Jyväskylä attractions include Alvar Aalto Museum, Taulumäki Church, Harju Lookout Tower, Kauppakatu pedestrian shopping street, and a Päijänne Lake cruise from Jyväskylä.
Alvar Aalto Museum (www.alvaraalto.fi) has been in operation since 1966, and functioning out of the Aalto designed building since 1973.
The museum exhibits and documents Aalto’s works, architecture (including buildings for Jyväskylä City Theatre and University of Jyväskylä) that has made Jyväskylä world famous.
As part of its mission, the museum is also an information center for all things Aalto and his life, with the museum building often being a venue for temporary exhibitions related to the architect.
The museum center also produces Aalto-related publications.
In terms of permanent exhibitions, the museum displays objects and artworks related to Alvar Aalto’s life and his accomplishments in architecture.
The museum collection consists of thousands of objects from Alvar Aalto’s life, including:
- Aalto-designed furniture, lighting, and glassware,
- paintings and scale models of his buildings, and
- 200,000 drawings by Aalto, including original building plans.
Taulumäki Church (jyvaskylanseurakunta.fi/taulumaen-kirkko/), completed in 1929, is the most famous church in Jyväskylä, located within Taulumäki district.
The landmark building, which is best known for its architecture and artworks, was designed by architect Elsi Borg.
Most of the artworks inside the church were done by painter Paavo Leinonen, with highlights including angel paintings (above the main altar), as well as the biblical characters painted to the topmost balcony.
Harju Lookout Tower (Vesilinna), meanwhile, is one of the most famous attractions of Jyväskylä, featuring a water tower, build on top of an ice-age old mound near the city center.
From the water tower, which today functions as a lookout tower, you can see panoramic views over both Jyväskylä and the Jyväsjärvi Lake.
The place is also known for the dramatic stone stairway leading up to the tower, which are called “Nero Stairs” after Oskar Nero.
Although the Vesilinna Lookout Tower features a restaurant, the park-like Harju mound is also an ideal place to enjoy your own picnic during a warm Finnish summer afternoon.
Kauppakatu pedestrian shopping street (jyvaskyla.fi/kavelykatu) has been the main street and a center for shopping through the city’s history, from 1837.
The 440 meter (481 yard) long pedestrian street sees an estimated 80,000 daily visitors, with the place being a popular place for locals to enjoy shopping, to meet friends, and to be entertained.
What makes the street even more attractive, is that parts of the street are heated throughout the winter (keeping it free of snow and ice), with a network of heated, recirculated water.
Jyväskylä attractions also feature a cruise on Lake Päijänne (paijanne-risteilythilden.fi), available from spring to autumn from Jyväskylä harbor.
These lake cruises usually last for a few hours, during which you will see the most beautiful inland waters around Jyväskylä, with a cruise meal often being part of the journey.
From Jyväskylä, you can also participate on even longer inland cruises.
A popular cruise, for example, is towards the south, all the way to Lahti (via Päijänne), while the route north will take you through the famous Päijänne canal locks, towards Suolahti.