It’s getting darker and colder every day, and winter is definitely in the air in Helsinki – but no reason to stay inside! Last week Linnanmäki celebrated its annual light carnival before the park closes for winter. Linnanmäki is Helsinki’s amusement park, and it’s a rather magical place: It opened its gates in 1950 on a hill north of Töölönlahti and is owned by a non profit organisation. There is no entrance fee and even some of the rides are free, including many for young children and a panorama tower, from which you can have great views over Helsinki. There are around 40 rides in the park, including a wooden rollercoaster that was already built in 1951, a scenic train that circles around the park, and (one of my personal highlights) mechanic horses that gallopp along their track through parts of the park. Linnanmäki is open from April until autumn and has a wonderful nostalgic fairground atmosphere.

I never took my camera when we went there throughout the summer, but here are some pictures I took at the light carnival: