Finland Travel Guide

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Cuisine

As you might suspect for a nation dominated by water, fish plays an essential role in Finnish cuisine. Salmon, herring and other fish are cooked fresh or served smoked and pickled in cold courses. Meat comes in various forms, including the ubiquitous meatballs and HK Sininen Lenkki sausage. Reindeer, elk and bear meat are served as delicacies. Lunch is the main meal of the day - dinner is often a cold meal served with pickles and dark rye bread.

In summer and autumn, look out for tender new potatoes, rutabaga, fresh peas, dozens of varieties of wild mushrooms and a fabulous assortment of wild berries, including blueberries, cloudberries (like yellow raspberries), crowberries and red lingonberries, which are often used in jellies and preserves.

Finns drink more coffee than anyone else in the world and kahvilat (cafes, singular kahvila) are found in every village and town square. More substantial meals are served at ravintolat (restaurants) - home-style Finnish cooking predominates, but you'll also restaurants serving French, Italian and other international cuisines.

Things to know: Waiter service is common in cafes, bars and restaurants and alcohol is served until half an hour before the restaurant closes.

National specialties:
• Kalakukko (a thick rye loaf stuffed with lake fish).
• Karjalanpiirakka (a savoury pastry stuffed with rice pudding and eaten with egg butter).
• Lihapullat (beef and egg meatballs, traditionally served with lingonberries and gherkins).
• Poronkäristys (sauteed reindeer eaten by the Sámi).
• Pullat (sweet cardamom-flavored buns, the traditional accompaniment to coffee).

National drinks:
• Koskenkorva (distilled grain alcohol; salty liquorice sweets are often added to make salmiakkikossu).
• Berry liqueurs - mesimarja (arctic bramble), lakka (cloudberry) and polar karpolo (Arctic cranberry).
• Finnish beers are graded according to alcohol content - Karjala, Karhu and Lapin Kulta are popular brands.

Legal drinking age: 18 years; 20 for anything over 22% ABV. Wine and spirits are only available from government Alko stores, though beers are available from many supermarkets.

Tipping: A service charge is added in hotels and restaurants (14-15%).

Nightlife

Finns are enthusiastic party people, and going out is usually a lively affair, even in small towns. Friday and Saturday are the big party nights, but many locals break the week by going out on 'little Saturday' - Wednesday night - when things can get as lively as they do at weekends.

Most large towns have nightclubs and even small villages have restaurants that become bars later in the evening. At clubs, there are often floorshows and live bands as well as DJs playing dance music and Finnish pop. In Swedish-speaking areas, clubs may have two dancefloors, one playing Finnish music and one playing Swedish music. Vodka bars are popular amongst young and trendy urbanites; in rural areas, traditional 'country dances' are still a popular activity. Look out for the Finnish tango, which fuses Argentinean tango steps and the slow, steady beat of Germanic marching music. The minimum age at nightspots serving alcohol is generally 18, though this can range up to 25. Nightclubs are typically open until 0200, or up to 0400 at weekends.