Vantaa



Vantaa (Swedish: Vanda) is in the Uusimaa region in southern Finland, right north of Helsinki. Part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, it is the fourth most populous city in Finland with about 238,000 inhabitants as of 2021.

Understand
Like Espoo, Vantaa is basically an extension of Helsinki and does not have one single city centre despite having a huge population by Finnish measures. Vantaa's administrative centre is in the district of Tikkurila (Swedish: Dickursby), and other districts that can be considered local "centres" are Myyrmäki (Swedish: Myrbacka) in the west, Kivistö in the north-west and Korso in the north-east.

Quite few of the inhabitants have any connections to the rural landscapes and villages left from the old Helsinge (renamed Vantaa 1972). Best known as the city where Helsinki's airport is located, you will also find various parks and farms you can visit there, as well as the beautiful medieval Church of St. Lawrence and a couple of interesting museums. On the more modern side, the complex of the Jumbo mall and Flamingo hotel and entertainment centre can keep you busy for a couple of hours at least, depending on your interests.

The Helsinki Airport, located in the middle of northern Vantaa, takes up a large part of the city's area and effectively splits the rest of Vantaa in two parts, the Myyrmäki-Martinlaakso area in the west and the Tikkurila area in the east. The Ring Rail (Finnish: Kehärata) railway line connects all three areas together with the neighbouring city of Helsinki.

By plane
The city is indeed accessible by air, as is situated in Vantaa. There are buses from the airport to different parts of Vantaa, or you can take the commuter train to the public transport traffic hubs Tikkurila (for eastern Vantaa) or Myyrmäki (for western Vantaa).

By train
The main railroad north from Helsinki goes through eastern Vantaa. In addition to several local train stations, all long distance trains to the north and east, including the ones to Russia, stop at. If you are heading for the western parts of Vantaa, you can take the local train line "I", which stops at and also continues to Helsinki–Vantaa Airport via.

By car
Highways 3, 4, 45 and 7 out of Helsinki go through Vantaa and the main east-western road is the third ring road (Kehä III), which is mostly part of the E18 route. In the morning and afternoon rush hours traffic it can get quite busy and in the winter a heavy snowfall or a larger accident due to the often over-frozen road surface can block the traffic completely.

By bus
From Helsinki several local buses go to Vantaa, and there are some lines directly from Espoo too. The Helsinki region public transport authority's Journey Planner is an excellent tool to find out which bus you should take from one address to another. Some larger cities in southern Finland also have a direct connection to Helsinki airport.

Get around

 * See Helsinki for information about fares and tickets

By train
Kehärata (Ring Line) connecting the main rail line with western Vantaa via the airport opened in July 2015. Combined with bus transfers, this is the fastest way to get around for many. See Journey Planner or Google Maps for routes and timetables.

By bus
There is a maze of bus lines in the area, however with the opening of the Ring Rail train line the routes were completely renewed. See Journey Planner or Google Maps for routes and schedules.

By car
As distances are longer than in the more central parts of Helsinki, driving is sometimes an option. As above, the traffic can get quite congested in the rush hours, especially on the ring roads.

By bike or foot
On a sunny summer's day you can make use of the cycleways and footpaths criss-crossing Vantaa and suburban Helsinki. Get a good map.

Electric kick scooters
German Tier and American Bird rent electric kick scooters for use in Tikkurila, Martinlaakso, Myyrmäki, Vapaala and Varisto. The companies aim to keep the scooters available also in winter, conditions permitting, but the vehicles are not ideal in snowy or slippery conditions. Tier has also electric bicycles.

Work
More so than Helsinki or Espoo, Vantaa has large industrial areas and a lot of services, so there are a lot of jobs at various levels, including for immigrants. Common jobs are for instance cleaning, cargo handling, warehouse work and waiter and other restaurant jobs. The government employment office (TE-toimisto) is located in Tikkurila, Vernissakatu 8 C.

Shopping centres
In Vantaa and the northern suburbs there is no shortage of large shopping malls with even larger parking areas where you can buy everything from strawberries to washing machines. They also have other services like banks and restaurants and are all accessible by bus. The major ones are:



There's also a cluster of shopping malls in, along freeway 45 south of Ring road III, as well as in , though this one only comprises furniture and bargain stores. There are also smaller shopping centers in the central locations of some neighborhoods, such as in, , and.

Other






Mid-range

 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg
 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg
 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg
 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg
 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg
 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg
 * Mike's Diner Costa del Muerte Wall of Fame.jpg

Splurge
If you want fine dining, you'd better travel to central Helsinki. The hotels near the airport have their own restaurants, but the food at them doesn't necessary live up to the prices.



Drink
Most suburbs have a pub or two. If you want something fancier, head to central Helsinki, that's what the locals do.

Sleep


The major hotel concentration in this part of the capital region is near the airport. No wonder, as most people coming to or leaving from Finland by air pass through Helsinki-Vantaa.

Stay safe
There may be unrest in the suburbs along the railways and on the trains in the evenings.

Stay healthy


In addition, there are health centers (terveyskeskus) in pretty much all major suburbs.

Internet
Many places of business may have Wi-Fi for customers (although it's usually called "WLAN"); ask the staff for details.

For free Wi-Fi and internet terminals, check the four libraries of the city:, , , and.

Go next

 * Espoo
 * Helsinki
 * Järvenpää — 25 km further north where you can visit Ainola, the home of the famous composer Jean Sibelius.
 * Kerava
 * Sipoo
 * Klaukkala