Whether staying a couple of hours or weeks in Espoo, you can always find unique sights, attractions, and stories behind them. From modern art exhibitions and museums over Finnish design and innovations to the beauty of Finnish nature and human well-being.
Finnish Nature Centre Haltia
Haltia is an accessible building. The premises have an accessible elevator. The outer door opens automatically, there is room to move inside and the exhibition spaces are spacious. Multisensory has been implemented in the exhibitions, attention has been paid to the location/height of guide boards and touch screens. Accessible toilets can be found on both floors. The auditorium and meeting rooms are also accessible, and the private sauna (which can be reserved) can accommodate a shower wheelchair. Haltia's lighting is designed in the way that even the visually impaired can move around the building.
EMMA Espoo Museum of Modern Art
EMMA's spacious and barrier-free spaces are easy to move around with a wheelchair. The premises have an accessible elevator. The works are placed at a good height, also from the point of view of a wheelchair user. Accessible toilets can be found on both floors. The assistant can join for free. Guide and assistance dogs are welcome. It is possible to book a device that amplifies the guide's voice for the guided tour.
& Espoo Theater
There is one accessible parking space in the theater yard. The front of the entrance is flat and the doorway is wide. Note: the threshold of the main door is 4 cm high, and the door does not have an electronic opening mechanism. There is an elevator in the lobby that does not have an electronic opening mechanism. Wheelchair spaces are located in the hall at the edge of the front row. The passage from the hall door to the front row is barrier-free. The premises have one accessible and gender-neutral toilet on the second floor, which can be reached by elevator.
Museum of Play Leikki
You can borrow indoor strollers and tire covers for prams from the museum. There is a barrier-free entrance to the museum. A wheelchair and a rollator can be borrowed from the locker room. Accessible toilets are located at street level behind the coat racks. There is also a gender-neutral toilet space as well as low children's toilets and changing tables. Entry for assistants is free of charge and you can come to the museum with a guide or assistance dog. The main exhibitions are subtitled in Finnish, Swedish, and English.
Note: The Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery Kruunu is located in the same building.
Espoo Cultural Centre
The main entrance is barrier-free, and one of the doors opens automatically. There are two places for the disabled at Espoo Cultural Center (Kulttuuriaukio). The facilities have accessible toilets and the most spacious toilet is located next to the coat racks of the concert hall. The upper floors are accessible by elevators. The Tapiola and Louhi halls have induction loops, the hearing range of which covers the middle part of the hall. The Tapiola Hall has wheelchair spaces in the upper part of the hall and, depending on the extent of the stage, also in the front part. Louhi Hall has wheelchair spaces in the upper part of the hall. The cultural center has one loanable wheelchair. Assistance dogs are welcome.
Gallen-Kallela Museum
The museum is accessible by wheelchair along the ramp. Most of the exhibition's material is located on the ground floor, where it is possible for people with reduced mobility to move. Note: A steep staircase without a handrail leads to the tower floors. Information and pictures of the museum's introductory texts and customer service are available for the rooms in the tower. With the help of picture cards, you can explore the museum with e.g. a special child. Description interpretation can be booked at the price of a standard guide. There is information about the history of the museum building, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, and an elevation map is available for the exhibition rooms on the ground floor. Guide and assistance dogs are welcome. There is an audio guide that you can listen to on your smartphone.
Children Cultural Centre Aurora
There are 2 accessible parking spaces located over 20 m from the entrance, and the pick-up area is located in the vicinity of the entrance. The route to the entrance is illuminated and smooth. There is a steep slope on the passage with at least 4 steps, but a ramp with handrails on both sides is available. The entrance door requires the use of a door phone and is heavy. There is a threshold over 2cm high at the entrance as well as within the facility. The foyer is cramped, and the customer service point is located on the same floor as the entrance.
Helinä Rautavaara Museum
The Museum is located in the Shopping Mall Entresse, with parking available near the shopping mall entrance doors. The first floor is accessible by elevator, and there are no obstacles to access or movement around the museum. Seats are also available, and dial sound effects can be requested from museum staff. Assistance dogs are welcomed in the museum, and guided tours for groups with special needs can be booked in advance.
Sellosali Music Hall
The marked disabled parking spaces are in the shopping center Sello's parking garage, from which there is a barrier-free entrance via the Sello library's elevator to the front door of the Sello Music Hall. Note: When the library's elevators are closed, there is barrier-free access to the parking garage via the elevators of the Sello shopping center (Finnkino). The interiors are barrier-free and the passageways are flat. There is an accessible toilet on the premises. There are wheelchair spaces in the auditorium and an induction loop in the hall (rows 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11 and 13).
Finnkino (Shopping center Iso Omena, Shopping center Sello)
Almost all halls are accessible by wheelchair or rollator (there are no wheelchair spaces in Espoo's Sello VIP hall). Every theater has an accessible toilet. The wheelchair client's assistant can go to the movies together with the assisted person free of charge. Some of the films have descriptive subtitles, which describe not only the dialogue but also other sounds in the film. There is an induction loop in Iso Omena's halls in Espoo. Guide dogs and assistance dogs are welcome. Wheelchair visitors are eligible to discounted prices.
Hero Image: Sanna Kalmari