Credits: Helsinki Partners, Aleksi Poutanen
Finland’s four seasons are full of feasts: traditional treats, delicious celebrations and seasonal specialities.
No matter when you visit Finland, each season brings something delicious to discover. From picnics under the midnight sun to harvest celebrations and the festive flavors of Santa’s homeland, Finland is a foodie destination all year round.
This is your seasonal guide to taste it all.
Summer in Finland, starting typically in the end of May and ending in the beginning of September, tastes of sunshine and freedom. This Nordic season is so short that locals want to truly make the most of it. Market squares overflow with new potatoes, strawberries, peas and fresh herbs, and the air smells faintly of sauna, birch leaves and grilled food.
Summer in Finland wouldn’t be complete without a visit to a local market square, or tori. These lively outdoor markets are the heart of Finnish summer life, where locals and travellers mingle over fresh produce and steaming cups of coffee with curious seagulls circling above. Some of the most beloved markets include Helsinki’s Kauppatori by the harbour, Turku Market Square, Kuopio’s Market Hall and Square in the heart of Lakeland, and the cheerful summer markets of Oulu and Rovaniemi in the north.
Around Midsummer in June, Finns retreat to their cottages to bathe, fish and feast beneath the Midnight Sun. New potatoes with butter and dill share the table with herring, hot or cold smoked salmon and sausages sizzling over open fires. Dessert is often a simple strawberry cake piled high with whipped cream and fresh berries that taste like pure bliss.
In Helsinki, summer means outdoor cafés and terraces, ice-cream kiosks and long nightless nights by the sea. Visit the Old Market Hall or Hakaniemi Market for local cheeses, pastries and freshly roasted coffee, or simply order a scoop of strawberry ice cream and watch the sun hover over the Baltic Sea.
In Lakeland, life moves outdoors as boats and barbecues fill the lakeshores. Locals fry small vendace fish, muikku, over open fires, or buy them from local market places. On the Coast and Archipelago, locals mark crayfish season in late summer with long tables, dill-scented crayfish, archipelago bread and lively songs. Lapland’s berry season begins in full force: cloudberries (lakka or hilla in Finnish) glow on northern marshes, while bilberries and lingonberries colour forest paths in both in the far north and elsewhere in the country.
As nights grow darker towards the end of August, Finnish food turns hearty and comforting. This is harvesting season: time for apples, root vegetables, stews, soups, and pickles. Restaurants feature chanterelles and ceps in creamy sauces and soups, and moose, venison and duck take pride of place on menus.
For visitors to Finland, this is the time to taste the forest itself. In many parts of the country guided foraging trips lead visitors deep into the woods to collect mushrooms and berries, followed by rustic meals cooked by the water. If you'd like to find companies offering foraging tours, visit our Activities and Experiences page.
Along the Coast and Archipelago, herring markets fill the harbours with music and chatter. The oldest and most famous, Helsinki’s Baltic Herring Market (Silakkamarkkinat), has taken place since the 1700s and remains a lively mix of history and modern Nordic street food. In addition to seafood, you'll also find many market places in bigger and smaller towns, such as the ironworks villages of the south, offering harvest treats from jams to preserved goods.
Kekri is Finland’s traditional autumn harvest festival. In the past, people celebrated the year’s bounty, honoured their ancestors, and cast spells for good luck. Today, Kekri has largely been replaced by modern Halloween, but you may still come across harvest-themed celebrations in rural areas and cities. Suomenlinna island just outside Helsinki is famous for its Viaporin Kekri.
Lapland’s autumn is short, intense and beautiful, its hills glowing red and gold during ruska before the first snowfall. Game and reindeer dishes pair perfectly with tart lingonberries, and many local chefs create tasting menus inspired by the surrounding wilderness. Across Finland, orchards press fresh apples into crisp Nordic juices and ciders, and by November, candlelight returns to dinner tables, giving even a simple bowl of root vegetable soup a quiet, comforting beauty. This time of year is also when the Northern Lights season begins.
When winter arrives, Finland slows down. It’s the season of wool socks, snowlight and comforting food.
In December, the scent of gingerbread and glögi (Finland’s spiced mulled wine) fills homes and Christmas markets. Glögi is made from berry juice or red wine, flavoured with cinnamon and cloves, and often served with a touch of strong alcohol for extra warmth.
Finnish Independence Day on December 6 is a time for traditional flavours: Karelian stew, smoked salmon and thoughtfully made desserts, like cakes and cookies. You'll typically find Finns out and about in fancy restaurants during this day. A week later, Lucia Day brings saffron buns and candlelight to the darkest days of the year, especially in the Swedish-speaking coastal towns.
Christmas Eve is the crown of the Finnish culinary year. In many homes the day begins with traditional rice porridge (riisipuuro) sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, with a single almond hidden inside for luck. In the evening, tables are covered in cured fish, beetroot salad, root-vegetable casseroles and the star of the show, joulukinkku, a slow-roasted Christmas ham, or roasted turkey. Many families also opt for vegetarian options. After dinner, Santa pops by to give kids their long-awaited Christmas presents.
After New Year, Finland settles into the calm of deep winter. Days are cold and night are long, perfect for creamy soups, Karelian pies with egg butter or Finnish crepes with berry jam after a sauna. In Lapland, visitors can end a day under the Northern Lights with sautéed reindeer and mashed potatoes, while the Archipelago offers island-style tables filled with Baltic fish and malt bread. Whether you’re sipping hot berry juice in a ski hut or a Finnish long drink (lonkero) by a crackling fire, winter food in Finland always feels like a warm embrace.
In February, cafés fill with the scent of laskiaispulla, soft cardamom buns filled with whipped cream and jam or almond paste, and the famous arrack or rum flavoured Runeberg Tortes (runebergintorttu). The savoury blini season is also on in many restaurants in the Helsinki Region and elsewhere in the country. These buttery buckwheat pancakes, topped with heavy sour cream, fish roe, red onion and dill, are a truly comforting winter dish.
When spring arrives in Finland, it does so in its own quiet way. In Lapland, the slopes glisten under long days of sunlight, and the season is spent skiing in light winter gear and sipping hot chocolate between runs. Further south, the snow melts and café terraces begin to open, even if it’s still too chilly to sit outside for long. The first rays of warmth draw people outdoors for coffee breaks in the sun. It’s a time of light returning and the promise of fresh flavours just around the corner.
Easter arrives with its own beloved (and quirky!) Finnish flavours. Mämmi, the dark malty rye dessert, is best enjoyed with cream and sugar, while pasha – rich with quark and candied peel – adds a touch of unique sweetness to the season. Finnish chocolate deserves a mention too: from Fazer’s iconic blue bar to the hand-poured Mignon Easter Egg made with real eggshells, it’s a small piece of national happiness.
By May, warmth returns to the parks and streets, and Finland celebrates Vappu, or May Day, with joyful abandon. Families and friends gather for picnics with homemade sima, a lightly fermented lemon mead, along with sugar-dusted munkki doughnuts and crisp tippaleipä funnel cakes. In the Helsinki Region, Kaivopuisto Park becomes a sea of balloons, happy students, and those white graduation caps called ylioppilaslakki. Lakeland’s lakes open for the first catches of the year, like fresh perch and vendace with lemon and butter, while in Lapland, a steaming bowl of creamy salmon soup still feels right beside the last days of snow.