two nights in

Oulu

Oulu is the biggest city in Northern Finland, with about 210,000 inhabitants. Once known for wood tar and salmon, Oulu has become a major high-tech centre, particularly in IT and wellness technology. Wikivoyage

Population 217,469 (Wikidata)

Live guide From your hotel

Before you go

Emergency numbers in Finland

Visas and entry What your passport needs for Finland

Getting there

Remembered in this browser only, with the last few you used.

Still gathering the markets around Oulu. I'll let you know here when it's all in — or open the live guide.

Best-documented sights

All of them in the guide

Within a kilometre of the centre, ordered by how well documented each is — not by a "best" anyone decided. Each opens on the map in the guide. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited there.

Through the year

  1. Qstock

    July

    Qstock is an annual two-day music festival held at the end of July in Oulu, Finland. The festival lineup includes some of the biggest names in both the domestic and international music scene, regardless of the genre.

    Official site Wikipedia

  2. UFOP

    July

    (Uleaborg Festival Of Psychedelia) is a modern music and art event at Tukikhota, northern part of the city, in mid-July

  3. Jalometalli Metal Music Festival

    August

    Jalometalli Metal Music Festival was a Finnish heavy metal festival held annually in Oulu since 2002. The festival mainly featured old school thrash metal, death metal, and black metal bands.

    Official site Wikipedia

  4. Oulu August Festival

    August

    Oulu August Festival takes in some half-a-dozen events over the month

  5. The Irish Festival of Oulu

    October

    The Irish Festival of Oulu is the Irish-themed folk music, cultural and world music event, which takes place in early October

  6. Lumo Light Festival

    November

    (Lumo-valofestivaali) fills the city centre with light artworks for a weekend in late November

  7. Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival

    November

    Oulu International Children's and Youth Film Festival (Finnish: Oulun kansainvälinen lasten- ja nuortenelokuvien festivaali) is an annual children's film festival held in November in Oulu, Finland. The festival has been founded in 1982 by the Oulu Film Centre.

    Official site Wikipedia

Annual events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage (Oulu); descriptions from Wikipedia where it has one, photos from Wikimedia Commons. Dates move year to year — check before you plan around one.

Eating nearby

All 30 places to eat

Somewhere to run

Getting around

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Places © OpenStreetMap contributors, as of 9 October 2026. Description from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA). Events from Wikidata and Wikivoyage, population from Wikidata.