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Tampere Hotels: 728 Reviews - 934 Photos
Turku Hotels: 628 Reviews - 961 Photos
Ivalo Hotels: 55 Reviews - 76 Photos
Kontiolahti Hotels: 0 Reviews
Kajaani Hotels: 53 Reviews - 151 Photos
Porvoo Hotels: 318 Reviews - 482 Photos
Jyväskylä Hotels: 47 Reviews - 42 Photos
Sirkka Hotels: 13 Reviews - 14 Photos
Oulu Hotels: 242 Reviews - 406 Photos
Lappeenranta Hotels: 45 Reviews - 92 Photos
Vantaa Hotels: 60 Reviews - 106 Photos
Kerava Hotels: 48 Reviews - 99 Photos
Tikkurila Hotels: 6 Reviews - 9 Photos

Finland Local Customs

Midsummer sun

by TarjaH

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Midsummer sun
by TarjaH
Smoke sauna of my parents
by TarjaH
Saunavasta
by TarjaH
Barbeque
by TarjaH
Sauna in my flat
by TarjaH

Most Viewed Local Customs in Finland

26.

Sauna (The Finnish Sauna Society) Helsinki

6 Reviews We deliberately chose a hotel with a swimming pool in Helsinki and were shocked to find the pool only opened around 2 hours per day. This is because the pool is part of the sauna experience. Finnish...

See All 197 Local Customs in Helsinki

27.

Musta Makkara Tampere

4 Reviews If you ask anyone in Tampere which one is the most typical local food, the answer would be mustamakkara. This sausage (similar to black pudding, but thinner) consists of pork, pig blood, crushed rye...

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28.

No tipping in Finland (but you can leave small change) Helsinki

7 Reviews I don't actually agree with the no tipping custom. Finnish people might not tip very often, but when they do tip, they show that they liked the food, the place and the service - just like anywhere...

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29.

Vappu (1st. of May) Helsinki

6 Reviews This is to tell you a little bit about a Finnish tradition called Vappu (the 1st of May). We have big Vappu celebrations over here with dancing in the streets, lots of balloons and funny masks etc....

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30.

Washing carpets at the beach Helsinki

3 Reviews When you tell people that the Finns still wash their carpets by hand, many do not believe this to be true. However, the tradition continues and in several water front places around the city, the...

See All 197 Local Customs in Helsinki

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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Being on time

by ZenLady34

In some cultures it is more like a rule than exception to show up like fifteen minutes past the agreed time. Well, Finland is not one of these cultures. It is important that agreed times are kept. Whether you a meeting your Finnish friend, colleague or simply attending a guided tour be on time. Coming late is concidered as "bad behaviour"F ex if you need to meet up at 6pm, you should not be there at fifteen past, nor ten past nor even five past six, but latest* at six o'clock. It is advisable to be on time and preferable like five to ten minutes early from the agreed time.Finns are known for their punctuality and you will do great if you concider this when dealing with Finns.

Official languages: Finnish and Swedish

by ZenLady34

In Finland around 92% of the population speak Finnish and 5.5% are Swedish speaking. Most Swedish speakers live in the coastal areas of Uusimaa (Nyland in Swedish), Turunmaa (Väståboland) and Pohjanmaa (Österbotten). Municipalities in Finland can be unilingual (in either Finnish or Swedish) or bilingual, but a person can officially have only one first language. There has been deep discussions about the compulsotory language studies in schools. There has been a compulsotory studies of the other official language of Finland in the elementery schools as both Finnish and Swedish languages has been compulsotory and there are areas in Finland where there is none Swedish speaking habitation but also other way around.Traffic signs and place names are shown in both Finnish and Swedish in parts of Finland but not everywhere. That is the reason why you will see them written in two different...

Extra fee for bed linen and for the end cleaning

by swetluska

Another surprising fact. In all types of accomodation (even in the cottages) they charge you extra fee for the bed linen. Sleeping bags are often not allowed. They also charge extra fee for the end cleaning of the room/cottage and this fee can be even higher than the accomodation price. It is always better to do the end cleaning yourselves then.

Closed on Sundays

by swetluska

I am used from my country that all big shopping malls are opened during weekends and that it is no problem to do the shopping. In Finland most of the shops are closed during the Sunday (I heard that all shops bigger than 400 sq m have to be closed, but don't know whether this is true).Anyway, it is better to do your shopping on some other day.

Namings of villages and nature

by gubbi1

Travelling around Finland you will see many names of towns, villages, rivers and people of which parts of the name repeat often. This has the reason that these parts (mostly endings) have a meaning. Have a look and see how deeply Finland is linked to its great resource, the unspoiled nature...Here some example:niemi - penninsula -> e.g. Marjaniemi (on island Hailuoto)joki - river -> e.g. Oulujoki (river flowing through Oulu)järvi - lake -> e.g. Pudasjärvi (town east of Oulu)kylä - village -> e.g. Sodankylä (town in Lapland)mäki - hill -> e.g. Jussi and Matti Hautamäki (skijumpers in nationalteam)Do you know more endings? Let me know and I might add them...

Finnish language resources

by gubbi1

Before coming to Finland I checked the web for online resources helping me to get some idea of the Finish language. As it is almost only spoken in Finland, I put this list under local customs...Online dictionary English<->Finnish.Great link list concerning Finnish language.Contains information about different online coursesContains information about different online coursesShort introduction to finnish by Virtual FinlandFinnish course from finnish TV station YLE.Great colorful easy Finish course for the basics.Finnish Online lesson, part 1.Finnish Online lesson, part 2.

Sápmi (Lapland)

by annase

"We, Saami are one people, united in our own culture, language and history, living in areas which, since time immemorial and up to historical times, we alone inhabited and utilized" Saami political program 1986/Saami Council statements The Sami are one of Europe’s oldest ethnic groups. Since prehistoric times, they have lived in the region called Sápmi , which now encompasses parts of northern Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula of Russia (Lapland). Traditionally, the Sami led a nomadic life: hunting, fishing and following the seasonal migration of wild reindeer. Today only about 10% still practice reindeer herding. They also practiced a shamanistic spirituality rooted in a respectful, harmonious relationship with nature. The land itself was sacred, and it was also marked with specific holy sites. Sadly, the Sami have been oppressed and forced to assimilate to the region's...

The land "where Koskenkorva flows"

by annase

In the song ‘The Land of Ice and Snow’, Timo Tolkki, guitarist and songwriter of the Finnish heavy-metal band Stratovarius, describes Finland as the land "where Koskenkorva flows". Another Finnish astist, Irwin Goodman, named one his songs as 'Koskenkorvassa' (literally 'In Koskenkorva'). Nearly every line of this song is interpretable as either a praise to either living in Koskenkorva village. which is part of municipality of Ilmajoki, in Finland or being drunk due to drinking Koskenkorva spirit drink.Koskenkorva (affectionally known as 'Kossu') is the most common clear spirit drink (38%) drank in Finland, produced by Altia in the Koskenkorva distillery in Ilmajoki. The Altia Corporation is owned by the state of Finland. As an independent corporation, Altia would be free to relocate the distillery, if it were sold to a private investor. When the government considered selling the...

Salty liquorice

by annase

Salty liquorice (salmiakki in Finnish) is a salty liquorice candy that contains a relatively large amount of ammonium chloride (NH4Cl) in addition to the liquorice root extract, sugar, and starch or gum arabic that constitute the traditional liquorice. It is somewhat of an acquired taste and is not generally appreciated outside of Scandinavia, Northern Germany and the Netherlands, in a similar manner that Marmite is typically loathed outside of the British Commonwealth. Ammonium chloride has a spicy taste that vaguely resembles that of table salt. However, salty liquorice does not contain any salt. Although some types of regular liquorice can also contain a small amount of ammonium chloride, salty liquorice can contain up to about 8% of ammonium chloride. Moreover, the salty taste is typically less masked by a high sugar content compared to regular liquorice.Salty liquorice candies are...

Karelian pies or pasties

by annase

Karelian pies or Karelian pasties are traditional savoury pasties from the region of Karelia. Today they are eaten throughout Finland. They are served warm with butter that has been mixed in with crushed boiled egg (so called 'eggbutter', in Finnish 'munavoi'), which is then spread over the pasties before eating.The oldest traditional pasties usually had a rye crust, but the North Karelian and Ladoga Karelian variants also had wheat alongside of rye to improve the baking characteristics of the available rye breads. The common fillings of this era were barley and 'talkkuna' (a mixture of roasted barley, rye, oat and pea flour). The 19th century first introduced potato and buckwheat as new fillings, and later due to trade, also rice and millet. Nowadays in the most familiar and common recipe the pasties are made from a thin rye crust with a filling of rice.

Top 3 Hotels in Finland

Hotel Kamp Helsinki

16 Reviews and 332 Opinions Located on Pohjoisesplanadi, in the heart of Helsinki, Hotel Kämp is one of the city's most...

Hotels in Helsinki

Sokos Hotel Ilves Tampere

5 Reviews and 59 Opinions I stayed at Sokos Hotel Ilves for one night in July 2011 and had a very pleasant stay in this 4 star...

Hotels in Tampere

Radisson Blu Marina Palace Hotel Turku Turku

4 Reviews and 125 Opinions We had never stayed in Radison hotels before, because they are allways more expensive than any other...

Hotels in Turku

424 Hotels in Finland

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Reviews and photos of Finland attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Finland sightseeing.

Experience Finland

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Local Customs: Cities in Finland

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Etelä-Suomi Local Customs Länsi-Suomi Local Customs Lappi Local Customs Oulu Local Customs Itä-Suomi Local Customs Ålands Län Local Customs

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Questions and Answers

Q: Right - here's the brief. I've got a maximum of three days, and am going to pick up a car from either Helsinki or Tampere....

A: go to the koli national park. thats not too far so you can get to see something in 3 days, and its one of the most beautiful landscapes in finland.

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