Stretching out into the Baltic, surrounded by over 300 islands and as famous for churches as it is for enormous green spaces, Helsinki might not be the best known Nordic capital, but it’s a strong contender for most idiosyncratic in almost every way.

• In 2011, Restaurant Day in Helsinki was celebrated four times a year. Now every day is Restaurant Day, meaning anyone in the city can open a pop-up restaurant anywhere and test their culinary skill on the critical palates of their fellow countrymen. Very original and very Helsinki.
• Hopping round the 330 island strong Helsinki Archipelago is a favourite weekend pastime in the almost endlessly daylit summer months.
• Visit in winter and Helsinki has over 200km of snowy trails for cross country skiing and ice rinks and sledging runs all over the city.
• Over one third of Helsinki is green space and Sipoonkorpi and Nuuksio National Parks are under an hour’s drive from the city centre.
• Impressive Helsinki Cathedral on Senate Square would be enough for most cities but Helsinki also has Uspenski Cathedral. Built in the onion-domed Russian Byzantine style, it’s the reason the Finnish capital was often used as a stand-in for Moscow in pre-Gorbachev era US movies.
• Don’t miss: World Heritage Suomenlinna sea fortress; Temppeliaukio church; Ateneum National Art Gallery; the Ice-Breaker Fleet; Helsingen Kaupingenmuseum; Linnanmäki& Sea Life.
• Choose central districts like Kauppatori or Kallio for a wide range of three and four-star family hotels.

Never heard of Tampere? If you’re travelling with kids, right that wrong as soon as possible. This is the city which was bequeathed Tove Janssen’s archive, it’s home to the world’s only Moomin Museum and the undisputed capital of magical Finnish Lakeland.

• Finnish Lakeland is the largest lake district in Europe. Heartland of Finnish culture and tradition, it’s a fairy tale landscape of vast forests, islands, huge stretches of water, tiny villages and historic cities.
• Tampere’s known as Lake City and, whatever the weather, the locals like to be outdoors. Visit in winter for skiing, husky picnics, snowshoeing, skating and sledging. Long, long summer days are for sailing, swimming, paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking, walking and island hopping.
• Don’t miss: the Moomin Museum; Rulla Children’s Cultural Centre; Särkänniemi Doghill amusement park; Tampere Spy Museum; Kodin kakkonen flea market; Rajaportti sauna (Finland’s oldest) or Rauhaniemi sauna on the lake;
• Cycling the Näsijärvi Lake Trail from Tampere is a fantastic adventure and the perfect excuse to sail the old fashioned Lakeland steam boats and stay in authentic summer cabins.
• Tampere has a good choice of city centre hotels ranging from three and four star to great value self-service hotels with family rooms.
• For an unforgettable holiday, rent a lakeside summer cabin or cottage direct from owners or through agencies in Finnish Lakeland.

The capital of Finnish Lapland, hometown of Santa Claus, keeper of Northern Lights in winter and summer-long Midnight suns, Rovaniemi is an incredible city in its own right and a gateway to the remote and magnificent wilderness of northern Finland.

• Rovaniemi sits on the Arctic Circle and has snow cover for over six months of the year.
• The Northern Lights can be seen in Rovaniemi any time between mid-August and April. Top viewing spot is the summit of Ounasvaara Fell or the Arctic Garden behind the city’s Arktikum Museum.
• Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi is open 365 days a year and attracts 30,000 visitors annually – particularly in November and December, naturally.
• Don’t miss: Ranua Wildlife Park; Snowman World; Pilke Science Centre; Arktikum Museum; Rollohalli Freestyle Park; Huima Arctic Adventure Park.
• Ounasvaara family ski resort is just outside Rovaniemi and has eight slopes, five lifts and two terrain parks.

Places to stay in the city range from four and five star hotels in the centre, self-catering chalets and cabins in and around Santa Claus Village and even an Arctic Snow Hotel – fun to visit.