Lifestyle - thisisFINLAND

Rolling out pies, rye bread and other essential eastern Finnish recipes

We visit eastern Finland to find recipes for blinis that require two days to make and dark rye bread that takes three or four days. And we reveal the secrets behind baking Karelian pies, berry pies and more.

Life & society Equality

Finland tops World Happiness Report for fifth time in a row, highlights trust, wellbeing and freedom – other Nordics in top 8

Finland leads the 2022 World Happiness Report, with the other Nordic countries keeping it company in the top eight. What are the values and systems that contribute to keeping Finland at the head of this list?

Business & innovation Cuisine

Feast your eyes on these Finnish chocolate creations

Artisanal chocolatiers have been emerging across Finland in recent years, offering seriously tasty competition to the big brands. Small shops can also stand out by focusing on vegan chocolate, gluten-free options, sustainability, local ingredients or supply-chain ethics.

85.4%

of Finns live in urban areas

Source: UN World Urbanisation Prospects

Life & society Cuisine

Serving some of our favourite dishes: southern Finnish recipes

Here are a few much-loved recipes that are popular in southern Finland and across the country.

Life & society Cuisine

Delicacies from the top of the world go down well: northern Finnish recipes

The northernmost part of Finland has its own culinary specialities, including recipes that use unusually flavourful potatoes, delicate orange cloudberries and reindeer meat.

3.2 million

Amount of saunas in Finland

Source: Finnish Sauna Society

Arts & culture Design

Finnish design company Iittala celebrates 140 years of creating a world in glass

The town of Iittala, 125 kilometres (75 miles) north of Helsinki, has a tradition of glassblowing and design that goes all the way back to 1881. As the Iittala brand celebrates 140 years of creativity, we look at its prominent place in Finnish design.

Life & society Wellbeing

Summer in the city: An open-air pool beckons in the heart of Helsinki

Helsinki Swimming Stadium is an oasis. In a park in the middle of the Finnish capital, you can swim in a heated, Olympic-size outdoor pool or work out at an open-air gym.

Arts & culture Visual arts

Art in the archipelago: Helsinki Biennial reflects global concerns

Exploring identity, interconnectedness and the ecological crisis, the event’s theme and subtitle, “The Same Sea,” is more relevant than ever in a world marked by a pandemic.

500,400

Number of summer cottages in Finland

Source: Statistics Finland