Kuopio

Kuopio is the capital and largest city of North Savonia. The city is surrounded by lakes from three sides, which supplies loads of beaches and the feeling of water being always close. Some of the wooden houses arranged as a grid have been preserved in the centre which makes it a nice place to visit. The former municipalities of Juankoski, Karttula, Maaninka, Nilsiä, Riistavesi and Vehmersalmi have been incorporated into Kuopio and are described in this article; the municipality now covers a fifth of the area of North Savonia.

Understand


Kuopio was established as a parish in the 1550s and incorporated as a city in 1782. Kuopio has a population of around 122,000 (2021).

Kuopio is on a peninsula in the middle of the lake Kallavesi. The lake has an area of, or if all Iso-Kalla is counted and then the 10th largest lake of Finland,  in length with a shoreline of. Some 400 islands are larger than a hectare. The Heinävesi and Leppävirta routes provide boat and ship access to Lake Saimaa downstream. Kuopio and neighbouring are the far end of 4-m shipping lanes from the Baltic Sea via Saimaa Canal. 2.4-m fairways continue to Iisalmi.

By train
About 4–5 hours from Helsinki. Tickets and timetables information: VR

By boat


Kuopio is also reachable by yacht from the sea, via the Saimaa Canal, via either Varkaus or Heinävesi. Some marinas:


 * By the centre:
 * Elsewhere
 * Elsewhere
 * Elsewhere
 * Elsewhere

By bus
Good connections from all directions. Direct routes connect Kuopio f.ex. with Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Jyväskylä and Joensuu.

Coming via Tallinn or Stockholm, there may be coach connections from the port with arranged transfer, mostly via Kamppi.

Timetables, fares and tickets information: Matkahuolto

By car
National highway 5 from Helsinki and highway 9 (E63) from Turku. Kuopio is about a five hour drive from Helsinki. If you want to use alternative less busy route, drive through roads 4, 616, 447, 72, 9 and 5.

By bus


Kuopio has a good system of public transport. You can ride from one part of the city to another with a single ticket of €3.30, children (7–16) €1.70, €5/2.60 in the night (23:00–04:00). Kauppatori is the hub of Kuopio's public transport system, but be aware that many bus lines just pass through and continue somewhere to the other side of the city.

Smartphone tickets for the buses can be bought using Waltti or Routes and Tickets apps.

Information about local buses can be found at Vilkku. You can use the Digitransit route planner to find local bus routes between given locations and addresses.

Electric kick scooters
American Bird, Finnish Move on East and German Tier rent electric kick scooters for use in the centre.

By bike
Kuopio has a city bike system.

By taxi

 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Taksi EHT, Taksinappi, Taksini
 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Taksi EHT, Taksinappi, Taksini
 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Taksi EHT, Taksinappi, Taksini
 * Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Taksi EHT, Taksinappi, Taksini

In summer

 * Watch football at KuPS. They play soccer April-Oct in Veikkausliiga, the top tier in Finland. Their home ground Savon Sanomat Areena (capacity 5000) is a short walk south of town centre. They share it with the women's team Palokissat.

Buy




Alcohol
Alko is the national alcoholic beverage retailing monopoly in Finland. Essentially, it is the only store in the country which retails beer over 4.7% ABV, wine (except in vineyards) and spirits. Alcoholic beverages are also sold in licensed restaurants and bars to ages 18 and up. Alko is required by law to sell drinks with lower alcohol content than 4.7% and non-alcoholic alternatives, but in practice carries a very limited stock of low alcohol beer, cider and non-alcoholic drinks and mixers as supermarkets sell the same products at a lower price.

Eat

 * Kalakukko fish pie, The best-known speciality in the province of Savo is probably the ‘kalakukko’ fish pie, a type of rye bread pie stuffed with fish (the name literally means "fish rooster"). Once you have tasted warm ‘kalakukko’, it is hard to resist. The best places for shopping for a genuine ‘kalakukko’, consisting vendace or perch and bacon baked inside a rye crust, are the Market Hall and the Marketplace.
 * You should also try fried vendace (muikku, a fresh-water fish) at local kiosks and restaurants.

Press
Locally published newspapers include:
 * Savon Sanomat
 * Viikkosavo
 * Kuopion Kaupunkilehti

Religious services
Local international churches:
 * Kuopio church international International friendship group provides activities: learn English, bible study groups, camps and sport events.

Go next



 * (in Leppävirta, 54 km from Kuopio) — Spa hotel with the only ski and multipurpose sports hall in the world built into rock. The skiing, biathlon and curling facilities are available around the year. For children there is also a snow play area.

You could continue by ferry or boat, either on the route Kuopio–Heinävesi–Savonlinna (a national landscape) or Kuopio–Varkaus–Savonlinna–Lappeenranta. Savonlinna is famous for its castle and the opera festival held in its courtyard. Lappeenranta is the starting point of the Saimaa Canal to Vyborg and the sea.