Though it is considered a suburb of Helsinki, Espoo is the country's second-largest city. Espoo is an ancient place (the site was occupied as early as 3,500 BC) with a modern feel—there's no old city center or even a recognizable downtown. Its attractions range from the medieval (a 15th-century granite church and Swedish King Gustav Vasa's Espoo Manor) to the contemporary (an automobile museum), with an assortment of attractions from periods in between (the Farmstead Museum of 19th-century rural life, for example). Nearby Tapiola Garden City, a planned residential area with beautiful gardens, is home to the fascinating Museum of Horology (the science of time measurement). Architecture buffs should see the Dipoli building, designed by Reima Pietila, at the Helsinki University of Technology in Otaniemi. Also visit the Gallen-Kallela Museum for its paintings and antiques (in Tarvaspaa). Hvittrask, just outside of Espoo, is the design studio of Finnish architect Eliel Saarinen, who is buried on the studio grounds. Espoo is 5 mi/8 km southwest of Helsinki.
