'I visited some naked Europeans to find out why they're so much happier than us'

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The temperature inside the sauna, somewhere in a dark Finnish forest a few miles north of the city of Oulu, was already a just about bearable 80C when another scoop of water was flicked on to the coals, landing with a prolonged hiss.

The Brits among us, easily spotted by our red faces and embarrassing swimwear, had been chatting with our naked Finnish hosts about what made their country so happy. Finland takes first place in the UN’s Happiness Report, while the UK can only muster 19th. “Where are we going wrong?” I asked.

It is all to do with the sauna, said local social democrat councillor Tanja. Stripped of clothes and pretensions, all are equal, she said.

Oulu 2026 design curator Päaivi Tahkokallio added an extra twist. “In Finland, people spend 20% of their time talking, 80% listening. In the sauna, in the taxi, in the cafe, there is little by way of chit-chat. Words are not wasted, so important words are heard.”

I wanted to listen to more pearls of wisdom, but could sense my blood pressure rising and my eyeballs sweating from the heat. It was time for a breather. Giggling outwardly, but feeling very exposed, I opened the door from the sauna to an icy blast, stepping into snow to cool down the Oulu way.

I looked up and that’s when it happened. I’d stumbled across the northern lights. A dazzling show of green with a hint of pink was flashing through the dark outlines of the snowy forest canopy. With typical Finnish understatement, this bucket-list moment was deemed merely “a nice end to the evening” by our lovely hosts.

While other countries make a meal of seeing the aurora borealis, it’s just one of the many natural wonders that make this a place worth your consideration when you’re drawing up your holiday wish list for 2026.

Oulu is a city 60 miles inside the Arctic Circle, home to 200,000 people, and next year it’s been given the prestige of being the European Capital of Culture. It’s a city that could likely be summed up in a single cheesy slogan: “You don’t have to be mad to come here, but it helps!”

This place is quirky, a bit weird, and definitely memorable. Where else in the world could you hear a symphony created out of space noise generated billions of years ago, or watch would-be entrepreneurs shivering in icy water trying to persuade rich onlookers to invest in them?

Interested in watching actual grown-ups pretend to play non-existent guitars in front of an excitable crowd of rock lovers? Oulu has your back.

Where else could you enjoy an opera in the traditional Sami language confronting the abhorrent forced assimilation that happened to youngsters of the native culture, and also enjoy a flamenco performance against the backdrop of Oulu’s Screaming Men’s Choir, whose performances are as you’d imagine.

Visitors also come in their droves to venture out on an icebreaker ship into the frozen Baltic Sea in winter for the chance to stick on sumo suits and float about among mini icebergs.

The local tipple is tar schnapps (a taste I failed to acquire) and its most famous statue is of a plump policeman. It’s not just crazy folk seeking oddities and arty wonders that would love this place, though.

It’s a mecca for food-lovers, its reputation enhanced by the Arctic Food Lab project that encourages the use of local fish, meat and vegetables with an emphasis on seasonality and foraging. Rustic reindeer meat with mash and the most perfect salmon stews were a staple of my visit, but chefs here know how to maximise their homegrown produce to create wonderful dishes.

Still memorable are the Arctic char fish presented sashimi style with horseradish, pickled vegetables and oumu spicy broth that I devoured at Alfred’s Kitchen and Bar ( alfredkitchenbar.fi/en/home ), and the pan-fried squid and slow braised pork belly with crispy rice noodles, sauerkraut and pickled leek from the brilliant Restaurant Puistola.

The city is also a handy base for other activities, with forests and an ocean on the doorstep.

One memorable day started with a couple of hours cruising on the Icebreaker Arktis out into the Baltic Sea before the captain parked up, letting us walk on to an unbroken frozen section in front of the ship and, for the bravest among us, to don a waterproof buoyancy suit and float about among the icebergs behind it. It was all very surreal.

Back on solid ground, a short drive to Farm Arkadia provided our first reindeer encounter of the trip – a pair of them kindly towed us around on sledges through the snow.

Another place worth venturing out of the city for is Koiteli where visitors can indulge in snow walks or summer hikes in glorious scenery.

It was also here where local kantele players joined us to teach us how to collectively “meditate” while playing this brilliant little wooden instrument. As with all things Oulu, there was nothing ordinary about it.

There was only one letdown – the much anticipated Frozen People Festival turned out to be more soggy than icy. This relatively new digital and electronic music event is held in early spring and billed as Finland’s “cold” answer to the US Burning Man.

But this year, instead of taking place on the frozen sea as planned, the warming temperatures forced it to be relocated on to the shore. Performers and DJs still banged out rave tunes into the early hours, local food and beer went down nicely, and there were unique art installations and lights all around, but it had lost its unique feel. Fingers crossed for a colder 2026.

Oulu is also cycling friendly, with 620 miles of tracks around and about the region that are kept clear through snow and ice.

A third of Oulu’s kids cycle to school all year round too, even in the day-round winter darkness and in -20C conditions. It is also super safe and closer to home than you’d think – three hours by plane to Helsinki, followed by a short hour transfer north. So what are you waiting for?

The Finnish city of Oulu is 2026’s European Capital of Culture. But temperatures here are rising, so it’s a good job next year’s culture programme has been drawn together under a relevant collective theme – the climate emergency.

The precariousness of the city’s landscape and the lifestyle and lives it sustains is a running theme – Oulu is warming four times faster than the global average. Cultural highlights of the programme will include:

• A Sami opera will premiere in January, telling the story of a Sami boy separated from his family and robbed of his identity in boarding school, based on the true stories of indigenous people who had to endure forced assimilation.
• Polar Bear Pitching in February – a unique experience for start-up entrepreneurs who get to pitch to would-be investors while stood in an ice pool up to their chests. It’s more fun to watch than it sounds!
• The Climate Clock is a permanent public art trail launching next June through Oulu and surrounding forests, rivers and seashores, featuring world-renowned artists who have worked with local communities, including The Most Valuable Clock in the World artwork.
• The Arctic Food Lab project will extend in 2026 with pop-ups across the city and region.
• 100% Oulu will involve 100 locals representing the entire population of the city, by age, ethnicity and other characteristics “as if the whole city were on stage in miniature”.
• World photography exhibition all year on the climate change theme.
• Layers in the Peace Machine art installation on the theme of peace at Oulu City Hall is three floors high, and open all year.
• The World Air Guitar Championships in August 2025/26, which celebrates alternative music.
• The Oulu Music Video Festival also in August 2025/26.
• The midsummer Solstice Festival May-August 2026.
• The Lumo Art and Tech Festival is at the end of November 2026, when there are only five hours of daylight a day. Its 10 days of art and technology include arts based on light and sound.