Study Finnish in The Home of Your Own Private Teacher in The Helsinki Region

Helsinki is a major city that manages to maintain the welcoming feel of a small town. Here you’ll find friendly people, a warm and inviting café culture, a variety of lively festivals, and more! Your placement could be anywhere is the Greater Helsinki Area, which includes the bordering cities of Espoo, Vantaa, and Kauniainen.

Helsinki is a famously attractive city with impressive buildings in a variety of architectural styles. Here you’ll find the Suomenlinna, the greatest sea fortress in the Baltic in the 18^th century; it has often been called the "Gibraltar of the North."

It was built over six of the 300+ picturesque islands in the world’s largest archipelago, and today it’s a popular picnic spot and concert venue. We also recommend visiting the incredible and unique Temppeliaukion Kirkko, also called the ‘Rock Church’ and the ‘Church of Rock’.  This amazing building, designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen, was built directly into solid rock and opened in 1969.

The rough, unworked stone surfaces make for marvelous acoustics, so the church is also often used for concerts. Scandinavia is internationally renowned for metal music and it was in this church that the first ever Metal Mass was held in 2006.

Helsinki isn’t just a beautiful city, it’s also a fun city, and it hosts a variety of major festivals all throughout the year. Helsinki-päivä or, Helsinki Day, on June 12^th celebrates the anniversary of the capital. The Helsinki Festival is the largest event, and in recent years this multi-arts festival has attracted nearly 300,000 people!

Vappu or, Walpurgis day, is another gigantic, carnivalesque street festival that takes place all over Finland. It runs from April 30^th to May 1^st and the tradition of drinking abundant sparkling wine and sima (a home-made mead) has made it very popular with students.

The Live & Learn program offers you a unique and truly immersive way to experience this remarkable coastal city. Your host family will be able to recommend particular places of interest as they get to know you personally through your private, professional Finnish lessons. You’ll also learn that much more quickly and effectively in a place where you can consistently apply your language skills as you learn them. The Helsinki region is full of incredible sights, sounds, and friendly Finns who will love to help you learn their language.

You can also check out our full list of Live & Learn destinations