One of the big challenges on any vacation in a foreign city is how to find things to do that will be fun for the whole family. Younger children don't usually have much interest in visiting museums or eating at fine restaurants. On the other hand, child-oriented science museums or playgrounds aren't what the adults traveled so far and paid so much money to see.

In Helsinki, there's: the Linnanmäki Amusement Park. It's fun for 'kids' aged from one to a hundred.



The Linnanmäki Amusement Park has been amusing visitors since 1950. To date, over 46 million of them...and counting. Founded to raise money for children orphaned by WWII, it originallywasn't expected to last more than a few years.

Construction was completed in a short two months on some land that no one saw any use for, leased from the city for only three years. Despite this inauspicious beginning, the park has been a continuing major attraction in Helsinki since it opened.

Castle Hill, as the name "Linnanmäki" translates into English, is the oldest amusement park in the city. The name was derived from the water tower that still forms the center of the attractions. It is siturated in beautiful parkland atop a hill, so there's plenty to see even if you don't want to ride the rides. But, you really should try them.

There are dozens of different rides, including a roller coaster set on wooden rails. Not the largest or fastest, and comparatively mild by U.S. standards, but since it's made from wood you really get the feeling of the track. Built in 1951 it was expected to only last about 20 years, however is still going strong.

Besides the rides you would expect at a good amusement park, there are arcade games, a Fairytale Valley, live stage shows and a lot more.

In other words, Linnanmäki Amusement Park has something for everyone.

If you just want to watch, you can wander around for free, and then pay only when you want to try one of the great games. There's also a one-price wristband option that lets you ride anything and everything without paying separately for each. There's a dance hall and a hall of mirrors. Sideshows abound and there are many concession stands full of traditional amusement park food and trinkets. There's a ferris wheel, seen in the picture above, a monorail, bumper cars and a whole lot more. The bumper cars, popular at many European amusement venues, have been operating since the park's opening day.

Linnanmäki Amusement Park is a real nostalgia trip!