The Ateneum Museum houses Finnish paintings and sculptures from the eighteenth century to the 1950s. There is also a small, attractive collection of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foreign art, including a carbon copy of Auguste Rodin's bronze The Thinker, and paintings by Van Gogh, Gaugin and Cezanne. The structure itself dates from 1887.

The list of painters at the Ateneum reads like a who's who of Finnish art. It houses Finnish paintings and sculptures from the eighteenth century to the 1950s including works by Albert Edelfelt, the Von Wright brothers, Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Pekka Halonen. Superiority of place goes to the creative Gallen-Kallela's triptych from the Kalevala illustrating Väinämöinen's pursuit of the maiden Aino.

There is also a small but interesting collection of nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century foreign art. Down the stairs is a cafe, high-quality bookshop and reading room. The building itself dates from 1887.