Vantaa

Understand

300px|thumb|The science centre Heureka in Tikkurila

Like Espoo, Vantaa is basically an extension of Helsinki, despite having a huge population by Finnish measures. It does not have a proper city centre: 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 in 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, notably the science centre Heureka. Depending on your interests, also the complex of the Jumbo mall and Flamingo hotel and entertainment centre can keep you busy for a couple of hours at least.

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.

Get around

The public transport of Vantaa is operated by the Helsinki region public transport authority (HSL), see Helsinki#Get around for information about fares and tickets and HSL's website for routes, schedules and updated official information.

See

thumb|Myyrmäki church thumb|Ankkapuisto in Korso

Do

thumb|Flamingo Spa thumb|Kaljakellunta on the Vantaa River

Eat

thumbnail|Big Hero steak at Oklahoma Restaurant

Drink

thumbnail|Night view of Martinlaakso bus terminal

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