I want to preface this review by saying that the buildings themselves, the architecture, the…read moregrounds, the design of objects inside of them.. all beautiful. Like a museum, you could spend hours looking at them. The guided tour was very strange to me and my three friends. It is kind of expensive, 30 euros for one person (to see both buildings). The manner in which you pay for your ticket seemed incredibly inefficient, with only one person at the front desk area taking cards or cash one by one. There were only about 15 of us, but there has to be a faster way. Our guide was nice, but it was a little hard to maintain interest in what she was talking about. The delivery of information felt monotonous and boring and facts were given seemingly randomly, as if there was not much preparation put into these tours. Maybe it's the Finnish shy thing, but I found it hard to engage with her. Guests seemed to feel awkward as well, and nobody really wanted to ask questions, but those that did get answered didn't seem to be so in an enthusiastic way. There is a second building which you must navigate to, just a few minutes away, but they said they only have space for 20 people per tour. My group and I arrived early, but they said they weren't ready for us, so we walked around the house and sat there for a while. When we came back, the door was closed and a sign said "Tour Full" and we received not much sympathy from the staff.. no answers at all, actually, and were given these useless numbered tickets so we were sure to get a spot the next tour an hour later. Two of our group had to change their plans to accommodate the schedule because we had already paid for the tickets. The new guide seemed rather unenthusiastic as well, and seemed like she would rather anywhere else. The facts were given like they were read out of a textbook, without any dynamics for Alvar as a person, or his influences, or anything other than basic facts. I was disappointed in the tours, and I think my group was all falling asleep.. but the work is fascinating and if you do a little of your own research, I think you'll get more out of the experience than the guided tours.

Great museum experience. Not very big, but outstanding tour. Very clear and understandable in…read moreexcellent english. Informative, and a perfect amount of time. Not good for young children, but for adults of any age who are interested in design and how designers actually worked, this is a must do. In an excellent area for walking after or before your tour. Great neighborhood.

Lovely small art museum featuring paintings of Akseli Gallen-Kallela, a Finnish national painter…read more Wonderful art, beautiful location, great nature and trails nearby.

The museum is located between Helsinki and Espoo and very easy to access. The museum features…read moreartwork from Finnish art nouveau artist Akseli Gallen-Kallela. His work is very art nouveau inspired but with a very strong Finnish nationalism focus (drawn when Finland was a grand duchy of Imperial Russia). The main building, built in the Finnish romantic architecture style from the turn of the century), is a very interesting mix of nouveau and ancient Finnish castles from folk tales. The inside of the museum is also quite fascinating (a floor made of burnt circular cut logs, for example) and the artwork very good. An older building, high Victorian period, stands next to the castle-like museum building and features Finnish pastries and coffee/tea. Those visiting Finland wanting to get the Finnish experience would be well advised to go to this museum.