Credits: Laura Vanzo / Visit Tampere
Lakeland has plenty of adrenaline-pumping adventures in store. Hit the track for rally driving, or put teamwork to the test at an ecological adventure park. Travellers can even blast off on a flyboard or abseil off a cliff! No matter what activity makes your attendees’ hearts race, you can probably try it in Lakeland.
Lakeland is a labyrinth of winding rivers, peaceful lagoons and hidden islands – and you’ll want to explore them all. Get guests out on the water for paddleboarding, kayaking, canoeing or sailing. One of the best places to start is Lake Saimaa, Finland’s largest lake, which offers everything from culinary adventures to cycling trails to the world’s rarest seal. From Saimaa, continue on to spots like lakes Pielinen and Näsijärvi. Check out this lake-hopping itinerary for more info and inspiration.
Think Lakeland is all about water? Think again. The region is also covered in thick forests and contains numerous national parks, making it the ideal place to hit the trail and hike, bike or watch wildlife. And speaking of wildlife, Lakeland is home to plenty of diverse creatures – from wolves and bears to eagles and horned owls.
Lakeland’s food culture revolves around fishing and foraging – and anyone can pick fresh produce or reel in a catch. If your guests are interested in foraging, summer’s the best time to find juicy lingonberries, strawberries, blueberries and cloud berries. Fishing, on the other hand, is a year-round activity and Finnish waters are full of perch, whitefish, zander and more. If mushrooms are more their style, a guided picking tour is the safest way to search for edible fungi.
Lakeland is dotted with golf courses, offering plenty of spots to tee off with friends. Vanajanlinna Golf & Country Club, Tahko Golf and Viipurin Golf are just few examples of courses in the region.
Experience Finnish elegance with a meal at a charming manor home. One of the region’s gems, Tertti Manor, is also a working farm. Another, Wehmaa, serves great delicacies beside magnificent Lake Saimaa. Then there’s Mukkula, Virtaa, Inkala…the list goes on and on, but all the options give visitors a tantalizing taste of life in Finland’s grandest homes.
Finland has seven UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and two of them are in Lakeland. At Petäjävesi Old Church, visitors can tour a pristine example of 18th-century North European log construction and experience Finnish rural life during four different centuries. And at Verla Groundwood and Board Mill in Kouvola, guests can view the origins of Finnish forestry, including original 19th-century machinery. And that’s not all. Lakeland is also home to two spectacular castles: Häme and Olavinlinna.