The large city of Espoo stands on the coast in southern Finland, just 12 miles west of the capital. This means it forms part of the Helsinki metropolitan area. So visitors who hire a car here can easily reach all the capital's attractions, like the Sibelius Monument, Suomenlinna Island and the underground church. Seurasaari Open Air Museum and the Tamminiemi Museum are both on the Espoo side of Helsinki. Other highlights of the area include the Nuuksio National Park, home of the Siberian Flying Squirrel, and the Rantaraitti waterfront walkway. Beaches, watersports and archipelago adventures are close at hand too.
Finland's second-biggest city may be almost joined to the capital but it has retained its own identity and attractions. If you hire a car in Espoo you'll be able to tour round them easily. The highlights include the EMMA (Espoo Museum of Modern Art), housed in an old printing works, and Glims Farmstead Museum, in a collection of 200-year-old wooden rural buildings. There are several stately homes around the city; the best is Pakankylän Kartano on the shore of Lake Bodom. Look out for Espoo's old stone cathedral too and, for children of all ages, 'Santa's Cottage', an attraction in the woods on the outskirts of the city.
