Another great destination in Finnish domestic tourism, Vantaa has something special for everyone. Visiting the best attractions in Vantaa will be a brand new experience for kids, forest lovers, history and culture buffs, as well as adventurers.
Together with Helsinki, Espoo, and Kauniainen, Vantaa forms the inner hub of the Finnish capital region. Vantaa is a city with a total area of 240.35 square kilometers, 1.97 of which are water. With a population of various ethnicities, it is a welcoming and energetic city.
The Vantaa River, which runs through the city and into the Gulf of Finland, is one of Vantaa’s key draws. Vantaa is home to Helsinki Airport, Finland’s main airport and transportation hub. In Vantaa, there is a Hureka Science Center as well.
There are two natural lakes make up the city of Vantaa. Vantaa’s landscapes also include a man-made lake by the name of Silvolan Tekojärvi, granite rock formations, a number of eskers, museums and famous structures.
So, lets see what are the best attractions in Vantaa to visit.
01) Finnish Aviation Museum
In the center of the Aviapolis neighborhood in Vantaa, close to Helsinki Airport, is where you’ll find the Finnish Aviation Museum. They have a collection of various aircraft from the early 19th century all the way up to the Russian Mig-21 and Swedish Saab J-35 Draken that are connected to the history of Finnish aviation.
Whether you’re a die-hard aviation enthusiast or a curious amateur, the Finnish Aviation Museum is a veritable gold mine of aviation knowledge. While supplemental displays highlight various topics, eras, and points of view, the ancient airplanes in the main exhibition provide a comprehensive look at Finnish aviation history. The museum also has a store and restaurant to round out your visit.
Visiting Address : Karhumäentie 12, 01530 Vantaa
02) Tikkurila Railway Station
Tikkurila Railway Station is a brand-new, cutting-edge facility that serves as Vantaa’s primary rail hub. As almost all commuter and long-distance trains stop here, there is excellent access to numerous Finnish cities. Additionally, trains to Moscow and St. Petersburg stop here every day.
Additionally, the bus station offers crucial 24-hour connections to the Helsinki Center as well as many Vantaa neighborhoods. Helsinki Airport is situated near Vantaa, roughly 5 kilometers west of Tikkurila, the city’s administrative hub. In just few minutes, train P can take you there from the airport.
Tikkurila Railway Station, which includes the recently built city center called Dixi, is an ideal local connections hub. It now serves as a contemporary place to stop after the second phase of construction was finished in 2017. Customers who are station-based can easily and quickly access Dixi’s many cafes, restaurants, and assortment of stores and services. In light of this, you can stop here for lunch, a drink, or a cup of coffee.
Visiting Address: Ratatie 11, 01300 Vantaa
03) Vantaa City Museum
As a result of its proximity to the Tikkurila Railway station, the Vantaa Museum is relatively easy to reach. A recommended next destination following a break at Dixi would be this museum. Located at Tikkurila’s Old Station Building lies the Vantaa City Museum. Even though it is a modest, two-floor museum, you may learn a lot about Vantaa’s history through its displays, which mostly focus on the Vantaa River. It hosts transient exhibitions with various themes for a set amount of time.
Visiting Address: Hertaksentie 1, 01300 Vantaa
04) The Finnish Science Center
Heureka, the Finnish Science Center, is one of Vantaa’s top tourist destinations. The Vantaa museum is only 600 meters away from the location, which is also just a 10-minute walk from the Tikkurila Railway station.
It includes stunning architecture as well as interesting and educational exhibits. Remember to reserve sufficient time for your visit here so that you may engage with the exhibits and objects more thoroughly. Recall to stop by the Heureka planetarium, one of Europe’s most cutting-edge digital planetariums with top-notch exhibits, within the Finnish Science Center.
The Science Park Galileo is located at the outside exhibition area and is open to the public every summer. The majority of the exhibitions in this place are based on natural, mathematical, and musical phenomena. You’ll see that the majority of the exhibitions use water as their main component.
The outside park also has moving artwork, including the sand plotter and numerous other pieces. A nice restaurant serving delectable snacks, lunch, and refreshments is located inside the center.
Visiting Address: Tiedepuisto 1, Tikkurila, Vantaa
05) Kuusijärvi – Swimming, Café, Hiking and Sauna Location
A small lake named Kuusijärvi can be found in Vantaa’s northeastern region. The distance from the Helsinki Airport is roughly 14 kilometers. In Vantaa, this lake is the one where people most frequently go swimming. Throughout the summer, they routinely host sporting activities here. Despite its tiny size, the lake has clear water.
This location in the summer, water is warm—at least 20 degrees Celsius, and typically considerably warmer in July – August. Swimmers have easy access to the platform, so even those with disabilities have no issues. You can count on seeing a large amount of people swimming and sunbathing on a sunny, warm day.
The Kuusijärvi café, located inside the main structure of the neighborhood, sells meals and energizing drinks while offering stunning views of the surrounding natural surroundings and the lake. The automated sauna and separate male and female changing facilities are close by. There is also a place for various sports next to the café.
Spending summer mornings jogging or hiking all around lake and taking in the clean air from the nearby trees is very pleasant. During the winter season, lifeguards are on duty at the beach. You can build a fire and eat warm snacks while taking in the tranquility of nature. The authentically traditional Finnish smoke sauna, which is situated a few meters from the main structure and near to the lake, is the nicest thing you could ever experience.
You might like taking a dip in the lake and taking a soothing sauna bath in between. Keep in mind that the wood sauna section is open to all sexes and to wear appropriate bathing attire. The cash desks offer towel and swimwear rentals.
06) The St. Lawrence Church
The Church of St. Lawrence, is another of Vantaa’s main attractions. Built in 1450, it is the oldest structure in both the city and the entire Greater Helsinki. According to the most recent study, the church has been standing here since the 1460s. Prior to the arrival of Lutheranism in Finland, the church served the Roman Catholic Church. It is now a component of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland.
In the late 19th century, a catastrophic fire entirely destroyed the church, leaving only the walls and basements standing. Although there were initial intentions to entirely rebuild the church, it was ultimately decided to rehabilitate the existing one.
Carl Theodor Höijer, a well-known Finnish architect, created the ideas for the rebuilding. Because of his design, the St. Lawrence church combines two architectural eras: medieval and non-renaissance. As a result, the church’s exterior and interior are both breathtakingly gorgeous.
07) Shopping Center Jumbo
Jumbo Retail Center, Vantaa’s largest shopping complex, offers a wide variety of stores, services, activities, and restaurants. This is the fourth-largest mall in Finland, thus there are many of places to shop inside if you want to buy genuine Finnish goods. The bus ride to Jumbo Shopping Centre takes only 18 minutes from Tikkurila Railway Station. It also has a reliable bus line that takes about the same amount of time to get to Helsinki Airport.
Visiting Address: Vantaanportinkatu 3, 01510 Vantaa, Finland
08) Flamingo Entertainment Complex
Don’t pass up the opportunity to see the Flamingo entertainment complex when visiting Jumbo Shopping Centre. The Flamingo is only 3 kilometers from the Helsinki Airport and it is situated in the right corner, just close to the mall. A hotel, bowling alley, numerous stores and restaurants, a large movie theater, as well as an indoor waterpark and spa called Flamingo Spa, are all located inside the structure.
The waterpark section is a great spot for families to spend time together because it has a variety of water slides, a kids’ pool and water slides, a Jacuzzi, and huge pools—though they are not wide enough for distance swimmers. However, only adults are permitted in the spa area. Two pools, a spa café, and a number of different-temperature saunas are all located inside the spa. Additionally, you are free to try a massage if you like.
09) A delicious dining experience in Vantaa
Vantaa has many different types of restaurants such as day and night restaurants, cafes, outdoor restaurants and more. You can taste your food while sitting in a beautiful environment under a comfortable atmosphere. Not only that, these places have a well-organized service and necessary facilities for you to organize a party, conference or special meeting, private meeting, wedding etc.
You can order whatever you like from a menu offered by these restaurants that includes meat, fish, burgers, salads, vegetarian dishes, pasta, soups, delectable baked goods, savory and sweet desserts, homemade artisanal gelato, painstakingly made pastries, artisanal ice cream.
It is accessible for both pickup and online ordering. The greatest ingredients are used to make very excellent Wild West dishes that are tailored to Finnish taste. There are many other options as well as recipes with chicken, vegetables, and the grill.
Some of such excellent restaurants are: Ravintola Zilla, Wanda’s Kitchen & Lounge, Ravintola Backas, Ravintola Oklahoma, Kahvitupa Laurentius.
10) OMBRA – Art in construction
One of the must-see attractions in Vantaa is the Ombra Tower. Ombra, a spatial interactive artwork created by Markus Raivio and Marjukka Korhonen, is a device converted from an old racing control tower and is an expansive artwork that combines elements of new and old.
Ombra can be performed using a scale derived from the sounds of racing driver Leo Kinnussen, who competed in Keimola. At the base of the tower, there are 24 bronze scale points that are the target of the connected motion sensor. By walking around the platform of the tower, visitors can find jobs, residences and entertainment venues.
People with sensory impairments can experience the Ombra in different ways. Through speakers with vibrating chairs made of bronze formula tires, sound can be heard physically. Historical markers in the square are written in Braille.
Visiting Address: Keimolankaarre 9, 01700 Vantaa, Finland
11) The Vantaanjoki river basin (Vantaa River)
The Vantaa River region is home to more than a million people. From Riihimäki to Helsinki, the Vantaa River travels more than 100 kilometers before emptying into the Gulf of Finland at Old Town Bay. The river flows primarily through a lovely and green forest setting, while the riverbanks do feature urban scenery.
Numerous hobbies are possible in Vantaanjoki. Nature is diverse in terms of both vegetation and animals along the journey. The Vantaa River is, above all, a superb fishing location!
Sea trout and sea salmon ascend in this salmon river to spawn. In Vantaanjoki, there are numerous attractive spots for fishing. In fact, Vantaanjoki might be regarded as the most significant recreational fishing location in Southern Finland.
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