Farther west is Finland's southernmost point, the cape town of Hanko , with 14 miles of beach within city limits. Its castle, which overlooks the harbor and houses the historical museum, is right out of a Viking saga. The Gothic cathedral is one of the major medieval structures in Finland. Nearby Naantali , one of the oldest Finnish towns, is now a summer resort of brightly colored wooden houses. Rovaniemi , gateway to Lapland, is only a short flight from Helsinki, but the lifestyles of the residents are poles apart.
Visitors send home souvenir postcards attesting to their journey north of the Arctic Circle.