Six lucky pairs who applied for the 7 Day Challenge in Lakeland get to experience summer in Lakeland in 2026 – and you can too! Here's a step-by-step guide to help in planning your next holiday in the land of a thousand lakes.

Finland has over half a million cottages – and in Lakeland, many of them sit right on the water. Renting a mökki for a week (or two) is how Finns have been doing summer for generations, and it's the perfect base for everything that follows in this guide. Pick your spot somewhere among the thousands of lakes in Finnish Lakeland, and let the unhurried rhythm of cottage life take over.

In Lakeland, sauna isn't a spa treatment. It's a way of life. Heat up, sweat it out, then run straight into the cooling lake. Repeat until deeply relaxed. The wood smoke, the steam, the cold water on hot skin: this is the rhythm Finns have lived by for centuries, and it's yours to try. Never been in a Finnish sauna before? Don't worry – it's far simpler and more welcoming than you might think.

Finnish summer food is simple, seasonal and deeply satisfying. In Lakeland, that means crispy fried vendace fresh from the lake, Karelian pies with egg butter, and sausages grilled over an open fire at the cottage. Pick wild bilberries straight from the forest, browse a local supermarket for squeaky bread cheese, or sit down for a bowl of salmon soup in a lakeside restaurant. The ingredients are honest, the portions generous and the setting is hard to beat anywhere in the world.

Lakeland's outdoors is vast, unhurried and full of surprises. Paddle a canoe through the still waters of Kolovesi National Park, where you might spot the Saimaa ringed seal – one of the world's rarest animals, found nowhere else on earth. Pick wild berries and chanterelles along forest trails, hike to a hilltop view over endless blue water, join a guided bear-watching excursion in the forests of Arctic Lakeland, or visit one of the 21 national parks in the region. The forests and lakes have a way of slowing everything right down.

Lakeland carries centuries of history and tradition. Watch world-class opera performed inside the medieval Olavinlinna Castle at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, or head to Kuhmo for an intimate chamber music festival where world-class musicians perform deep in the wilderness. In Kotka, explore Alvar Aalto's Sunila pulp mill – a rare example of the architect's social vision in practice, where factory and community were designed as one. For Karelian culture, the Bomba House in Nurmes brings traditional food and heritage to life, while the Valamo Orthodox Monastery in Heinävesi offers a rare moment of stillness and contemplation.

This action is part of Eastern Finland Sustainable Tourism Growth Program and is funded by South Savo Regional Council from Appropriation for Sustainable Growth and Vitality in Regions (Finnish AKKE funding).