Art and Architecture Highlights

Pay your respects to the works of some of Finland’s most respected architects on this driving tour that visits both rural and urban landmarks. Helsinki is long-renowned for its groundbreaking architecture, wide boulevards and graceful squares. But this expedition’s focus lies further out of town in a charming rural landscape of deep forests, majestic rocks and crystal water. You’ll be visiting Hvitträsk, once the shared studio residence of three of Finland’s most preeminent architects – and the boyhood home of international architect Eero Saarinen, revered for mid-century works like the St. Louis Arch, the TWA terminal at JFK Airport and Washington’s Dulles Airport. Built in 1902 of natural stone and logs on a lakeside hill, Hvitträsk remains a defining example of Finnish National Romantic style. Your tour here includes free time for wandering the residence’s grounds, an oasis of peace and tranquility. Back in Helsinki proper, you’ll enjoy a rolling survey of its most significant in-town architecture, including Finlandia Hall and Parliament House, Senate Square and the Lutheran Cathedral, the University, Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral and the Presidential Palace. And no Helsinki pilgrimage is complete without a visit to the marvelously unique Temppeliaukio Rock Church blasted into solid granite.

• Wear weather-appropriate clothing; include a light raincoat or umbrella.
• Flat, comfortable walking shoes are recommended.