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Places to stay in Finland: Helsinki (5.4 million) the capital, Rovaniemi for Santa claus village. Lapland. When to go : May to September will give you a much brighter warmer experience though Lapland is a wintertime touristic experience.

Things to do : Take a sauna, Enjoy a beer in the summer sun in the many of Helsinki beer gardens and terraces. Aurora Borealis is spectacular in this northern expanse of nature. Take a husky ride in Lapland. Enjoy the Finish architecture in the villages. Get to know the native Sami.

Remember the Moomins ? Books written by the Fin Tove Jansson, and they produce good drivers, mobiles and Saunas.

Finland is bordered by Sweden on the west, Norway on the north and Russia on the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The Republic of Finland is the eighth largest country in Europe in terms of area and the most sparsely populated country in the European Union. A total of about one million residents live in the Greater Helsinki area (which includes Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen and Vantaa), and a third of the country's GDP is produced there. Other major cities include Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä, Kuopio and Lahti.Finland was historically a part of Sweden and from 1809 an autonomous Grand Duchy within the Russian Empire. Finland's declaration of independence from Russia in 1917 was followed by a civil war, wars against the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and a period of official neutrality during the Cold War.