Bistro Burken is one of the new restaurants in Sipoo with its beautiful surroundings. Photos: LikeFinland.com
It was so nice to visit two new small family companies and destinations, but find out the situation of other restaurants too, in Sipoo, 30 minutes east of Helsinki.
Sipoo municipality is geographically quite long from south to north, even so that you can feel the sea and admire the sunset as well as hike in a national park!
Located on the seafront in Gumbostrand, a tiny idyllic village near Söderkulla, there is one of the new restaurants, Bistro Burken. The restaurant opened in the summer, but it is open also in winter weekends. See more detailed opening hours on the website or FB.
Bistro Burken serves fish meals, delicious pizzas and also salad meals as well as cheese cakes and raw cakes. Burken is run by Santtu Salmelin and Catharina Fallström. Also Catharina’s parents and outside employees are working when needed.
In Gumbostrand you can also find an art gallery, Gumbostrand Konst & Form.
Did you know that one can manage in Sipoo at least three languages or even more. Finnish and Swedish are commonly spoken, and of course English is well-spoken too among younger people.
Elina and Milla on the left, Santtu and Catharina on the right side. Photos: LikeFinland.com
In southern Sipoo there is a cosy villa, like a tiny hotel - renovated a few years ago - run by new entrprenereus Elina Suomi and Milla Sohlstöm.
They are sisters and they started in Villa Sibbe in February-March 2020, but just after a few weeks the covid situation changed the plans.
Still, there has been a moderate number of guests, but parties, business meetings etc. not so many of course. It was nice to hear that Café Sibbe in the marina, below the villa, has been popular in sunny summer days.
There are many activities nearby like swimming pond, SUP board, kayaking, beach volley, frisbeegolf to name a few. In winter time you can go hiking in the forest, walking or skiing or skating on the ice if it’s cold winter and thick ice. More info on the website and FB and Booking.com.
There are also cross-country ski tracks in Söderkulla and alpine skiing and snowboarding in Talma Ski, located 25 minutes north of Villa Sibbe. Talma restaurant has served also a delicious Thai-menu since 2018!
Villa Sibbe has a unigue history; the Nobel-winner A. I. Virtanen has owned it and spent time there with his family in the early 1900s. Photos: LikeFinland.com
I was surprised that there was also other news and rather new destinations on Sipoo’s "restaurant map".
Restaurant Tila near Sipoonkorpi National Park has been operating since 2018, including also cheese production in small scale nowadays. The restaurant is open mainly on weekends in winter season but closed in Dec.
By the way, Sipoonkorpi with its magnificent forests is one of the newest national parks in Finland, founded in 2011.
In Box village, east of Söderkulla, you can find organic-based Guesthouse Box & Handelsman Café with its new web shop, and a newer one, 3-year old Box Café & Grill with weekday lunch and delicious burgers, which are popular among drivers and motorbikers.
In Sipoonranta, near Helsinki border, an Italian-style Portside Trattoria opened its doors in November 2020, and it has been popular too, say the locals.
The late lunch in Restaurant Veljekset was tasty! Photos: LikeFinland.com
Restaurant Veljekset ('Restaurant Brothers') is a Turkish-twisted modern lunch and dinner restaurant in Söderkulla, open from Monday to Sunday. Veljekset moved this fresh new location and building just over a year ago.
Did you know that there are two 'conurbation-centres' in Sipoo, Nikkilä in the middle and Söderkulla in south. Other areas consist mainly of beautiful countryside with lakes, fields, forests and hills – not forget the seaside and archipelago in the south.
A picturesque and relaxing seascape in Gumbostrand before Christmas '20. Photo: LikeFinland.com
Text: Henri Elo
You can check more contents and pictures at our Finnish story here.
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Sipoo municipality (www -- FB) is a Star Destination and media customer of LikeFinland.com. (commercial cooperation)
Accommodations in Sipoo at Booking.com
LikeFinland.com is a nationwide leisure time media and search service of Finnish destinations. You can like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram. Our main website in Finnish is KivaaTekemista.fi.
Heinola view from the railway bridge towards River Kymi and Restaurant RantaCasino. Photo: LikeFinland.com
Could you imagine a Finnish town with hills and bridges, historical cafés, cosy accommodation, and a bird garden with no fee.
Not forget a long beach right next to the city center - and other swimming and spa possibilities.
Yes, Heinola is that all! The former center of Kymenkartano county, but nowadays a suitable-sized town for your summer visit! Of course there are museums and art for you: Art Museum (more info in Finnish here) and the unique Aschan's House from 1700s (www) are open also this summer! Then there is a special Dork Park 'Dorkin puisto' near the railway (freight) station of Heinola.
Just a short distance away from the Dork Park, there are two cafeterias: Café Tower and Café Harjupaviljonki. The later one was founded for Russian spa guests 120 years ago for their refreshment. The spa itself was located near the beach, and that's why the name of the beach is still Spa Beach 'Kylpylän ranta', just close to the center. :)
Café Harjupaviljonki 'Hill Pavilion' is specialized in waffles, both salty and sweet. Photos: LikeFinland.com
When you continue walking accross the high railway bridge (see the view in the first picture!) and the River Kymi - well, there is also a walking side - you'll arrive on the Siltasaari island. However, you should come back maybe a hundred meters after crossing the bridge.
And there it is, Café Kailas, with its own little world and atmosphere. The name Kailas comes from a former Finnish poet Uuno Kailas (1901-1933). On Siltasaari you may meet a happy hostess of Café Kailas, Päivi Niemiaho. :)
Café Kailas building has been a sauna for its original purpose some 100 years ago. The River Kymi flows very close to you. Photo: LikeFinland.com
Walking back to the town along a nice footbridge, and you may take a lunch at Restaurant RantaCasino. Or would you like some live music, f.ex. in July 11th there was Celtic Music night at RantaCasino ('ranta' means coast). The restaurant is hosted by a Finnish-Irish couple Marika and Stephen Cronin.
There are more nice restaurants in town, and places for spend a night, like a cosy Villa Hulda for 1-2 families, ca. 1 km from the center.
Pictures from RantaCasino, Marika left down, and right down there is Villa Hulda's Elina in Heinola center. Photos: LikeFinland.com
What is amazing and imoprtant for the whole town, is that there exist many shops and stores alive in Heinola! Well, the amount of inhabitants, nearly 20.000, and thousands of "summer cottagers" (with their villas) as well as tourists make it possible that you have quite a numer vital services in Heinola - such as clothes, shoe, decor and toy shops!
Here you can see Karoliina from Visit Heinola (left up), Hannamari from Roosamari clothes shop (right) and Jenni from Kenkä-Jenni (Shoe-Jenni) serving you. Photos: LikeFinland.com
I visited Heinola in early summer 2020, and really enjoyd the feeling after the 'corona spring'. People are nice, open and friendly, there is enough air to breathe in this historical town.
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Text: Henri Elo
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Contact Information:
Visit Heinola (www)
Kauppakatu 4, Heinola (Tourist info)
p. +358 (0)3 849 3615
matkailu(a)heinola.fi
Café Kailas (www)
Siltasaari 1, 18100 Heinola
p. +358 (0)44 74 77 001
info(a)kailas.fi
Café Heinolan Harjupaviljonki (www)
Kauppakatu 30, 18100 Heinola
p. +358 (0)40 5619 522
harjupaviljonki1(a)gmail.com
Restaurant RantaCasino (www)
Maaherrankatu 2, 18100 Heinola
p. +358 (0)40 192 1027 / 03 718 8666
info(a)rantacasino.fi
Villa Hulda (www)
Puistokatu 20, 18100 Heinola
p. +358 (0)40 726 5582
info(a)heinolatravel.fi
- More about Heinola destinations and services (www), and events (www)
- Our article of Heinola in 2019 (www)
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Heinola municipality, Harjupaviljonki, Café Kailas, RantaCasino and Villa Hulda are the Star Destinations and media customers of LikeFinland.com.
LikeFinland.com is a nationwide leisure time media and search service of Finnish destinations. You can like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram. Our main website in Finnish is KivaaTekemista.fi.
Hyacinths, bead lilies and other summer flowers arrived in Kivapiha! Photo: Kivapiha garden shop 2020, Mäntsälä
It has been completely different spring season both for us LikeFinland as well as our customers. Most of them are suffering from COVID-19 and its limits, set by authorities.
These are for example adventure parks and destinations, restaurants, guest houses, hotels as well as small shops. Some of them are forced to be completely closed like indoor parks and restaurants (excl. take away).
At the same time, these places are those, which are offering important possibilities to kids and teenagers to meet each other and have a nice time together.
Now you can support these by buying a gift card/voucher. It would be a very nice Birthday present also! Joy for receiver, support for the destination, and a small price for you. We collected these webshops in our Finnish article:
- Rush Helsinki (www) – buying gift card "lahjakortti" at phase 2, valid 1 year
- Suomen Tivoli (www) – mobiile tickets beforehand, ticket valid forever if you can show it on your mobile!
- Megazone laser tag ja Prison Island, Helsinki, Vantaa, Tampere, Jyväskylä (www)
- Treetop Adventure Huippu and Adventure Golf Huippu, Espoo (www) – gift tickets valid until the end of October 2020
- Talma Ski ja Talma Active Park, Sipoo (www) – gift tickets for skiing and summer adventure- / climbing park
- Flamingo Spa, Vantaa (www) – tickets and gift vouchers from the web straight to your email.
Enjoying Birthday party at Prison Island Vantaa in the fall of 2019. Photo: LikeFinland.com
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Luckily, it's spring now - bright and relaxing to enjoy the sun and flowers.
Our Star Destination, unique garden shop Kivapiha in Mäntsälä - some 40 km north from Helsinki area, along the high way 4 - has been completely renewed!
There are available garden stones, stone yards, walking stones, summer flowers, soil, shell covers, play sand for kids, pots for garden flowers, small trees and so on by Kivapiha company, but now there is also Garden statue and fountain sales by Art Bouffant as well as Motorbike sales and maintenance by W-bike. Both in Kivapiha premises from 2020 onwards.
Kivapiha is located at Vuolteenmäentie 7, Mäntsälä. (www)
Kivapiha is located at Vuolteenmäentie 7, Mäntsälä. Photo: LikeFinland.com
HAPPY EASTER TIME FOR YOU! :-)
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Text and photos: Henri Elo / LikeFinland.com
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LikeFinland.com is a nationwide leisure time media and search service of Finnish destinations. You can like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram. Our main website in Finnish is KivaaTekemista.fi.
Nice view in the afternoon from the platter lift line of the practise slope in March 2020. Photo: LikeFinalnd.com
We spent a great time in Talma in March 2020. Talma Ski is a skiing and outdoor resort in Sipoo municipality, near Helsinki and Vantaa.
It has been hard winter for skiing resorts in Southern Finland because of warmer weather than normally. Still, Talma has been able to be open over 100 skiing days also in this season, even if the all slopes have not been open.
We visited first time in Talma this season at the end of December. That day the family slope and main snow park were closed due to snow making by snow cannons. The system is very developed in Talma; in this kind of winter they make new snow by snow cannons almost every time, when the temperature goes under zero.
That's the way the resorts can offer great downhill skiing and snowboarding circumstances for people also in Southern Finland!
From left up to down right: the view from the center towards the hill; the family slope lift line; a new building for 'take a break' in Werneri Park; and a snowcat at the top of the hill, as a mark that back slopes are closed. Photos: LikeFinland.com
It was really nice to enjoy winter, speed and sun in Talma in the middle of March 2020!
The snow, sun and outdoor are so relaxing. My - and the most of us in Southern Finland - winter experiences have been limited in this season, even if the alpine skiing resorts, municipalities and cross-country skiing clubs have done a great job to offer circumstances on a smaller scale.
In Talma's Werneri Park area there is a totally new building. Werneri Park is an area for children with sleds, toboggans, tubes and an easy carpet lift. The building is very practical; there are more rooms and tables for birthday parties, sausage frying and enjoing own food. In Talma there is also a nice restaurant with delicious Thai menu as well as hamburger, pizza and ´home-made food´ like meatballs with mashed potatous.
And yes, I think it's safe to experince outdoor actiivites also in this 'korona time'. You can keep a wise distance to other people, take care of hand hygiene, and stay home if feeling sick.
In Sipoonkorpi National Park one can really feel the nature and peace. The park was opened in 2011. Photos: LikeFinland.com
I had a great possibility to participate a hiking trip in Sipoonkorpi National Park in the beginning of January 2020. The length of the hike was around 20 km and 7 hours, from Nikinmäki, Vantaa to Landbo in Helsinki area, across the park from north to south.
There are also routes with guide signs in Sipoonkorpi. You can get more info here (National parks in Finland), and choose "Sipoonkorpi". The park is one of the newest national parks in Finland. The Finnish Nature Center Haltia in Espoo offer much infromation about national parks in Finland.
Did you know that there are nice art exhibitions - like Gumbostrand Konst & Form - restaurents and B&Bs (Visit Sipoo) as well as REKO local food service (FB group) in Sipoo, last one connected to Guesthouse Box & Handelsmans Café every other Friday.
Back to Talma! :) Talma is also a summer destination, called 'Talma Active Park', including many activities like paintball, climbing park, minigolf, frisbee golf and Werneri Park. Photos: LikeFinland.com (in winter 2020)
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Talma Ski contact info:
Talma webpages in English (incl. opening times in March 2020)
Tickets +358 (0)400 716 882 info(at)talmaski.fi
Rental and Ski Shop +358 (0)400 716 866
Ski School +358 (0)44 574 9070, hiihdonopetus(at)talmaski.fi
Restaurant +358 (0)400 716 856, ravintola(at)talmaski.fi
Talmantie 341
04240 SIPOO
(for navigator: Norantie 1, Sipoo)
Talma @ Facebook (www)
Talma @ Instagram (www)
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Text and photos: Henri Elo / LikeFinland.com
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Sipoo municipality, Talma Ski and Guesthouse Box & Handelsmans Café are the Star Destinations and media customers of LikeFinland.com in Sipoo.
LikeFinland.com is a nationwide leisure time media and search service of Finnish destinations. You can like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram. Our main website in Finnish is KivaaTekemista.fi.
We enjoyed the eastern coast of Mariehamn, which is a 'cape-shaped town' from north to south. Photo: LikeFinland.com
We enjoyed and spent again - like a year ago, 2 children and one adult - a nice winter/spring holiday in Mariehamn, the centre of Åland. Åland is a beautiful island in the middle of the Baltic Sea, between Finland and Sweden.
When Åland is usually considered as a summer destination, this island is really worth to see in all seasons, also in winter and spring time!
Park Alandia Hotel's rooms are cosy and comfortable. Hotel manager Johanna Enberg showed us a renoved sauna and spa department. Photos: LikeFinland.com
Park Alandia Hotel is nowadays a family-company, owned by Zaida and Jesper Blomsterlund. Until 2015 it was owned by Viking Line cruise company.
Both Zaida and hotel manager Johanna Enberg told that they want a customer feel like being home when visiting hotel and that (s)he could get service with his/her own language.
We liked the hotel; the rooms are renovated, and both breakfast and dinner were good. We enjoyed for example fish and beef as a dinner. The kids liked and waited the breakfast very much, because it's not that common you can choose and collect yourself a delicious morning meal. :)
Park Alandia Hotel with its delicacies, and Viktor Crafts & Design and Café Viktor, down right. Photo: LikeFinland.com
It was nice to notice that Viktor Crafts & Design opened its doors in summer 2016 by Torggatan 15 in one of the Mariehamn's oldest wooden buildings. The store and its gallery are focused on 'Ålandish' design and art, and the products of the shop are made in an environmental-friendly way, for example of recycled materials.
A hundred metres to north, in Torggatan 9, there is a nice Syrrans / Pentik Mariehamn store, which offers Pentik and other decoration and textile brands. Anncatrin Kytömäki told that the shop has been operating for 16 years, and last 3 years in this location.
Happy women! :) Åland Maritime Museum's Lisa, Park Alandia Hotel's Zaida and Anna-Lena. Down left Viktor's Inger and Linda, and right Matilda and Anncatrin from Syrrans. Photos: LikeFinland.com
There are many shops and restaurants in the centre of Mariehamn, not forget Sittkoff Gallerian shopping mall, Torggatan 13. You can take a closer look at the shops and services of Mariehamn and Åland on the website of Visit Åland. (www)
We were positively surprised that there is a wide and spacious shopping mall, Maxinge Center, quite near the city, just 4 kilometres towards Jomala. We took a bus from the bus station to Maxinge, but came back by walking. And it was a great experience - as well as outdoor activity with kids - in the sunny weather!
Maxinge offers more shopping choices in Mariehamn area. The story begun from Sparhallen in 1981 (current location since 1985), and there is still the low-budget store Sparhallen in Maxinge as you see, our LikeFinland team! :) Photos: LikeFinland.com
We had a great time in Mariebad waterpark where you can admire the calmness of the sea also from the outdoor pool. Or take a fast waterslide from a 'tower' along the waterslide tube to straight the pool - and you'll see your speed time on the screen!
We spent 3 three nights and slept well in Park Alandia Hotel. Our room was a combined double-room, which is very suitable for families with kids.
Last day we explored maritime miracles and history in Åland Maritime Museum, which was awarded as the Musem of the Year 2016 in Finland. The exhibition is versatile for all-age people! In summer time you can visit also a museum ship Pommern and feel its revised (since 2019) visitor experience. Pommern is located in the harbour of the museum, Hamngatan 2.
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Park Alandia Hotel (ParkAlandia.com in English here)
Park Alandia's FB
Norra Esplanadgatan 3
22100 Maarianhamina, ÅLAND - FINLAND
Phone +358 (0) 18 14130
info(a)parkalandia.com
Online booking here
We really enjoyed the views of Nabben and the eastern coast of Mariehamn, incl. Maritime Quarter, when walking back to the town. Photos: LikeFinland.com
Text and photos: Henri Elo / LikeFinland.com
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We have chosen Park Alandia Hotel and Spring holiday in Mariehamn as the Destination of the Month in March 2020. Park Alandia Hotel is our Star Destination and media customer.
LikeFinland.com is a nationwide leisure time media and search service of Finnish destinations. You can like us on Facebook or follow on Twitter and Instagram. Our main website in Finnish is KivaaTekemista.fi.