Panoraama is a 53 metres tall gyro tower

Gyro Tower

A gyro tower, or panoramic tower, is an evolution of the observation tower with a vertical moving platform. A gyro tower's observation deck is not simply raised to provide its passengers a spectacular view, it is also rotated around the supporting mast, either once in the raised position or while...

 at the Linnanmäki

Linnanmäki

Linnanmäki is an amusement park in Helsinki, Finland. It was opened on May 27, 1950 and is owned by non-profit Lasten Päivän Säätiö . Linnanmäki has 44 different rides of different sizes...

 amusement park in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

. Panoraama was built in 1987 by Intamin AG

Intamin AG

Intamin Worldwide is a designing and manufacturing company in Wollerau, Switzerland. It is best known for creating thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The U.S. division of the company is located in Glen Burnie, Maryland, and is headed by Sandor Kernacs. The Intamin brand name is an...

 and offers capacity for 400 visitors per hour. Its previous name was Panorama, but the name was changed to Panoraama (additional letter "a") when Linnanmäki changed the naming policy for its rides and started to use only words that are correct Finnish language.

Originally Linnanmäki was planning a real observation tower

Observation tower

An observation tower is a structure used to view events from a long distance and to create a full 360 degree range of vision. They are usually at least tall and made from stone, iron, and wood. Many modern towers are also used as TV towers, restaurants, or churches...

, like Näsinneula at the Särkänniemi

Särkänniemi

Särkänniemi is an adventure park in Tampere, Finland. The park features an aquarium, a planetarium, a children's zoo, an art museum, an observation tower , an amusement park and the world's northernmost dolphinarium. Särkänniemi is the most popular amusement park in Finland...

park, but first there were problems with legal issues and later with funding. Eventually Linnanmäki chose to build a tower in the form of gyrotower ride.

Panoraama is one of the best places to view the City of Helsinki, as the tower is located very near the centre of the city. As of 2007, admission to the tower is free of charge.