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.

From the owner: Paikallismuseo Vantaalla. Vantaan Maatalousmuseo on kaksikielinen paikallismuseo, johon on kerätty…read moreesineitä ja tietoa vanhasta Helsingin maalaiskunnasta. Museon omistaa Helsinge Lantmannagille rf Vanda, joka on perustettu vuonna 1882 ja on yksi kaupungin vanhimpia yhdistyksiä. Museo koostuu kahdesta rakennuksesta. Rakennukset ovat Maiju ja Emil. Maiju sisältää kokous- ja juhlatilan, joka sopii sekä yli 100 henkilön tilaisuuksiin että pienemmille seurueille. Tila on käytettävissä ympäri vuoden. Emil on käytössä vain kesäisin. Meillä järjestät helposti juhlat sekä erilaiset seminaarit. Museo sijaitsee Vantaankosken (kaupungin tutustumiskohde) ja Helsinki-Vantaan lentokentän läheisyydessä, joten se on myös kauempaa tulevien vierailijoiden helposti löydettävissä. Tervetuloa käymään!

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.

Glims Farmstead Museum is a lovely place, especially in summer and Christmas time. It's mostly…read moreabout rural 19th century Finland but has also temporary exhibitions. In summertime they have different handicraft demonstrations and guidings almost every day and there are sheep and hen you can meet. It's nice to visit any time of the year, but November-December the main building has 19th century Christmas decorations and they tell about traditional Finnish Christmas. The personnel is extremely helpful and enthusiasted and know their stuff - ask them anything about their subject and they will answer! They have a nice museum shop, if you're searching for gifts. There is also a small and cosy cafe which has excellent pullas (sweet buns).