Kuopio
One of the most likeable towns in Finland, Kuopio is a very satisfying place that seems to combine several Suomi essentials - forest, lakes, saunas, ski-jumps - in one neat package. It’s a vibrant place with lots to see and do and enjoys a beautiful location, which can be surveyed from atop the famous Puijo tower, complete with revolving restaurant.
When to Go
Whatever time of year you visit Finland, there’s something happening. Most museums and galleries are open year-round, and there is as much to do in the depths of winter as there is at the height of summer. Nevertheless, you’ll probably have a better time if you come in the warmer months, either in summer or anytime from May to September. As well as the advantages of warm weather, summer is the time of the midnight sun. Winter north of the Arctic Circle is a chilly confluence of strange bluish light and encroaching melancholy. Despite snow falls from November, it stays pretty sludgy until late winter: skiing isn’t great until February, the coldest month, and you can ski in Lapland right through to June.
Helsinki
Helsinki (in Finnish; listen ), or Helsingfors (in Swedish; listen ) is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, by the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is 569,892 (31 March 200 
[1], making it the most populous municipality in Finland by a wide margin.
Helsinki is Finland’s administrative center and the center of Finnish cultural life and business activity. There is a large and varied collection of shopping, nightlife, restaurants, sports, museums, galleries, and performance spaces in the city. Helsinki hosts many education and research institutes such as Helsinki University. Helsinki-Vantaa airport is 40 minutes from the city center. Many major company headquarters are in Helsinki.
Helsinki, along with the neighbouring cities of Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen, constitutes what is known as the capital region, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants. The Greater Helsinki area contains several additional municipalities and has a population of over 1,300,000.[1]
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland[2] (Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland ), is a Nordic country situated in Northern Europe. It has borders with Sweden to the west, Russia to the east, and Norway to the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is Helsinki.
Around 5.3 million people reside in Finland and the majority is concentrated in the south.[1]. It’s the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. Most Finns are native in Finnish, one of the few official languages of the European Union that are not of Indo-European origin. The largest minority language Swedish is spoken natively by 5.5 percent.[3] Finland is a democratic, parliamentary republic with a central government and local governments in 415 municipalities. Greater Helsinki (including Helsinki, Espoo, and Vantaa) totals a million residents and a third of GDP. Other cities include Tampere, Turku, and Oulu.
Finland was historically part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finland’s declaration of independence in 1917 from Russia was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union, and a political struggle during the Cold War. Finland has been economically quite free throughout its history. GDP per capita reached Japan and the UK in the 1970s. After Nordic economic liberalization from the late 1980s to 1990s, it has transformed itself into a high-technology high-globalization economy with excellent results in many international comparisons of national performance. According to the World Audit Democracy profile, Finland is the freest nation in the world in terms of civil liberties, freedom of the press, low corruption levels and high levels of political rights.[4] Finland joined the European Union in 1995 but has stayed outside defence cooperation.
