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Lappeenranta

Lappeenranta

Lappeenranta is a city in Finland and the regional capital of South Karelia.

Plan a trip to Lappeenranta From Helsinki (Vantaa)

It is located in the southeastern interior of the country and in the Finnish Lakeland. The population of Lappeenranta is approximately 73,000, while the sub-region has a population of approximately 88,000. It is the 13th most populous municipality in Finland, and the 11th most populous urban area in the country.

Get in

Getting to Lappeenranta

Highways 6 and 13 pass through Lappeenranta. Bus companies operate frequently from Helsinki and other cities, in normal times even from Saint Petersburg in Russia. Highway 13 extends to the Russian border, some 25 km from the city centre, where the

See

Worth seeing

The 1 historical fortress, the original city center which was established in mid-17th century. The old buildings include artist workshops, the 2 oldest orthodox church in Finland, completed in 1785, as well as 3 the Museum of South Carelia and 4 the Art Museum of South Carelia.

Do

Things to do

  1. 01
    Harbour
Eat

Where to eat

Small coffee booths at the harbour and the 1 market square (Kauppatori) offer traditional meat pies called vety (Eng. "hydrogen") and atomi (Eng. "atom"). Vety consists of a meat pie, ham, boiled egg and condiments. Atomi has either ham or egg, but not both. Also other snack food is offered by the booths. Just ask for 'vetyatomi' and you'll be understood in nearly all the grillikioskis in Finland.

How locals move

Getting around Lappeenranta the local way

  • Get aroundThere is a bike sharing system using bluetooth and the Donkey Republic about €1.50/1 hr, €4/5 hr, €12/24 hr.
  • Get aroundFor longer stays becoming a member is cheaper: €9 or €18/month covers all trips of less than 1 hr respectively 12 hr, also in other towns using Donkey Republic – but you need to register as member in the country of your card (available: most countries in western Europe and USA).

From Wikivoyage: Lappeenranta, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2026-09.

Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Wikimedia Commons (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.