Helsinki University Botanic Garden

Location

Helsinki
Finland
60° 10' 30.3852" N, 24° 56' 44.646" E
FI
General info: 

A perfect getaway from the city in the middle of the city. Entering this park of hundreds of exotic plants is sometimes even better than actually travelling to the tropic. Helsinki University Botanic garden is the oldest scientific plant collection in Finland. The Garden was founded in 1678 in Turku and moved to Helsinki in 1829. The old style of the garden has been preserved as well as several old Empire style buildings from the 1830′s.

The gardens greenhouse is currently home to more than 800 different species of plants and its grounds to more than 2,800 plants of different origins. Botanic Garden and Herbarium is part of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, which is a national natural-history collection.

The University of Helsinki Botanical Garden at Kaisaniemi is one of Helsinki's most popular visitor attractions. The Garden is situated very close to the city centre, and its glasshouses and surrounding grounds offer nature lovers a unique experience all year round. The gallery between the large and small glasshouses is used to host temporary exhibitions, mostly on themes connected to the natural world.

Getting there: 

The garden is within a walking distance from the city center.

Costs: 

Entrance
• Outdoor garden: free of charge
• Greenhouses 6/3 euros, Thurdays 16–18 free of charge

Opening hours
Greenhouses
• Monday: closed
• Tuesday–wednesday 9–16 (9 am – 4 pm)
• Thursday 9–18 (9 am – 6 pm)
o 16–18 free entrance
• Friday 9–16 (9 am – 4 pm)
• Saturday–Sunday 10–16 (10 am – 4 pm)
Outdoor garden
• Mon–Sun 9 – 20 (9 am – 8 pm)

Interesting places nearby

Ramundberget is located in Funäsdalen, 580 km from Stockholm, and is considered to be one of the most snow-secure ski areas in Sweden.

With the fourth biggest vertical in Finland, the Pyha complex is located right on the slopes in thick woodland.

Tryvann Winter Park is located at the top of Holmenkollen, only 20 minutes from downtown Oslo. Here you find 14 runs and 7 ski lifts, including 2 4-seat chairlifts. The longest run is 1400m long, and has a drop of 381m.

Modern skiing resort with real wilderness! Grönklitt is one of Sweden's most southern ski resorts, yet this is where you are most likely to find snow.

BASE: 524ft
SUMMIT: 1968ft
VERTICAL DROP: 1443ft

NO. OF. LIFTS: 5
Gondolas: 0
Chairs: 0
Surface: 5

Lofsdalen is a glittering winter gem, nestling on the shores of Lake Lofssjön against a backdrop of mountain peaks.