Hyvinkää is a city that has been in the process of renewing its services for the local inhabitants as well as for the tourists. It is located approx. 55 km from Helsinki city center, and it is easy to travel there either by car, by train or by bus.

We as a LikeFinland team visited multiple destinations in Hyvinkää that included museums such as The Finnish Railway Museum, a shopping center called Willa, and an entertainment center called Sveitsi, including a renovated Hotel Sveitsi. Sveitsi is also a traditional and beautiful hiking and outdoor activity area!

All in all, Hyvinkää is a city worth visiting all year round.

For many decades Hyvinkää was known for its wool mill that was closed down in the 1990s. In this building there is now a little museum Valvilla that is about the mill and its 100-year-old history. Photo: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

Hyvinkää is a perfect place especially for a mini-vacation because it literally has every fun indoor and outdoor activity you could wish for as well as a spacious and remodeled hotel.

We noticed that you don’t have to go that far away from Helsinki to find the peacefulness of nature and fun things to do!

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Sveitsi – a nature filled area with all kinds of all-year-round activities and services! (www)

Photo: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

Photo: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

First on the list was Hotel Sveitsi. We followed the road to the middle of the forest by car and we were surprised by the massive size of the entertaiment center and the hotel next to it. The parking lot was packed with cars!

As a newly renovated Hotel Sveitsi, in the woods of Hyvinkää, the hotel opened its doors in October 2017 by a new owner and is now a popular place to hold meetings and other business occasions or the stay in as a regular tourist.

Every decorative detail is thought through! The pine cone as a decorative feature throughout the hotel is a quite cute one!

Photo: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

We enjoyed lunch at the restaurant TILA in hotel Sveitsi. The huge windows in the main dining room offered a beautiful view of the forest.

There are no other houses nearby and it feels like you are much farther away from Helsinki city center than only about 60 km away! The wooden blocks form a big artistic number nine on the ceiling. This art piece is an original one from the 1970s when the hotel building was built.

Read more about Hotel Sveitsi here.

Hotel Manager Sari Repo walked us through the hotel. Everything is newly renovated! There were business events hold that day inside and outside in the many rooms of the hotel. Photos: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

These photos include just a few of the many activities you can participate in at the entertainment center right next to Hotel Sveitsi! Maija Virtanen (in photo) is one of the instructors in SuperPark. Photos: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

Next to Hotel Sveitsi in Hyvinkää there is located a new entertainment center which includes the movie theater BioRex, the cafe Kulma Deli, an indoor activity park called SuperPark for children, public indoor and outdoor Sveitsi Swimming Pools, and much more! Hotel Sveitsi is connected to the entertainment center by an indoor tunnel which must be nice especially during the winter.

That is not all there is to it! The surrounding forest area is also filled with many activities to choose from.

Photos: LikeFinland.com

Photo: LikeFinland.com

In the spring 2016 an adventure park called SeikkailuSveitsi was opened for business in the forests of Hyvinkää (www). There are also many a golf courses available (www).

The many hiking trails are marked by bright blue information boards so you cannot get lost while enjoying the Finnish nature! Take a long hike by starting at the Helsinki central park and walk all the way to Hyvinkää following the hiking trails or go for a shorter walk just by enjoying the nature in the area of Sveitsi.

In the wintertime there are lighted and maintained ski trails in the Sveitsinpuisto park area!

VisitHyvinkää’s website describes the Usmi forests as a little Lapland. When we saw the amazing view from the big windows of Hotel Sveitsi, we can totally agree on that! It really feels like you’re in Lapland.

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The Finnish Railway Museum – the exhibition includes historical artifacts such as Russian royal carriages! (EN: www, RU: www)

Museum director Taina Rantala (on the right) and her colleague Inka Alén welcomed us to the museum and we got to know the history of Finnish railways both inside the exhibition halls and in the historical garden area. Photo: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

After visiting Hotel Sveitsi and the Sveitsi area we entered the Finnish Railway Museum closer to Hyvinkää city center. Most of the museum buildings are from the 1870s and some are newer.

The exhibition which we were guided through by museum educator Inka Alén was very interesting! The amount of railway related historical artifacts was remarkable because there were many kinds of railway engines and carriages from the 1860s to the late 1900s on display in the museum.

On the left the blue Russian royal carriage and on the right the exhibition hall. A few railway engines are still usable! Photos: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

One of the most interesting historical items that we saw in the museum was the Russian royal carriages, which were used by the Emperors of Russia in the late 1800s whenever they decided to visit Finland with his family members and servants.

Inka Alén told us that these carriages were the only Russian royal ones in the whole world that survived from the time of Russian dominion in Finland!

Jaakko Tuominen (on the right) and Tomi as the driver of the miniature park train. Kuva: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

The miniature park railway goes around the garden where is also situated the old station building from the 1870s. Photos: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

We took a fun ride on the miniature park train that goes around the garden next to the museum building! In one of the red barracks in the garden there is a little display of different kinds of smaller historical artifacts such as railway related posters, signs, and a miniature railway engine. During the summer there is also a cafe.

There is also an old station building from 1873 still standing next to the railway which is not anymore in use by the passenger trains. The railway used to take passengers from all classes of the society to Hanko which is the most southern place in Finland.

The Finnish Railway Museum is an interesting but also a fun museum for the whole family to visit because there are many things also for the kids to participate in! There is also a playroom.

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Willa – One of the biggest shopping centers in Finland! (www)

Johanna Niemelä and Tomi Kristian Ruhanen from the shopping center Willa. The bright blue color of VisitHyvinkää can also be found on the hiking trails’ information boards! Photos: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

We also visited the shopping center Willa and the info desk of VisitHyvinkää to ask some questions!

The shopping center called Willa is one of the biggest shopping centers in Southern Finland. Actually, it is the 8th biggest shopping center in Finland! With many shops, restaurants, and other services (about 100 in total) this shopping center has everything you need for a perfect shopping trip. It is located right next to the railway station, eastside of the rails. Visit easily by train from Helsinki!

VisitHyvinkää has listed different kinds of services including cafes, restaurants, and shops in Hyvinkää on VisitHyvinkaa.fi's website. (www)

Willa is a quite new shopping center and it was built in 2012. Because of that the architectural style is very modern and fresh. Johanna Niemelä and Tomi Kristian Ruhanen, guides at the info desk told us more about Willa. They confirmed us that Willa has all the services a regular customer can possibly need. According to Johanna and Tomi, Willa has been visited by tourists all the way from America and also from other countries such as the UK this year alone.

Photo: Johanna Hurtig/LikeFinland.com

VisitHyvinkää contact information

Website (www)

Phone: 0400 269 831

Email: visit@hyvinkää.fi

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One of our Star Destinations, Hyvinkää, is a city located in Southern Finland about 60 km from Helsinki city center and about 50 km from Helsinki Airport.

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The Finnish Railway Museum tickets

Adults 9 €

Children (7– 17-year-old): 4 €

Children (under 7-year-old): free

Students/seniors/unemployed: 6 €

Family ticket: 18 €

The museum accepts Museum Card

*Guided tours for all age groups can be booked at the museum or call +358 4086 25241.

 

The Finnish Railway Museum opening times

1st of June – 31st of August: Everyday 10 AM – 5 PM

1st of September – 31st of May: Tue-Fri 12 PM – 3 PM, Sat-Sun 12 PM – 5 PM

Check the special opening times on The Finnish Railway Museum’s website. (www) 

 

The Finnish Railway Museum’s contact information

Hyvinkäänkatu 9

05800 HYVINKÄÄ

Phone: +358 40 862 5241

E-mail: info@rautatiemuseo.fi

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Events (www) 

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One of our Star Destinations, The Finnish Railway Museum, is located in Hyvinkää 55– 60 km from Helsinki city center and 50 km from Helsinki airport.

For contacting and for more information visit The Finnish Railway Museum’s website. (www) 

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Text: Johanna Hurtig

We have chosen Hyvinkää and The Finnish Railway Museum as the Destination of the Month of June 2018. VisitHyvinkää and The Finnish Railway Museum are our Star Destinations and media customers.

LikeFinland.com is a nationwide leisure time media and search service of Finnish destinations. You can like us on Facebook (@LikeFinland) or follow us on Twitter (@LikeFinland) and on Instagram (@likefinland_kivaatekemista).

Our website in Finnish is KivaaTekemista.fi.