Espoo Travel Guide, Finland

There are two ways to think about Espoo.  One is that it is a part of Helsinki, an assertion that is supported by the fact that Espoo is part of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area.  However, most people in day-to-day life will think of Espoo as a wholly separate city.  If it is a wholly separate city, it is the largest one in Finland after Helsinki and having a population of about 250,000 people, it means that it is definitely a city with a lot to offer.

If you want to travel to Espoo, the best way to do so in an international sense is to go there through the Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport.  From there, a car ride into the center of Espoo is a fairly simple matter to pull off.  Additionally, you can actually get to Espoo by helicopter and by highways and railways that connect Espoo to the rest of Europe through train and car rides.  Additionally, Espoo can be reached by bus from Helsinki and by any number of boating ports that are located in Helsinki.  The main point to understand is that if you want to travel to Espoo, there are many ways you can travel.

Espoo is not a very culturally diverse place; most of the ethic and cultural diversity in Finland is located in Helsinki, with a sharp drop off when you leave its borders.  About 95% of the people that live in Espoo most of the time are actually Finnish in terms of their ancestry, while about 4% come from other countries in Europe.  As far as religion is concerned, Espoo is about three quarters Lutheran, with 20% of the population espousing no religious affiliation whatsoever.  You'll notice that in this vein Espoo is quite a bit different from other major European cities, many of which have atheist or non-religious people.  This is an important point to keep in mind if you want to avoid offending people you talk to in the city.

Another thing that is worth knowing about Espoo is that the people living there absolutely love their sporting events.  Espoo is home to major teams in ice hockey, football (soccer) and basketball, all of which are sports that the country participates in on a national level.  Floorball, a court version of hockey, is also a popular sport in the city.