylä and is conveniently located with a metro station entrance just outside its doors.
The accommodation comprises rooms, suites and apartments and is an ideal base for touring the surrounding area.
Located next to the hotel is the newly extended Iso Omena shopping centre containing more than 100 stores, restaurants and a cinema complex. It’s open until late each evening and perfect for a wander round after a day of sightseeing.
Suggested activities:
Espoo Coastal Route
The Espoo coastal route extends for 27 km along the scenic Gulf of Finland shoreline. At any time of year pleasant walks along forest coastal paths can be enjoyed. Take in the scenic views out to sea and pause for a coffee or lunch at a seaside cafe. There are several inviting cafes to choose from and one suggestion is Nokkalan Majakka, a gorgeous seaside cafe close to Matinkylä.
It’s open daily until 8.00 p.m. (10.00 p.m. at weekends) serving pastries, snacks and full meals. I recommend their daily soup buffet especially the irresistible creamy salmon soup on offer at weekends.
Haukilahti
Haukilahti is another attractive place to visit and can be reached easily by a short bus ride from Matinkylä. There’s a large marina, beach and cafes to explore and then you can follow the coastal walkway back to the hotel passing some beautiful villas and pretty beaches along the way.
Tapiola
Tapiola was designed as a garden city and constructed during the 1950’s and 1960’s, its name being derived from Tapio, the forest God of Finnish mythology. The city’s architecture and landscaping combining urban living in natural surroundings brought worldwide fame for Finnish urban planning.
On exiting the orange metro train in Tapiola station, a large white sculpture greets you on the platform. It’s called “Emma leaves no trace” and was created by Kim Simonsson. This forms part of an installation of colourful handprints spread around the metro station and is linked to the EMMA Museum of Modern Art which is one of the cluster of four Tapiola museums.
Start by taking a stroll around the attractive central lake and fountains just outside the metro station. In winter the lake is transformed into a winter wonderland ice rink with a 330m skating track around the pool.
It’s just a 15 minute walk to the WeeGee Exhibition Centre which is home to two museums, a cafe and museum shop. Entrance is €20 (free each Friday after 5.00 p.m.) covering admission to the Espoo Museum of Modern Art (EMMA) and Espoo City Museum KAMU. The WeeGee building was constructed in the 1960’s for the Finnish printing company Weilin and Göös as their new print works. Next door to WeeGee are two more interesting museums, Leikki – The Museum of Play, popular with young children and the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery – Kruunu which is dedicated to timepieces and the history of measuring time. The museum’s collections have their origins in 1944 when the Finnish School of Watchmaking was founded.
Afterwards take a look in some of the shops in the attractive, modern Ainoa Shopping Centre including the Stockmann department store then take the lift up to Food Garden on the 3rd floor for a bite to eat. I recommend Bistro O Mat which offers a delicious lunch menu with salad buffet.
Nuuksio National Park
Explore Nuuksio National Park which can easily be reached by public transport. Buses 243 and 244 run from Espoo station to Siikaniemi, taking you to the southern part of the national park. More detailed directions are available from nationalparks.fi.
Start off at the Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, where visitors can learn about Finnish nature in Nuuksio and a little about Finland’s other national parks. The southernmost reindeer park in Finland lies within walking distance of the centre as does Solvalla (Swinghill) ski centre. With two lifts and 1 km of slopes it’s an opportunity to go ski-ing, snowboarding or snowshoeing beside frozen lakes and snow capped forests close to the cities of both Espoo and Helsinki.
Lux Nuuksio: This annual festival of light takes place in the national park during January each year. Enjoy Nuuksio by following candlelight trails lit by ice lanterns illuminating the forests and lakes at the darkest time of year.
During the festival visitors can watch actors perform fire juggling and other activities and then cook tasty sausages in an outdoor fireplace and warm up with a hot drink.
Helsinki:
With the metro link from Matinkylä or Tapiola to the centre of Helsinki taking no more than 25 minutes, visitors to Espoo are also well placed to enjoy the beautiful sights of the Finnish capital.
