Country code: 358. Local and international calls can be made from street-side telephone booths and, in larger cities, telecentres. Most public telephones operate using a pre-paid card purchased from R-kiosks, shops and post offices. Shops also sell cards that can be used to make discounted international calls.

Roaming agreements exist with most international mobile phone companies and GSM 900/1800 coverage is excellent - as you might expect from the home of Nokia. You may find it cheaper to buy a Finnish SIM card, available for about €15, which includes €10 of calling credit.

Free public access is widely available in tourist offices and libraries, and most large cities have commercial internet cafes. Most business hotels offer wireless Internet access and there are public hotspots in Helsinki and other large cities.

Letters and postcards sent by airmail usually take about three days to reach European destinations, and around one week to reach the USA or Australia. Stamps are available from post offices, bookshops and newspaper shops, stations and hotels.

Post office hours: Generally Mon-Fri 0900-1800, with regional variations. Helsinki's central post office at Mannerheiminaukio 1, 00100 Helsinki, is open Mon-Fri 0700-2100, Sat-Sun 1000-1800.

Finland has a strong and independent media with privately-owned newspapers that reflect a broad spectrum of political views. Public communications network YLE provides national radio and TV programming. Freedom of the press is enshrined in Finnish law, and Finns read the newspapers avidly.

• There are numerous daily newspapers, with the most respected being Aamulehti (www.aamulehti.fi) and Helsingin Sanomat (www.hs.fi).
• Ilta-Sanomat (www.iltasanomat.fi) and Iltalehti (www.iltalehti.fi) are tabloids with an unwavering focus on the sensational and lurid.
• News for Swedish-speakers is provided by the daily Hufvudstadsbladet (www.hbl.fi)
• Apu (www.apu.fi) and Seura (www.seura.fi) are weekly illustrated news magazines.
• Kauppalehti (www.kauppalehti.fi) is one of the leading daily business newspapers.
• Foreign newspapers and magazines are widely available, and The Helsinki Times (www.helsinkitimes.fi) is a good weekly newspaper published in English.

• Yleisradio Oy (YLE) is a public service broadcaster that operates several channels in Finnish and Swedish.
• MTV3 and Nelonen (Channel 4) are private stations.
• Many homes have cable and satellite TV showing local and international television.
• Foreign programmes are generally broadcast in the original version with subtitles.

• Yleisradio Oy (YLE) is a public service broadcaster that operates radio channels in Finnish, Swedish and Sámi languages.
• Commercial stations include Groove FM, Classic FM, Radio Nova and The Voice.