Sipoo - municipality in the region of Uusimaa in Finland
Sipoo (Swedish: Sibbo) is a municipality in Uusimaa, about 25 km east of Helsinki. It includes the towns of Nikkilä (Nickby) – which is also its administrative centre – and Söderkulla, plus a couple of smaller villages.
Understand
The character of Sipoo varies a lot, some is suburbs of Helsinki, some is traditional countryside and some archipelago.
The area is traditionally Swedish speaking, like most of coastal Uusimaa. In the countryside and archipelago the great majority is still Swedish speaking, while in suburbs Finnish dominates.
Get in
See Helsinki#Get around for information about HSL public transport fares and tickets
You can get in by car, bus, boat or bike from Helsinki and Porvoo.
Regional buses 785 through 788 of HSL run from the Rautatientori square in central Helsinki to Nikkilä in central Sipoo. You will need to buy an ABCD ticket, as Sipoo is part of zone D. The trip between Rautatientori and Nikkilä takes about an hour per direction.
Söderkulla and the rest of southern Sipoo are served by coaches to Porvoo (from Helsinki bus station, Kamppi), see Matkahuolto. You could take the metro for part of the voyage.
There is a cycleway along the old Porvoo road from Helsinki, through Söderkulla and ending in Box. An other cycleway leads via Korso in Vantaa to Nikkilä. The road from Östersundom through the national park to Nikkilä may also be bikeable.
Get around
See Helsinki#Get around for information about fares and tickets
By taxi
See Uusimaa#By taxi for information about companies and fares
See
Sipoo has two main churches, an older one and a newer one, located almost next to each other just outside Nikkilä, and some smaller churches:
- Old church (Sibbo gamla kyrka, Sankt Sigfrid), 60.3692°, 25.2595°. Medieval "grey stone" church, built 1450–1454.
- Sipoon uusi kirkko (Sibbo nya kyrka), 60.3686°, 25.2542°. Gothic Revival red tile church from 1885.
- Norra Paipis bykyrka (Paippisten kyläkirkko). Wooden village church
- Söderkullan kirkko (Söderkulla kyrka). Modern church, inaugurated 2018, including several functions of the parish. There are also a number of mansions:
- Savijärvi mansion.
- Söderkulla mansion. The estate has medieval roots. The current Art-Nouveau main building is from 1908. The mansion acts as a culture centre, owned by the municipality.
Do
Rent a boat or canoe (or join a tour) to explore the archipelago. There is also a ferry from Kalkstrand to some of the distant islands.
- Talma Ski, 60.3975°, 25.1818°. A pocket-size ski centre.
- Sipoonjoki, 60.2849°, 25.3232°. Cruise the river Sipoonjoki with a small boat or canoe. From the sea, there is a 5-km bay, then 1 km of river for Söderkulla. The centre of Nickby is 10 km farther upstream, not reachable by any real boat.
- Sipoonkorpi National Park (Sipoonkorven kansallispuisto, Sibbo storskogs nationalpark), 60.303°, 25.187°. Get out in the Finnish nature without venturing further than 20 km from central Helsinki.
- Söderskär, 60.1089°, 25.4091°, soderskar@eurowork.info. Weekends May–Sep, daily 1 June–12 Aug, start 9:15, return 13:30. Skerry in the outer archipelago with tall lighthouse (which may have inspired Tove Jansson's Moominpappa at Sea) and bird reserve. €45, children 6–12 €23; landing without a tour is allowed in late summer and in autumn 2019-06-30
- Recreation areas on islands
- Fagerö (Kaunissaari), 60.2403°, 25.3667°. Recreation island of City of Helsinki. Free
- Möholmen, 60.2402°, 25.3662°. Recreation island: cliffs, wood and a few small beaches. Free
- Storsand, 60.2346°, 25.3632°. Several beaches with views to seascapes of Sibbofjärden. Barbecue sites (mind wildfire warnings!) and outhouse toilets, no other services. Free
- Siverfjärden and Insjön, 60.2502°, 25.4394°. Nice sheltered boating (or canoeing) route between the mainland and the islands Löparö and Kitö (depth 0.8 m)
Events
- Simsalödagen. Rowing competition around the island; art exhibition in the former school, handicraft for sale, flea market, outdoor café, axe throwing. See archipelago dwellers and summer guest gathered. Free, but reserve some cash for coffee and impulse purchases
Buy
There are shops in the main villages and suburbs. For a different experience, if you are out in the archipelago, check the timetables of m/s Christina and do your grocery shopping on board, or just buy an ice cream to eat on the pier while chatting with locals and summer guests, like many of those who come by foot or boat to wait for the shop to arrive (it is notoriously late, as there are long queues on sunny days).
- m/s Christina, +358 9 877-1095 (landline), +358 400-490-849 (Enska), +358 50-552-7250 (Dockan), siw.ahonen@gumbostrand.fi. 2022: 18 June–6 August. Shop in a boat, visiting some thirty piers at least weekly in season. Think before you board, as the space is cramped; you have to grab any purchase in passing, with a queue behind you. Don't worry, just enjoy. If you have a local friend (or there are two of you) you might want to do your round first, and ask them to take anything you missed. The prices are a bit inflated to cover costs, but no rip-offs. If you need something special, you can probably call the shop and have them bring it for you. Fuel requires your leaving an empty container for filling (mark it with your name) and fetching it the next time. 2022-06-05
Eat
- Nikkis, Iso Kylätie 9 (in Nikkilä), 60.3742°, 25.2668°, +358 45 345 9239. M–F 10:00–22:00; Sa–Su 11:00–22:00. 2022-10-10
- Ravintola Veljekset, Taasjärventie 1 (in Söderkulla), 60.2979°, 25.3430°, +358 45 783 444 33, asiakaspalvelu@ravintolaveljekset.fi. M 10:30–16:00; Tu–Th 10:30–21:00; F 10:30–23:00; Sa 11:00–23:00; Su 14:00–20:00. 2022-10-10
- Söder Pippuri, Eriksnäsintie 3 (in Söderkulla), 60.2966°, 25.3235°, +358 9 272 4530, info@soderpippuri.fi. M–Th 10:00–22:00; F 10:00–23:00; Sa 11:00–23:00; Su 11:00–22:00. 2022-10-10