Vantaa

One thing defines Vantaa more than anything else: the airport.

The award-winning Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is one of Europe’s most important transit airports.

About 15 million passengers passed through it last year. The number of international transit passengers  was about 25 % Of those, many are either on the way to Asia or coming from there, and continuing their journey via Finland on to somewhere else. This has not happened by chance. The most direct route between Asia and Europe is via Helsinki-Vantaa. In that sense, Vantaa’s location on the world map is unique.

Vantaa is close to not only Tokyo, Hong Kong and Beijing but also to Helsinki. The journey from Vantaa to Helsinki city centre takes about 20 minutes by local train. The same journey takes about half-an-hour by bus, for example. By 2014, travel between Helsinki and the airport will be made even easier when the new Ring Rail Line enters service. The Ring Rail Line will ensure that Vantaa becomes an even more important part of the metropolitan area of the capital region.

In all this, design and good planning are vitally significant. Few places in the world contain more different kinds of design that an airport. World Design Capital 2012 gives Vantaa excellent opportunities to develop not only the airport but also the operations of the whole city.

Vantaa is certainly more than just railway lines and aircraft departing and arriving. Such places as Heureka Finnish Science Centre, Flamingo Leisure World and the Finnish Aviation Museum are amongst Vantaa's most popular attractions. For culture vultures, every year Vantaa offers a wide range of concerts, theatre- and dance performances and exhibitions. High-quality hotels and congress and conference centres are conveniently located near the airport. Vantaa is easily accessible.