In 2025, Finland was visited by nearly 5.1 million foreign tourists, an increase of four percent compared to the previous year. Tourism generated approximately 3.7€ billion in export revenue for Finland's economy. The largest source countries for visitors were Estonia, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Statistics
+Yearly tourist arrivals in millions
Most visitors arriving to Finland come from Estonia, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, based on the number of trips made. However, when measured by registered overnight stays in accommodation establishments, Germany is the leading source country, followed by the United Kingdom, Sweden, the United States, and France. Rank Country 20251 772,5002 687,5003 544,5004 494,0005 423,0006 313,6007 271,7008 238,8009 217,00010 205,90011 204,20012 194,30013 183,60014 160,10015 134,00016 130,80017 127,00018 124,900 Total foreign 5,427,400
Nature and Geography
Finland is estimated to have around 168,000 lakes, counting all bodies of water at least 500 square metres (0.05 hectares) in size. If the threshold is raised to lakes larger than one hectare, the Finnish Environment Institute puts the number at approximately 57,000. Together, Finland's lakes cover roughly 10% of the country's total land area, an area comparable in size to Belgium.
Largest Lakes Finland's largest lake is Saimaa, with a surface area of about 1,377 km². Other major lakes in the country include: RankLakeArea (km²)1Saimaa1,3772Päijänne1,0803Inari1,0404Pielinen8945Oulujärvi887
Nature attractions In addition to lakes, Finland is the most forested country in Europe by proportion of land area, with forests covering more than 70% of its territory. The country's timber stock has grown continuously in recent decades, as annual forest growth (around 110 million m³) has consistently exceeded logging volumes (60–75 million m³). Roughly 13% of Finland's forest area, three million hectares is protected or under restricted use, the highest share of any European country. Finland has 41 national parks, all managed by Metsähallitus, the state agency responsible for protected areas.
National parks are Finland's most visited nature attractions, drawing millions of visits each year. In 2023 they received about 3.6 million visits, an increase of 12 per cent since 2019. The two most popular are both in Lapland: Pallas-Yllästunturi National Park (584,000 visits) and Urho Kekkonen National Park (418,000 visits). The third is Nuuksio National Park (274,000 visits) in Uusimaa, located mainly in Espoo about 35 kilometers from central Helsinki.
Museums and art galleries in Finland
Most popular museums Finland has around 150 professionally managed museums, which together received about 8.6 million visits in 2025. The most visited museum is the Ateneum art museum in Helsinki, which received about 508,000 visits in 2025. It was followed by the Helsinki City Museum, the Kiasma museum of contemporary art, the Vapriikki Museum Centre in Tampere and Finnish Museum of Natural History.
The Ateneum has been at the centre of Finnish art since 1888. Its collection around 30,000 works includes Finnish masters such as Albert Edelfelt, Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Helene Schierfbeck. There is also work from other artist as well as works by Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin and Vincent Van Gogh.
The Helsinki City Museum is located in the oldest blocks of the city, next to Senate Square, and tells the story of Helsinki's past through the lives of its residents. Admission is free, which can explain its high visitor numbers. While the Ateneum focuses on older art, Kiasma presents contemporary and modern art from the collections of the Finnish National Gallery. Its angular and glass-fronted building is designed by architecture Steven Holl.
The fourth most popular museum is located in Tampere. It is housed in the historic Tampella Factory hall, whose oldest parts date from the 1880s, and hosts changing exhibitions on history, technology and natural science. Vapriikki also includes several smaller museums, among them the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the Finnish Museum of Games.
The fifth is The Natural History Museum, part of the University of Helsinki. Its five permanent exhibitions cover Finnish nature, world nature, the history of life, bones and climate change.
Other museums in Finland Amos Rex
Sinebrychoff Art Museum
Helsinki Art Museum Gallen-Kallela Museum Suomenlinna
Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Finnish Architecture Finnish Museum of Natural History
Military Museum of Finland
Gallen-Kallela Museum
Espoo Museum of Modern Art
Sara Hildén Art Museum Moomin Museum
Finnish Railway Museum Jokioinen Museum Railway Turku Art Museum Heureka Åland Maritime Museum Arktikum
Cities in Finland Helsinki is the capital of Finland and a largest city with the population of 694,392. It is also the most popular destination for international visitors to Finland. In 2025 over 4.9 million overnights were registered in the city, an increase of 8.2 per cent from the previous year. The growth was driven mainly by international leisure travel and the overnight stays by foreign visitors rose by 17.4%, and Helsinki accounted for 36% of all international overnight stays in Finland. +Largest cities in Finland by population (31 December 2025)RankCityRegionPopulation1HelsinkiUusimaa694,3922EspooUusimaa325,7163TamperePirkanmaa263,3374VantaaUusimaa252,9565OuluNorth Ostrobothnia217,4696TurkuSouthwest Finland209,6337JyväskyläCentral Finland149,8958KuopioNorth Savo126,5729LahtiPäijät-Häme121,83210PoriSatakunta83,010
Helsinki
Helsinki is the largest city in the country, although it is relatively small compared to other European capitals. The city is made up of an archipelago of more than 300 islands and is surrounded by the sea on three sides, with 130 kilometers of public coastal routes. Helsinki's coastal position makes it ideal to experience in the summertime from one of the many sightseeing ferries leaving from the port of Helsinki. Many of Helsinki's main attractions are also related to the sea, including the Suomenlinna sea fortress (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) and the Seurasaari Island with its parks and open-air museum. Locals often spend sunny days at the Hietaniemi beach (often simply called Hietsu), Helsinki's main beach in the district of Töölö.
In the winter-time Helsinki's northern position makes it dark for most of the day, with lighting fixtures such as Aleksanterinkatu's Christmas street (Joulukatu). During the coldest months of the winter, it is very common for locals to go for walks on the frozen sea, although authorities recommend caution when the ice is thin. There are also many places for ice swimming along the coast, some with saunas.
Air travel to Helsinki is via Helsinki Airport, situated in the neighboring city of Vantaa, a city part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. Helsinki also has popular cruiseferry links with Stockholm, Sweden and Tallinn, Estonia. Silja, Viking and Tallink are the biggest ferry operators.
Helsinki is also the home of the Linnanmäki amusement park, which features five rollercoasters and many other rides, including the world's first Intamin ZacSpin rollercoaster.
Helsinki is a safe city for tourists and a safe place to live. In terms of personal safety, Finland was ranked 14 out of 163 countries according to Global Peace Index 2019.
Helsinki also has efficient tourist information system maintained by the City of Helsinki Tourism & Convention Bureau located in the city center next to the Esplanadi park.
Helsinki was ranked 10th of the most expensive cities in the world according to UBS Group AG's Prices and Earnings report for 2018. Travelers should plan to spend around US$216 or €199 per day on their vacation in Helsinki, which is the average daily cost of staying in a 4-star hotel, visiting 2 popular attractions, using public transportation, and eating out in mid-range restaurants with a glass of wine included.
Tampere
Tampere, also known as the "Manchester of Finland", has often been rated as the most popular city in Finland,YLE: Tampere rated Finland's most popular city and has grown into Finland's second largest,A dynamic city of growth – Tampere is the second largest urban centre in Finland and the second best-known, Finnish city in the world after Helsinki. The old industrial city built between lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, and along Tammerkoski rapids has also become a tourist destination hosting various national and international events,Event Calendar - Visit TampereTampere Lakeland Festival to celebrate Tampere’s beautiful lake nature in Särkänniemi and Mustalahti harbour! museums (such as Moomin Museum), market places (such as Tampere Market HallMeet you at the Tampere Market Hall - Tampereen Kauppahalli10 of Tampere's Top Markets) and Särkänniemi amusement park.Other nature experiences and activities - Zanderland Tampere's local traditional food "mustamakkara" has been recognised internationally, including by celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain.AL: Julkkiskokki ahmaisi puoli kiloa mustaamakkaraa (in Finnish)IS: Anthony Bourdain rakastui Suomen vierailullaan mielipiteitä jakavaan perinneruokaan: ”Good stuff!” (in Finnish) Tampere has been officially declared the "Sauna Capital of the World".Tampere is the Sauna Capital of the WorldFinnish Sauna Society and International Sauna Association: "Tampere is the Sauna Capital"Tampere – the sauna capital of the worldTampere University – ISEP Study AbroadTampere – the Sauna Capital of the World ~ Sauna from Finland
Many of Finland's most important highways between different cities intersect at Tampere, such as the Helsinki-Tampere Highway (part of E12). Also, air travel to Tampere is via Tampere-Pirkkala Airport, situated in the neighbouring municipality of Pirkkala, a part of the Tampere metropolitan area.
Tampere is also known for several educational institutions, such as University of Applied Sciences and Police University College; the Tampere University, like the city, is also the second largest of its kind in Finland.Tampere University - The World University Rankings
Jyväskylä
Lonely Planet calls Jyväskylä as a Mecca for architecture lovers around the world for its large collection of Alvar Aalto buildings. The city is the biggest city on Finnish Lakeland and capital of Central Finland. Later, a modern architect Arto Sipinen, a pupil of Aalto, has influenced in the cityscape since the 1970s by designing most of the new university buildings in the city.
The Alvar Aalto Museum and the Museum of Central Finland form a centre of culture in the immediate vicinity of the historical campus of the University of Jyväskylä. Both museums are designed by a functionalist Alvar Aalto. The Alvar Aalto Museum displays the artist's most important work and design. The Museum of Central Finland specializes in cultural history. It serves both as the town museum of Jyväskylä and the provincial museum of Central Finland. Nokkakivi Amusement Park is about 20 km from Jyväskylä.Suomen parhaat huvipuistot - Rantapallo (in Finnish)
One of architect Aalto's most significant works Säynätsalo Town Hall is located in Säynätsalo island on Lake Päijänne.
The city hosts the Neste Oil Rally Finland (formerly known as 1000 Lakes Rally). It is the biggest annually organised public event in the Nordic countries, gathering over 500,000 spectators every year. The rally has been held since 1951, first as a national competition, then from 1959 on as a European Rally Championship event and since the introduction of the World Rally Championship in 1973, as Finland's WRC event.
UNESCO World Heritage site Petäjävesi Old Church is located in vicinity of Jyväskylä.
Porvoo