Finland Guide
Helsinki and the south
The Southwest
The area between Helsinki and Finland's southwestern extremity is probably the blandest section of the whole country. By road or rail the view is much the same, endless forests interrupted only by modest-sized patches of water and virtually identical villages and small towns. Once at the southwestern corner, however, things change considerably, with islands and inlets around a jagged shoreline, distinctive Finnish– Swedish coastal communities and a spectacular archipelago stretching halfway to Sweden.