Great things to do in Espoo!

Espoo celebrated its 550th anniversary a while ago but it is possible that you have never even heard of it. You still might know few things related to Espoo… Formula 1 driver Kimi Räikkönen was born in Espoo, Finnish mobile phone supplier, Nokia, has its headquarters in Espoo and Santa Claus spends his summer holiday in his summerhouse located in Espoo. Or maybe you know something about Lake Bodom…

Espoo is the second largest and fastest growing city in Finland with its 250,000 inhabitants. Espoo belongs to the Helsinki metropolitan area and is located next to the capital Helsinki, 15 minutes from the city centre and only 30 minutes drive from Helsinki international airport. All in all Espoo is within easy to reach, whether you are flying, driving, biking and boating or roller blading!

Espoo is a compact city even though there is no clear centre in the city, but five five regional centres, each size of a medium-sized Finnish city. The five regional centres of Espoo are Leppävaara, Tapiola, Matinkylä-Olari, Espoonlahti and Espoon keskus. Otaniemi and Aalto University there are within walking distance from Tapiola.

In Espoo nature is always close and it lives in perfect harmony with science and business not forgetting all the fun! Nuuksio National Park and the archipelago offer lots of activities like paddling, fishing, sailing, trekking and horse riding.  Alltogether you will find 58 kilometres of seashore, 165 islands and 95 lakes to enjoy. If preferred, go skiking, visit EMMA- Espoo Museum of Modern art and enjoy Serena, the biggest water amusement park in the Nordic countries.

Espoo is worth exploring. Hope to see you soon!

City of Espoo
Espoo received its town charter in 1972.

Population (1 Jan 2011): 247 970
Principal languages (1 Jan 2010): Finnish 83.0%, Swedish 8.3%, other languages 8.7%

Nearest airport: Helsinki-Vantaa Airport 25 km
Neighbouring municipalities: Helsinki, Vantaa, Nurmijärvi, Vihti, Kirkkonummi, Kauniainen (within Espoo).

Area
Area of Espoo 528 sq.km
Land territory 312 sq.km
Water 216 sq.km

Sights
WeeGee house, Glims Farmstead Museum, Gallen-Kallela Museum, Espoo Church, Tapiola Church, Espoo Cultural Centre, Water Park Serena, Sello Hall music hall, Vermo Trotting Course, University of Technology, Nature House Villa Elfvik, Nuuksio National Park.