Kansallismuseo

Top choice in Helsinki

Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy stonework and tall, square tower. It was given a major renovation in 2019, and its highlights include the exceptional prehistory exhibition and the Realm, covering the 13th to the 19th century. You'll also find a fantastic hands-on area for kids, Workshop Vintti.

From the 1st-floor balcony, crane your neck up to see the superb frescoes on the ceiling arches, depicting scenes from the national epic Kalevala, painted by Akseli Gallen-Kallela.

In July and August, 30-minute guided tours in English at 11.30am from Tuesday to Friday are included in admission.

Contact

Address

Mannerheimintie 34

Get In Touch

029-533-6000

https://www.kansallismuseo.fi/

Suggest an edit to this attraction

Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Suomenlinna
2.56 MILES
Suomenlinna, the ‘fortress of Finland’, straddles a cluster of car-free islands connected by bridges. This Unesco World Heritage site was originally built…
Ateneum
0.53 MILES
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
Design Museum
0.96 MILES
An unmissable stop for Finnish design aficionados, Helsinki's Design Museum has a permanent collection that looks at the roots of Finnish design in the…
Seurasaaren Ulkomuseo
1.76 MILES
Situated 5.5km northwest of the city centre, this excellent island-set museum has a collection of 87 historic wooden buildings transferred here from…
Kiasma
0.29 MILES
One in a series of elegant, contemporary buildings in this part of town, curvaceous, metallic Kiasma, designed by Steven Holl and finished in 1998, is a…
Vanha Porvoo
29.52 MILES
One of Finland's most enticing old quarters, this tangle of cobbled alleys and wooden warehouses is entrancing. Once a vibrant port and market, Porvoo now…
Tuomiokirkko
29.32 MILES
Porvoo’s historic stone-and-timber cathedral sits atop a hill overlooking the quaint Old Town. This is where Tsar Alexander I convened the first Diet of…
Amos Rex
0.37 MILES
Set beneath the iconic 1936 Lasipalatsi building, art museum Amos Rex opened in 2018. Sweeping staircases take you below ground to the exhibition halls…

View more attractions

Nearby Helsinki attractions

1. Parliament House

0.16 MILES

Finland's imposing parliament building was designed by Finnish architect Johan Sigfrid Sirén and inaugurated in 1931. Its pared-back neoclassicism…

2. Kunsthalle Helsinki

0.2 MILES

Housed in a Jugendstil-style building dating back to 1928, Kunsthalle Helsinki hosts up to seven major, mostly contemporary exhibitions every year. Recent…

3. Oodi

0.24 MILES

Opened late 2018 as a 100th anniversary gift to the people of Finland, the central library is as aesthetically pleasing as it is intellectually…

4. Luonnontieteellinen Museo

0.26 MILES

The city’s natural history museum is known for its controversial weathervane of a sperm impregnating an ovum. Modern exhibitions such as Story of the…

5. Temppeliaukion Kirkko

0.27 MILES

Hewn into solid stone, the Temppeliaukion church, designed by Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1969, feels close to a Finnish ideal of spirituality in nature…

6. Mannerheim Statue

0.28 MILES

This equestrian statue of Finland's most famous military commander stands next to the Kiasma museum.

7. Kiasma

0.29 MILES

One in a series of elegant, contemporary buildings in this part of town, curvaceous, metallic Kiasma, designed by Steven Holl and finished in 1998, is a…

8. Sanomatalo

0.29 MILES

The gleaming glass headquarters of the main daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, is an iconic modern Helsinki building, designed by Finnish architects Jan…

View more attractions

placement: superzone
path: Destinations/POIs/superzone
possible size: [970, 250], [970, 90], [728, 90], [1, 1],

targeting:

{
  "url": "finland/helsinki/kamppi-toolo/attractions/kansallismuseo/a/poi-sig/413222/1341942",
  "destination": "Helsinki",
  "continent": "Europe",
  "country": "Finland",
  "city": "Helsinki",
  "position": "superzone"
}