A versatile Maritime Centre Vellamo ready for the summer
20.5.2026 | The summer season at Maritime Centre Vellamo is full of activities – guided tours, workshops, concerts and other events. This week marks the beginning of the summer season as our seasonal attractions open to the public. The museum centre will have extended opening hours during summer. Throughout the holiday season (1 June–16 August), all exhibitions at Vellamo museums and the Finnish Maritime Museum’s museum ships will be open daily.
The Finnish Maritime Museum’s museum ships Tarmo and Kemi, as well as the outdoor exhibition space Kuuri, open for the summer season on Tuesday, 19 May. In May, the icebreaker Tarmo and the lightship Kemi are open from Tuesday to Friday only, and from the beginning of June daily (separate ticket required). The outdoor exhibition space Kuuri has free admission and features, among other things, the Kultaranta II boat once used to transport Finland’s presidents. The Ruotsinsalmi Pavilion located on Varissaari Island can be visited free of charge on the opening days of Restaurant Vaaku. The pavilion deepens the experience of the Fate of Ruotsinsalmi exhibition even further.
Daily guided tours of a favorite exhibition and the ships
This summer’s guided tours focus on the widely praised Fate of Ruotsinsalmi exhibition, produced in cooperation between the Finnish Maritime Museum and the Kymenlaakso Museum. Visitors will hear stories about the Second Battle of Svensksund and the fortress town established afterwards. The tour is included in the admission fee.
“The Fate of Ruotsinsalmi exhibition receives praise from our visitors almost daily, which is why it has become a permanent favorite and the theme for this summer’s guided tours,” says Laura Siitonen from Vellamo’s customer service. Daily public guided tours begin after Midsummer and continue until the end of the summer season (Mon–Sun, 22 June–16 August at 12:00–12:30).
Guided tours on the Finnish Maritime Museum’s ships are held twice daily starting from early June. On these tours, you’ll hear what everyday life was like on these over 100-year-old vessels. The tour is included in the ship ticket price (1 June–16 August at 13:00 and 15:30; Mondays on Kemi and on other days on Tarmo).
Families with children are guests of honor
The Finnish Maritime Museum’s Courage, Love, Freedom! A Moomin Adventure exhibition and the Kymenlaakso Museum’s Never Never Town exhibition invite holidaymakers to play and explore. In addition to visiting exhibitions, craft workshops are available from Monday to Friday, 22 June–17 July, from 11:00 to 14:00. In these guided drop-in workshops, participants can make items such as museum ships, fish and even houses.
During the first week of June, Kymenlaakso Museum Week is celebrated in 16 museums across the region. To mark the occasion, the Kymenlaakso Museum will host free behind-the-scenes tours on Wednesday, 3 June, as well as offer the opportunity to explore the interior of patrol motor boat VMV11 at Vellamo’s Boat Hall.
The power of collaboration in summer events
That same week, the Kymijoki River Lohisoitto Festival will also be visible at Vellamo. On Friday, 5 June, the Boat Hall will host Harmo and Me, a beautiful and moving Spanish story about friendship, narrated by actor Jussi Vatanen with guitar accompaniment by Ismo Eskelinen. On Saturday, 6 June, the festival will offer a free wellbeing lecture in the auditorium. Internationally recognized brain researcher Minna Huotilainen will speak about the positive effects of music on brain function and stress management.
Vellamo is also strongly involved in the Kotka Maritime Festival (22–25 July), one of Finland’s largest city festivals. This summer, the festival and Vellamo museums collaborate extensively through museum-themed content. The Vellamo auditorium will screen Moomin short films and maritime-themed films, offering an air-conditioned break from the festival crowds. At the nearby Power Coast Stage, visitors can dance to music inspired by the Moomins and by Tove Jansson. The Finnish Maritime Museum and the Kotka Maritime Festival will jointly present DJ Daddy Pales (also known as Paleface) with a Tove & Tooti DJ Set and the Skidit collective’s Hattifatteners Disco.
In addition, Vellamo will host the Maritime Festival’s marine research themed day, presented by science communicator Emil Johansson, as well as a new youth-focused gaming event, GameDock, bringing together young gaming enthusiasts.
At the beginning of August, the string players of Kymi Sinfonietta will visit Vellamo as part of their Lähellä tour. Three Stories for Strings will be performed in the Boat Hall on 5 August. To conclude the summer season on 27 August (Baltic Sea Day), a guided tour will explore the Courage, Love, Freedom! A Moomin Adventure exhibition, discuss Tove Jansson’s relationship with the sea, and showcase the Victoria boat used by Jansson and Pietilä.
Vellamo is an ideal summer destination regardless of the weather. On hot days, visitors can cool off in the air-conditioned spaces of the modern building. Rainy weather will not be a problem either when you immerse yourself in the exhibitions beneath Vellamo’s wave-shaped roof. A versatile range of exhibitions ensures there is something to see and experience for visitors of all ages.