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I went to Finland in Summer 2002 for a tour of the south of the country, hitch-hicking and wild camping for 10 days. I'd say quickly that Finland is more a place to visit for its nature than for its cities. There are plenty of lakes in the country, which makes it possible to put up your tent on a beach every single night if you want.
I started my trip in Turku, comming by ferry boat from Stockholm. Here is a list of the cities I went to and the main sights. I gave a short description of each of 'em in my tips listed on this page. Later are a few recommendations I made in case you're on a short travel and try to get the best of the country.
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<li><b>Turku</b>, the handicraft museum in the old town.
<li><b>Naantali</b>, a sea-side resort, nice to relax on a sunny afternoon.
<li><b>Rauma</b>, the old city under Unesco World Heritage list.
<li><b>Tampere</b>, a nice city to enjoy Finnish nightlife.
<li><b>Kuopio</b>, well unfortunately I was there on a sunday, there was not much to do then. You can climb up the tower to have a quite interesting view of the region
<li><b>Savonlinna</b>, Olavinlina Castle, a <b>must-see</b>
<li><b>Lappenranta</b>OK town with a couple of museums within the fortified city.
<li><b>Porvoo</b>, one hour away by bus form Helsinki, is a good one-day trip destination if the stay in the capital city. The old town is really nice to walk through. It's quite small but worth the trip though.
<li><b>Helsinki</b>, by far the nicest city in the country. In spite of its quite small size, it still has the feel of a capital. There are nice parks, places, streets...
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If you have only a couple of days to spend in the country here is what I would recommend.
1 day: go to Helsinki
2 days: go to Helsinki and then to Porvoo
If you have more time, try to make it to Rauma or at least Turku. A day-trip to Tallinn is also very rewarding.
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