Jean Sibelius said that he preferred to write music either amid the stillness of nature or in a big city. A similar dichotomy is apparent in his residences.

In his youth, his winter home was in Hämeenlinna, but summers were spent in the countryside. He studied in Helsinki, Berlin and Vienna, but spent his summers in the archipelago of Turku and around Loviisa.

After he got married, a twelve-year stay in Helsinki was interrupted by three years in Kerava. The move to Ainola in 1904 did not mean that city life was forgotten; Sibelius was reminded of it by the bills that kept falling due right up to the 1920s.

During the Second World War the family had a city apartment in Helsinki in addition to Ainola.
This section helps the reader to find Sibelius's former places of residence.

The list includes all Sibelius's residences and the most important places where he is known to have spent his summers. Summer residences, and Sibelius's main residences and hotels during his travels, are also described in the Journeys section. The numbers in the list of residences refer to the numbers on the maps.