This November I set off to Finland for a week to visit my best friend, who lives in Oulu. Having only spent a day in Helsinki, I wasn’t really sure what to expect. But I really enjoyed my time in Oulu—even visiting in winter. In August, Oulu plays host to the Air Guitar World Championships, and I’d love to go back for it one day! Here’s a quick guide to Oulu: what to see, eat, and drink while you’re in Oulu!

What to See in Oulu

Oulu has a nice smattering of attractions to keep you busy. There are also some really gorgeous older buildings in the city center if you’re looking to take some nice photos. Here’s what all to do in Oulu!

City Hall

One of Oulu’s most distinct landmarks is the City Hall. This gorgeous neo-renaissance building dates back to 1886. Don’t miss the cute art installation at the back of City Hall! The Passage of Time sculpture represents the professions of Oulu residents through the years.

Market Square and Policeman

The Market Square is busiest in summer, where restaurants and bars have outdoor seating near the water. But even in winter, I really enjoyed visiting. Unfortunately the Market Hall was under construction when I visited! But I still got a picture with the Policeman (Toripolliisi in Finnish), which was built to honor Oulu’s policemen.

Museums

There are a few museums in Oulu to check out—a great option if the weather isn’t great outside! The Northern Ostrobothnia Museum is a cultural history museum, which focuses on the history of Oulu. The Oulu Museum of Art has a range of exhibitions on visual art, as well as regular workshops. Slightly outside the city center is the Oulu Automobile Museum, with more than 50 old cars and motorcycles.

Oulu Cathedral

The main cathedral in Oulu was built in 1777, and is still operational as an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral. Unfortunately, it’s only open in winter between 12pm-1pm, although from May-September it’s open from 10am-8pm every day.

Oulu Castle

Not much is left of Oulu Castle. The last remaining portion is the old Observatory tower, which dates from 1875 when it was built by the Oulu School of Sea Captains. Today the ground floor plays host to a café, which is open in the summer months.

Ainola Park

I loved how many green spaces (or, as I visited in winter, white spaces!) there were in Oulu! By far my favorite was Ainola Park, which is close to the city center. There are lots of walking paths to get around, and bridges to cross the waterways and streams that run through the park. It really made me feel like I was far away from the city, even though I was still in Oulu! Sun or snow, definitely take a stroll through the park when in Oulu.

Pikissari

Pikissari is a historic neighbourhood on an island, connected to the city center of Oulu by a bridge across the water. There are still many of the pretty old wooden buildings in Pikissari—this is definitely one of the most Instagrammable places in Oulu! It originated in the 17^th-century as the boat-building area. Today, it’s mainly residential houses, B&Bs/guesthouses, and a few bars and restaurants.

University of Oulu Botanical Gardens

By far one of my favorite places in Oulu were the Botanical Gardens at the University of Oulu! While the university is a bus ride away from the city center, it’s definitely worth visiting. Each room is set up as a different climate, so you can travel all around the world in just a few rooms of the greenhouse! The Botanic Gardens are open to the public from either 8am or 11am until 3pm most days—check their website in advance for opening hours. There’s no charge to visit the gardens.

Where to Eat and Drink in Oulu

I didn’t eat out loads in Oulu, but I did visit some pretty fun bars that I’d definitely recommend! Here is where I’d recommend eating and drinking in Oulu.

Café Makia (Puistokahvila Makia) is located right in the city center of Oulu. This café is a great place to meet friends for lunch, or bring your laptop and work over a coffee! Other places that were recommended to me were Coffee House and Café Rooster.

I went to some really fun bars in Oulu! One of my favorites was Mallaskelleri, which has a big focus on craft beer. They also gave free bar snacks with our drinks, which I always appreciate! Keltainen Aitta is another fun bar near the Market Square—it was quiet when I was there, but this is my friend’s favorite place in Oulu.

Café Kuluma was another fun bar. The interior here is gorgeous! I’d definitely recommend Café Kuluma for cocktails or a catch-up over nice drinks. Kaarlenholvi (sometimes shortened to Kaarle) is a good mixture of both bar and club—they have a dance floor and music on the weekend.

The Basics

Oulu is one of the largest cities of Finland (somewhere between 4^th-largest and 6^th-largest), with a population of about 203,000 people. It is located in the North Ostrobothnia region, about a 1-hour flight or 8-hour bus/train ride from the Finnish capital of Helsinki. The population of Finland as a whole is about 5.5 million. The official language is Finnish, although English is widely spoken by everyone. The official currency is Euros. Finland is a member of both the European Union and the Schengen Area.

Getting Around

Most of the city center of Oulu is easy to walk around. There is an extensive bus network if you’re venturing outside the center—a ticket for most zones costs €3.30 and is valid for 60 minutes (this doubles after 11pm). If you’re traveling to/from the airport, a single ticket costs €5.80. There are also multi-day passes available if you think you’ll be traveling by bus regularly.

Planning Your Trip

I use Skyscanner to find the best deals on flights. Considering travel insurance for your trip? World Nomads offers coverage for more than 150 adventure activities as well as emergency medical, lost luggage, trip cancellation and more. Oulu doesn’t see a huge amount of tourists, but it does get much busier in summer. It’s always best to book accommodation in advance, especially if you’re visiting over the Air Guitar World Championships. You can search for hostels here, and hotels here. You can also sign up to and book accommodation through Airbnb here!

Booking.com

Oulu is a really fun place to explore for a few days, a quirky city break destination that is still just slightly off the beaten path. Without huge numbers of tourists, it’s a nice city to see what Finland is actually like, and how Finns actually live! I hope this quick guide helps in planning your trip to Oulu.

Have you ever been to Finland? What was your experience like?

You might like my other posts on Finland:

How Much Does it Cost to Travel Finland For 1 Week?

Visiting Rovaniemi and Santa Claus Village in Finland

What To Do With 1 Day In Helsinki

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