If you like small towns and like to avoid crowds, then Iisalmi is the place for you! If New York is a sensory overload, the Iisalmi is the “underload”. This town is authentic and is not yet filled with tourists. Here are some tips for visiting Iisalmi in Upper Savo region in Finland.
How to get there and accommodation tips for visiting Iisalmi
Iisalmi is located in the centre of the country. You can rent a car or take a bus to get there. However, if you want to travel comfortably, it is better to hop on the train. You can take the train from Helsinki airport, changing in Tikkurila. Buy the tickets online with VR, the national railway. After 5 hours on the train, you have arrived!
Accommodation
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For accommodation you should consider this boutique hotel Golden Dome. It is unique with its Orthodox paintings all over the walls of the dining room. The food at the hotel restaurant is close to fine dining. There is also a hostel called Sawo hostel. It has cheaper options for your stay. I have heard they have excellent beds there. Also there is a Sokos hotel Koljonvirta where you can enjoy an ample breakfast with all the works.
If you want to truly escape the crowds, you can drive to Runni Hotel and Spa. They have a traditional smoke sauna and jacuzzis overlooking the river. The views from the restaurant are also beautiful.
Things to do and local tastes
If you like the outdoors and the weather is nice, you can enjoy a walk by the lake Porovesi. The walk ranges from 5 to 10 km, going all the way around cape Luuniemi. In wintertime you can also enjoy cross-country skiing on the same path or on the ice. 
The harbour is small. There you can find the smallest restaurant in the world called Kuappi. The bigger harbour restaurant overlooks the local brewery and lake. However these are only open during summertime. During lunchtime during the week, you can enjoy lunch by the brewery at Olvi-Oluthalli. You can also visit the immersive Brewery Museum. The lunch there is excellent so I can highly recommend it. Olvi Brewery is the only large Finnish-owned brewery in Finland. You can find it in the stock market as well.
There are beautiful Cafés in Iisalmi. One is Café Nata in Pohjolankatu. There you can find beautiful Macarons and very inventive five-star delicacies. There is also Café Hilla close to the marketplace with a wonderful terrace. Toripaviljonki in the Market place serves also food. Maxi Café is located in the local supermarket Tokmanni. They have wonderful cakes and lunch salads.
If you are a friend of Motorbike sports there is a tiny exhibition of Teuvo Länsivuori race driver in Keisarinkulma. In the same building you can shop for durable Ponsse work gear and Finnish brands of Marimekko and Pentik.
To truly experience the Upper-Savo region, you must visit the small Market Hall. It is located in the centre of Iisalmi, right on the Market Square. There you can taste the local meat soup with blood dumplings or blueberry or fish pies.
After a walk and in to digest the Finnish food you can go bowling at Liikuntakeskus Liike. We even have our own Golf Course in Iisalmi. You can find out more if you look up Ylä-Savo Golf or YSG. A good option is to go swimming at the new municipal swimming pool. It is named after an Otter that used to hangout on the steps of the town hall!
Summer Events
During the summer, Iisalmi is known for the “Alley of Birches -Art Biennale”. There is literally an alley of birch trees. In the middle of it, there is a path scattered with pieces of artwork 
. This outdoor art exhibition is completely free to explore and usually held in July. It is perhaps the best month to visit Finland in terms of sunshine and warm lake waters.
We have music festivals in the summer held in the Luuniemi Outdoor Arena. The local Oluset Beer festival is held in July and Runnirock is held in August. Both have a variety of Finnish artists and two nights of live music outdoors. We also have a more traditional Folk Festival Maakuntajuhlat in Mansikkaniemi. We have a lovely free Sunday picnic event in August in Mansikkaniemi as well. You can bring your best picnic baskets, enjoy food and music outdoors in beautiful surroundings. In August, we also have a street fair called Louhenkatupäivät. Local shop owners and cafes and restaurants market their products on Louhenkatu street. It is a communal event with lovely atmosphere if the weather is on our side.
Churches and Museums
The Old wooden church of Kustaa Adolf is located about 3 km away from the center. It has a beautiful light blue interior. Make sure you check if it is open for visitors. It also has a beautiful altar painting. There is an Orthodox Museum next to the Hotel Golden Dome. If you look from the East to the West from the Church, you can see the Lutheran City Church of the Holy Cross.
If you are a history lover, there are two museums in Iisalmi. They are open during summer. They represent the local lifestyle from the peasant days in Ylä-Savon Kotiseutumuseo and Juhani Aho Museum. The latter is in fact the house where a local author lived in his youth. Next to the museum there is the outdoor summer theater but the plays are usually in Finnish.
Traveling with Children and a Hidden Gem
If you are traveling with children, Iisalmi has one of the smallest ski slopes in Finland. This slope has only one anchor lift and one tube lift. This place is good fun for beginners and small kids, with very cheap prices and a small cafe as well. Tobogganing is also more fun when you can take the tube lift. In summer you can hike up the hill or take the steps on the right side of the slopes. In Iisalmi, there are three Frisbee Golf Tracks. One is by the Paloisvuori slopes. Another is in Kangaslampi. The last one is behind the Kauppis-heikki school.
The Iisalmi beaches, especially the city beach, are quite shallow, so they are nice for little children. Of course you still need to be with the kids in the water.
My favorite gem during summer is the Traffic Park or Liikennepuisto in Finnish. This is a place where kids can ride paddle cars and little tractors. There is a playground area and beautiful pink spire cherry trees. Kids can even paddle a little locomotive with real rail tracks. In total there are ten more playgrounds in Iisalmi. They are scattered all over town and totally free to play at. The most popular one is perhaps the harbour playground.
Nearby
If you want more action and sights to see, there are two towns nearby. They are only an hour’s drive away. One up north called Kajaani and one down south called Kuopio. I hope you take these into consideration when you make your plans! Here are my tips for visiting Iisalmi, but check out also our blogs about Seville and Norway!
As mentioned earlier, you can book accommodation in Iisalmi easily on this hotels.com link. This is an affiliate link and I earn from any qualifying purchases.