| location | |
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| Short dates | |
| Capital | Helsinki |
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Southern Finland is a region and at the same time an administrative unit Finland. Although this region - the most densely populated - also lacks an urban atmosphere, the country's five largest cities are located here.
Regions
Southern Finland consists of 6 landscapes:
- South Karelia (Etelä-Karjala / Södra Karelen)
- Päijät-Häme (Päijät-Häme / Päijänne Tavastland)
- Real malice (Kanta-Häme / Egentliga Tavastland)
- Uusimaa (Uusimaa / Nyland)
- East Uusimaa (Itä-Uusimaa / Östra Nyland)
- Kymenlaakso (Kymenlaakso / Kymmenedalen)
Cities
- Hämeenlinna - an absolute must for fans of the Middle Ages next to Turku; Häme Castle from 1260.
- Hamina - Star-shaped garrison town with well-preserved historical fortifications.
- Helsinki and its suburbs Espoo and Vantaa. The most important sights include the rock church, the cathedral church on Senate Square and the fortress island Suomenlinna.
- Kerava - known for the garlic festival and beer.
- Kotka - port city halfway to Russia.
- Lahti - Winter sports and somewhat desolate looking industrial city.
- Porvoo - with a very pretty old town.
Other goals
Significant national parks in the region are Liesjärvi, the Eastern Gulf of Finland National Park, Nuuksio National Park, Puurijärvi / Isosuo, the Archipelago near Tammisaari / Ekenäs and Torronsuo.
background
language
Finnish
In the southwest: Swedish
You can always get ahead with English.
getting there
Scheduled flights are in abundance:
- Frankfurt am Main - American Airlines, Lufthansa, SAS; 10 to 13 flights a day.
- Munich - Finnair, Lufthansa.
- Vienna - Finnair and Austrian Airlines fly non-stop to Helsinki three times a day.
- Zurich - American Airlines, Finnair and Swiss.
Besides the scheduled flights also fly Low-cost airlines Southern Finland.
- Ryanair flight Frankfurt-Hahn - Tampere (only 15kg allowed for checked baggage!)
- Germanwings Cologne / Bonn - Helsinki
- Blue1 from Berlin, Hamburg
You can also go with EasyjJet of Berlin to Tallinn fly and from there take the ferry (Viking Line, Silja Line or Tallink) to Helsinki drive - if you book at short notice, it may be cheaper than a direct flight / direct ferry.
Two run every day Pairs of trains of St. Petersburg and a pair of trains from Moscow to Helsinki.
Ferries: The most relaxing way to travel.
Travemünde - Helsinki with Finnlines / excellent with full board Arrival in the morning at 7.00 a.m.
Rostock - Hanko
mobility
As a means of public transport offer themselves between the cities Trains and buses at. Hitchhiking is unusual but possible. On main roads, however, you have to watch out for the sometimes heavy traffic. If you choose smaller country roads, there is the option of cycling.
Tourist Attractions
activities
You can camp within the framework of the "Everyman's Right" (jokamiehenoikeus) as long as you want, provided you "behave" halfway.
kitchen
A regional specialty is the blood sausage (mustamakkara) out Tampere.
Mustamakkara, cranberry jam, milk and donut
nightlife
Finland is not a "nightlife" country, which is not necessarily due to the nature of the Finns, but rather to the high alcohol prices. Except for midsummer it is very quiet in rural areas. At most Helsinki offers a very large number of bars, pubs and cinemas. The larger hotels usually have their own discos, which are open until the early hours. Evening steamboat excursions, on which guests are invited to dance, are also popular.
security
Finland is generally considered safe. Trouble can only be expected on Friday and Saturday nights, when the drunken youth roams the streets.
climate
The climate in southern Finland is cool but stable. Due to the proximity to the Gulf Stream, however, it is comparatively mild for the latitude, with a slight west-east gradient. In winter temperatures can reach -30 ° C. However, these extreme values are unusual. The short summer is much more pleasant, with average temperatures around 20 ° C. The water temperatures of the lakes rise to up to 20 ° C due to the shallow water, so this time is the best of the year for camping tourists. Autumn (October to December) is the most uncomfortable time of the year - wet, rainy and increasingly dark. Summer temperatures in Finland can reach 30 ° C, especially in the southwest (mostly a constant high).
| Helsinki | Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean highest air temperature in ° C | -1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 14 | 22 | 24 | 23 | 15 | 6 | 2 | -1 | O | 9.4 |
| Average air temperature in ° C | -4 | -3 | -1 | 2 | 8 | 17 | 19 | 18 | 11 | 3 | 0 | -3 | O | 5.6 |
| Mean lowest air temperature in ° C | -9 | -6 | -4 | -2 | 3 | 10 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 0 | -2 | -6 | O | 1.5 |
trips
Of course, trips to are an obvious choice Medium- and Eastern Finland, but also in the Republic of Karelia, one today russian Territory that belonged to Finland until World War II.
