Stage 2: Unesco World Heritage sites, Coast & Archipelago, Finland

Nuuksio National Park´s beautiful forests and lakes make an excellent setting for hikes and rambles just half an hour from Helsinki. The  landscape is dominated by valleys and gorges formed by the Ice Age, and barren rocky hills covered by lichen and sparse pine forest. The Finnish Nature Centre Haltia lies beside lovely Lake Pitkäjärvi on the edge of the park.  It is the gateway to all of Finland's national parks, treating visitors to the pleasures of nature through all five senses.

Spend the evening in the idyllic old town of Ekenäs, whose old cobbled lanes are lined with colourful wooden houses, small shops, cafes and restaurants. Enjoy the sea air and sample fresh seafood down by the town’s pleasant beach and harbour. Nature lovers should not miss the Ekenäs Nature Centre, housed in an old wooden building on the quayside near the beach. The centre’s exhibitions feature local life in the archipelago, and it provides information on the changing nature of the western Uusimaa archipelago.