Oulu is the Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture 2026 – a laid-back sea­side city in north­ern Fin­land where cre­ativ­i­ty thrives and nature is always just around the cor­ner. If you’re head­ing to Oulu this sum­mer, here are 10 things you shouldn’t miss!

A land­mark con­tem­po­rary art trail explor­ing cli­mate, time and nature is now open as one of the major high­lights of Oulu2026 Euro­pean Cap­i­tal of Cul­ture. The art­works are spread across six dif­fer­ent loca­tions: Yli-Ii, Oulu city cen­tre, Yliki­imin­ki, Oulun­sa­lo, Kiimin­ki and Kel­lo.

In 2026, Oulu is the heart of Europe, and the best moments are the ones we share. Cre­ate your own invi­ta­tion and bring your friends along for the fes­tiv­i­ties! You can also enter the prize draw for a chance to win tick­ets to excit­ing events.

This label is worth tast­ing! Arc­tic Food Lab label is a sym­bol of Arc­tic ingre­di­ents, pris­tine nature, and local exper­tise – ele­ments that make the north­ern food cul­ture tru­ly unique. This year, you can dis­cov­er Arc­tic Food Lab fla­vors across var­i­ous loca­tions through­out the Oulu2026 area.

Find­ing peace in a new place is not always easy – but some­times, the jour­ney leads you exact­ly where you’re meant to be. From Bangladesh to Oulu, Nus­rat Sho­va shares her sto­ry of study, cul­ture, and con­nec­tion in the north. Through edu­ca­tion, vol­un­teer­ing, and every­day moments in nature, she has found a sense of belong­ing.

Future fash­ion is tak­ing over the Oulu Art Muse­um this sum­mer. Tomorrow’s Wardrobe show­cas­es fash­ion design where open-mind­ed artis­tic vision, the pos­si­bil­i­ties of mod­ern tech­nol­o­gy and sus­tain­able mate­ri­als are inter­wo­ven.