Wandering Well · Country

Finland.

Less-touristed places, sorted by Wander Well Score.

Hirvensalmi, Finland
Bronze
Coast & island escapes

Hirvensalmi

Finland

This lake-laced municipality in Finland's South Savo region, Hirvensalmi is largely defined by water — roughly a third of its area is lakes and waterways, wi…

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Raahe, Finland
Gold
Coast & island escapes

Raahe

Finland

Founded in 1649 by Count Per Brahe the Younger, Raahe is a coastal town on Finland's Gulf of Bothnia shore with one of the country's best-preserved 19th-cent…

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Ylivieska, Finland
Gold
Hiking & national-park bases

Ylivieska

Finland

A commercial and administrative hub for a wide stretch of Northern Ostrobothnia, Ylivieska is a Finnish town that grew up at a railway junction on the banks…

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Kotka, Finland
Gold
Coast & island escapes

Kotka

Kymenlaakso · Finland

Coastal town in southeastern Finland whose city centre occupies its own island — Kotkansaari — at the mouth of the Kymi River, Kotka sits on the Gulf of Finl…

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Uusikaupunki, Finland
Bronze
Coast & island escapes

Uusikaupunki

Varsinais-Suomi · Finland

A low-rise Finnish coastal town in Southwest Finland, Uusikaupunki pairs a striking red-brick church with a tree-lined main street, a little lake visible in…

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Kiuruvesi, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Kiuruvesi

Finland

Modest town in Finland's North Savo region, Kiuruvesi sits alongside a substantial body of water in a municipality where lakes and waterways cover a signific…

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Rauma, Finland
Bronze
Coast & island escapes

Rauma

Satakunta · Finland

Rauma's Old Town, inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1991, is one of the few surviving medieval town layouts in Finland, preserved in a dense clu…

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Hyrynsalmi, Finland
Bronze
Quiet rural escapes

Hyrynsalmi

Finland

This small Finnish municipality in the Kainuu region hosts the World Championships in swamp football each year, drawing competitors to one of the country's m…

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Viiala, Finland
Bronze
Inland waterside towns

Viiala

Finland

This compact Finnish town in Pirkanmaa where a winding river loops through forested surrounds, open farmland stretches to the horizon, and a modest low-rise…

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Kouvola, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Kouvola

Finland

This Finnish city along the Kymijoki River, Kouvola pairs a walkable café and restaurant centre with autumn-gold parkland, stone bridges over dark water, and…

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Porvoo, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Porvoo

Helsinki-Uusimaa · Finland

Porvoo Old Town, with its well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings lining the Porvoonjoki River, is one of Finland's six medieval towns and a recogniz…

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Kokemäki, Finland
Bronze
Inland waterside towns

Kokemäki

Finland

A little town in Finland's Satakunta region, Kokemäki sits along the Kokemäki River, one of the country's largest river systems, and holds Iron Age and medie…

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Keuruu, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Keuruu

Finland

This tiny Finnish town in Central Finland's lake-dotted uplands, anchored by a striking red-painted wooden church with ornate shingled roofs and multiple spi…

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Alavus, Finland
Gold
Relaxing family getaways

Alavus

Finland

A tiny Finnish town in South Ostrobothnia where flat agricultural plains give way to rolling hill terrain, Alavus is defined by its sixty lakes and over 300…

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Korsholm, Finland
Silver
Coast & island escapes

Korsholm

Finland

This coastal municipality wrapping around the city of Vaasa on Finland's west coast, Korsholm combines a rural mainland landscape with a large, fractured arc…

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Hankasalmi, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Hankasalmi

Finland

This pocket-sized Finnish municipality in Central Finland sits across a landscape of nearly a hundred lakes, the largest being Kynsivesi-Leivonvesi, Armisves…

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Kemi, Finland
Bronze
Coast & island escapes

Kemi

Finland

Kemi, a town in Finnish Lapland at the northern tip of the Gulf of Bothnia, draws winter visitors with two distinctive attractions: the Lumilinna Snow Castle…

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Lauritsala, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Lauritsala

Finland

This district of Lappeenranta in Finland's South Karelia, Lauritsala sits alongside the Saimaa Canal with a waterfront character visible in historic engravin…

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Sipoo, Finland
Gold
Coast & island escapes

Sipoo

Finland

A Finnish coastal municipality east of Helsinki, Sipoo draws day-trippers with its medieval fieldstone church, rolling farmland, scattered archipelago, and a…

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Sysmä, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Sysmä

Finland

On the eastern shore of Lake Päijänne, roughly midway between Jyväskylä and Lahti, Sysmä is a little Finnish lakeside town that draws a large summer populati…

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Riihimäki, Finland
Silver

Riihimäki

Finland

A railway junction town in southern Finland, roughly an hour north of Helsinki by train, Riihimäki is home to the Glass Museum, housed in the former factory…

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Kokkola, Finland
Gold
Coast & island escapes

Kokkola

Finland

Kokkola's main draw is Neristan, a well-preserved old wooden town district on Finland's Gulf of Bothnia coast.

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Hämeenlinna, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Hämeenlinna

Finland

Founded in 1639, Hämeenlinna holds the distinction of being Finland's oldest inland city, set on the shores of Lake Vanajavesi in the country's southern inte…

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Hailuoto, Finland
Gold
Coast & island escapes

Hailuoto

Finland

Finland's largest island in the Gulf of Bothnia, Hailuoto lies off the coast of Oulu in the northern Baltic and is classified as a nationally significant bui…

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Jyväskylä, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Jyväskylä

Keski-Suomi · Finland

This lakeside city in Finland's Central Finland region, Jyväskylä is known for its concentration of buildings by architect Alvar Aalto, the annual Rally Finl…

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Kittilä, Finland
Bronze
Ski & snow towns

Kittilä

Finland

Municipality in Finnish Lapland above the Arctic Circle, Kittilä is home to the Levi ski resort at Sirkka and sits within reach of two national parks — Palla…

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Jarvenpaa, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Jarvenpaa

Finland

At the northern end of Lake Tuusula, a short distance from Helsinki, Järvenpää is a Finnish town whose lakeside setting drew a cluster of prominent artists,…

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Suomenlinna, Finland
Bronze
Coast & island escapes

Suomenlinna

Finland

Built across eight islands just off central Helsinki, Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage sea fortress whose construction began in 1748 under the Swedish…

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Ruovesi, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Ruovesi

Finland

Lake-dotted municipality in Finland's Pirkanmaa region, Ruovesi is home to Helvetinjärvi National Park and sits amid extensive forest and some 200 lakes.

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Nivala, Finland
Gold

Nivala

Finland

Nicknamed the "Texas of Finland" for its flat, open agricultural landscapes and its standing as one of the country's most significant milk and beef producers…

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Jakobstad, Finland
Silver
Coast & island escapes

Jakobstad

Finland

Jakobstad, on Finland's Gulf of Bothnia coast, is the birthplace of national poet J.

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Punkalaidun, Finland
Silver
Quiet rural escapes

Punkalaidun

Finland

This striking red-and-green timber building — typical of Finnish rural civic architecture — anchors this sparsely populated Pirkanmaa municipality, where ope…

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Lahti, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Lahti

Päijät-Häme · Finland

Named the European Green Capital of 2021, Lahti is a Finnish lakeland city in Päijät-Häme sitting on the southern shore of Lake Vesijärvi, with good rail con…

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Vihti, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Vihti

Helsinki-Uusimaa · Finland

Lakeside municipality in southern Finland, Vihti sits on the shores of Lake Hiidenvesi, which connects through Lake Lohja and the Karis River to the Gulf of…

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Lapinlahti, Finland
Bronze

Lapinlahti

Finland

The Halonen artistic dynasty traces its roots to this small town in Finland's North Savonia region, and Lapinlahti has embraced that heritage by making art i…

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Saarijärvi, Finland
Bronze
Inland waterside towns

Saarijärvi

Finland

A little town in Central Finland's lake district, Saarijärvi sits among 241 lakes — including Pyhäjärvi, Summanen, and Lake Saarijärvi itself — with forests…

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Siilinjärvi, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Siilinjärvi

Finland

A lake-dense municipality in North Savo, eastern Finland, where water makes up roughly a fifth of the total area across more than a hundred lakes, including…

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Kuhmoinen, Finland
Bronze

Kuhmoinen

Finland

A little Finnish municipality in Pirkanmaa whose population swells fivefold in summer, when seasonal residents arrive to make use of its lakes and forested t…

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Iitti, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Iitti

Päijät-Häme · Finland

A pocket-sized Finnish municipality in Päijät-Häme where the Kymi River runs through lake-dotted terrain, Iitti is home to the Kymi Ring motor sport centre a…

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Juva, Finland
Silver
Bustling market & commercial towns

Juva

Finland

Founded on 19 January 1442, Juva holds the distinction of being the oldest parish or municipality in Finland with a precisely known founding date — and from…

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Vaasa, Finland
Silver
Coast & island escapes

Vaasa

Finland

This bilingual Finnish city on the Gulf of Bothnia, Vaasa has a walkable centre with a dense food-and-drink scene and a concentration of historic churches.

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Luvia, Finland
Silver
Coast & island escapes

Luvia

Finland

Small coastal settlement in Finland's Satakunta region, Luvia pairs a striking red-granite church amid pine forest with easy access to the water and the wide…

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Tuusula, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Tuusula

Finland

Tuusula is a municipality in the Helsinki metropolitan area known for the cultural landscape along the eastern shore of Lake Tuusula, where a lakeside villa…

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Taipalsaari, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Taipalsaari

Finland

This little Finnish municipality in South Karelia records the highest average summer temperatures of any municipality in Finland, making it a warm-weather ou…

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Jaala, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Jaala

Kymenlaakso · Finland

A little Finnish village in Kymenlaakso's lake-dotted uplands, anchored by a striking white timber church with a red-roofed steeple, surrounded by birch and…

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Juuka, Finland
Bronze
Inland waterside towns

Juuka

Finland

A tiny town on the western shore of Lake Pielinen in Finland's North Karelia region, Juuka sits within a municipality where a substantial portion of the tota…

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Pornainen, Finland
Silver

Pornainen

Finland

Once nicknamed "Hollywood of Finland" by the film industry for its long history as a filming location — stretching from the 1930s to the present — Pornainen…

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Iisalmi, Finland
Gold
Inland waterside towns

Iisalmi

Finland

Lakeside town in Finland's North Savo region, Iisalmi sits amid the waterways that define the Upper Savonia landscape.

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Lapinjärvi, Finland
Bronze
Quiet rural escapes

Lapinjärvi

Finland

This tiny bilingual municipality in southern Finland's Uusimaa region is known for varied landscapes: open farmland in its centre recalls the plains of South…

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Hamina, Finland
Gold
Coast & island escapes

Hamina

Finland

Hamina's town centre follows a rare circular street plan dating from the 1720s — a layout shared by only a handful of cities worldwide, with Palmanova in Ita…

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Ulvila, Finland
Bronze
Charming old-world towns

Ulvila

Satakunta · Finland

One of Finland's six medieval cities and the country's third oldest, Ulvila in Satakunta held town status from 1365 until Pori absorbed its privileges in 155…

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Nurmijärvi, Finland
Silver
Bustling market & commercial towns

Nurmijärvi

Finland

Nurmijärvi, a suburban municipality north of Helsinki, is the birthplace of Aleksis Kivi, Finland's national author — a fact reflected in the municipal coat…

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Sodankylä, Finland
Gold
Hiking & national-park bases

Sodankylä

Finland

Sodankylä, a small town in Finnish Lapland, has hosted the Midnight Sun Film Festival since 1986, drawing international attention to this remote northern mun…

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Ranua, Finland
Silver
Bustling market & commercial towns

Ranua

Finland

Ranua Wildlife Park, the second northernmost zoo in the world, draws well over 100,000 visitors a year to this little municipality in southern Finnish Laplan…

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Joroinen, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Joroinen

Finland

This small municipality in Finland's North Savo region, Joroinen is set among an extensive lake landscape and is known for its many manor houses.

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Espoon Keskus, Finland
Silver

Espoon Keskus

Finland

This mid-rise urban district forming the administrative heart of Finland's second-largest city, where modern shopping centres and office blocks sit alongside…

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Ikaalinen, Finland
Silver
Hiking & national-park bases

Ikaalinen

Finland

This pocket-sized Finnish town in the Pirkanmaa region, Ikaalinen is known for its lakeside spa on Lake Kyrösjärvi, the long-running Sata-Häme Soi folk music…

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Ilomantsi, Finland
Gold

Ilomantsi

Finland

Ilomantsi, in Finland's North Karelia region, holds the easternmost point of both Finland and the continental European Union, near the village of Hattuvaara.

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Lohja, Finland
Silver
Charming old-world towns

Lohja

Finland

A Finnish lake town in the Uusimaa region, Lohja takes its civic identity from Lake Lohja and the Lohja ridge that divides its landscape, and calls itself "L…

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Paimio, Finland
Silver
Inland waterside towns

Paimio

Finland

This little Finnish town in Southwest Finland where a historic stepped-gable industrial building meets a calm, tree-lined river, with forested upland country…

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More places in Finland below the top of the list — pagination coming.

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