Best cities/places to visit in a ~20 days trip

[i90rr]

(Mods: if this isn't the right place please re-locate the post as you see fit)

Hi all, first post here

A little bit of background: I like Finland pretty much and would love to move there; I'm sharpening my professional skills to, with any luck, eventually land a job that let me go live there.

About the subject of this post:
Since I recently switched jobs I will have to wait until next year to get my vacations so I have plenty of time ahead to save money and plan a nice trip. Because I will be able to spend only a maximum of twenty days there I would like to know about your suggestions about the places / stuff-to-do I definitely shouldn't miss once there.
So far this is the list of the cities I would like to visit - in the order I plan to do it:
- Tampere: I have to visit Tampere. Also it's the hometown of Noora Louhimo, singer of Battle Beast; there's no way I can avoid it.
- Rauma: because it's a bucolic place
- Uusikaupunki: beautiful place with a rich history and heritage, can't miss it
- Tuurku: a beautiful place and cultural hub, can't miss it.
- Espoo: here's where this motherf*cker I know lives so I naturally have to stop by to drink some beers and vodka and spend a couple of days there. Also he told me that Espoo is transitioning to a technology city (like Silicon Valley) where renowned companies and start-ups alike are settling every day so I agree it's a must for me to visit the place (by the way, I'm Unix-like sysadmin).
- Helsinki: though expensive as hell I need to stay there a minimum of 3 days. There's a lot of stuff to see and I specially don't want to miss the chance to visit the Aalto University as well the F-Secure and Jolla HQs.

Thoughts? I know there are a lot of places to visit, every and each one is more beautiful than its neighbor but my time - and money - is quite finite, not to mention the air tickets themselves

Cheers,
-Martin

[betelgeuse]

- Espoo: here's where this motherf*cker I know lives so I naturally have to stop by to drink some beers and vodka and spend a couple of days there. Also he told me that Espoo is transitioning to a technology city (like Silicon Valley) where renowned companies and start-ups alike are settling every day so I agree it's a must for me to visit the place (by the way, I'm Unix-like sysadmin).
- Helsinki: though expensive as hell I need to stay there a minimum of 3 days. There's a lot of stuff to see and I specially don't want to miss the chance to visit the Aalto University as well the F-Secure and Jolla HQs.

Aalto University main campus is in Espoo. Espoo and Helsinki are in the same metropolitan area so consider both together like visiting one city. Espoo is basically a collection of suburbs of Helsinki.

Thoughts? I know there are a lot of places to visit, every and each one is more beautiful than its neighbor but my time - and money - is quite finite, not to mention the air tickets themselves

If you want something a bit different, consider Lapland.

[Rip]

Did you mention what time of the year this trip is going to be, or can you choose?

[Jukka Aho]

Did you mention what time of the year this trip is going to be, or can you choose?

I was going to ask that as well... what with the four seasons and all.

[i90rr]

Hi all,

Kiitos paljon everyone for your responses! I'm sorry I couldn't answer before but I just switched jobs and well, last weeks have been quite hectic

@betelgeuse: you're right about Espoo, thanks for the correction. Regarding Lapland I'm afraid I will have to leave it for my next trip as I don't have the time - and $$$ - to visit it this time.
@Rip / Jukka: definetely not in Christmas Eve, I don't want to cross path with that guy from Rare Exports. Now, seriously, I believe that best times would be either in Fall or Spring - but again as I just switched jobs I will have to postpone the trip for a while...

Cheers.

[Jukka Aho]

definetely not in Christmas Eve, I don't want to cross path with that guy from Rare Exports.

(You better watch out, you better not cry...)

Now, seriously, I believe that best times would be either in Fall or Spring - but again as I just switched jobs I will have to postpone the trip for a while...

OK. I’d recommend picking summer or winter proper. Except that you can’t guarantee there being a “winter proper” every year in the southern parts of the country, so there’s that. And “white Christmas” usually isn’t, in the south. This year we’ve seen quite passable winter even in the south, though.

The problem with summer (June/July, especially July) is that many places are closed due to people being on vacation. The most traditional “Finnish experience” during that time would be having someone invite you over to their summer cottage to do Finnish things — such as celebrating the nightless night on the Midsummer Eve: you know, sauna with a wood-burning stove, lake, BBQ, family, friends, the whole shebang. Or maybe you don’t know, but that could be remedied. If you can arrange something like that for yourself, it’s fine.

August is more lively: schools will start and people are returning to work and it might still be summery and warm even though the nights are getting darker.

The winter months (January, February, March) are nice if there is a winter proper and you like doing wintery things. Maybe rent a pair of skis and go to some resort for a day or two. Or walk on a lake. Or swim in a hole cut in the ice cover over that lake. Or not. It’s your call. Sauna is the only compulsory part. Again.

Fall... well, yeah, if you’re a fall type of a person.

I don’t particularly like spring myself so can’t comment on that.

But yeah. Get back to this thread or create another when you’re actually, really planning to do the trip and know the seasons and the parts of the country you will at the very least be visiting. You already listed some but that is probably not going to be your final itinerary if you’re postponing the trip for now.