After the icebreakers have gone into hibernation and the snow has melted, the city of Helsinki is exploding. The city celebrated its bicentenary as the capital of Finland and its status as the world design capital in 2012. This title is no surprise to anyone, given the nation’s history of creativity: Alvar Aalto’s Savoy boats, Tove Jansson’s Moomins cartoons, and Angry Birds game – all originated in Finland.
But what’s currently contributing to the city’s rise are the designer shops popping up like mushrooms after the rain, the cool bars, and the new Nordic food scene. These days – the bright summer days long-awaited by everyone – Helsinki is one of the world’s important tourist destinations.
What to do and see in Helsinki? Let’s find out!
Take a city tour in Helsinki, free or not
Getting to know Helsinki is best done by walking around the city with a local. While learning about the city’s history and culture, you can explore the best corners of the city. Helsinki’s city center offers several free walking tours – just tip your guide.
For an even better experience, you can book a private walking tour of Helsinki with a guide, which costs less (or the same) than a tip for a free walking tour.
Before you go, get a “Fontwalk” map (you can usually get it for free while supplies last) that illustrates a rather odd expedition that focuses on the less common and often overlooked graphic design details of local buildings. Want a slightly more traditional tour?
Then include in your itinerary three churches with captivating architecture:
The red brick cathedral, Uspenski (Kanalgatan 1), is the largest orthodox church in western Europe, with its golden domes resembling onion bulbs. This is an excellent place to start if you are interested in discovering Russia’s century-long relationship with Finland.
The imposing white Helsinki cathedral (Unioninkatu 29), with its grey-green domes. At the time of its construction in the mid-19th century, it was known as St. Nicholas’ Cathedral, in honor of St. Nicholas I, Grand Duke of Finland, and Tsar of Russia. It became Helsinki Cathedral after Finland gained independence in 1917.
The Temppeliaukio church, shaped like a flying saucer (Lutherinkatu 3), is also known as the Rock Church. Temppeliaukio is a Lutheran church near the Sibelius Monument in Helsinki’s Töölö neighborhood. An architectural masterpiece unlike any other in the world, the church was designed by brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened its gates in 1969.
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Ask your guide to take you to Old Market Hall or Market Square. Two of the city’s largest food halls and markets offer the most outstanding selection of treats, drinks, and fresh produce. Food is more prevalent in the Old Market Hall, while souvenirs and handicrafts can be found in the Market Square.
Admire Helsinki’s creative spirit by stopping by Napa Gallery (Eerikinkatu 18), a small shop selling art albums, original illustrations, graphic works, and books printed at its own in-house printing house.
Attend a concert at Helsinki Music Centre
There are also centuries-old structures in Helsinki that deserve admiration, including the Finlandia Marble Hall and the railway station designed by Eliel Saarinen, surrounded by four granite giants. In the heart of Helsinki’s beautiful Art Nouveau railway station (Helsingin päärautatieasema), Saarinen designed the clock tower, the first of his multiple designs.
Not to be missed is the Helsinki Music Centre – Musiikkitalo, which cost no less than €189 million (Mannerheimintie 13). Here, the main concert hall can accommodate 1,704 people. Admire the modern glass façade of the concert hall to get a feel for where Finland’s top symphony orchestras perform and take a look at the concert program. If something – a symphony or a jazz ensemble – appeals to you, it’s worth attending a performance.
Try the new culinary scene of Helsinki
There are restaurants where you can savor indigenous ingredients, including Spis (Kasarmikatu 26), devoted to the local gastronomic concept. In this 18-table venue, everything has a Nordic provenance, from the food on the plate to the furniture and even the music in the background. The menu features complex dishes based on traditional ingredients, such as beetroot ice cream, beetroot mousse, juniper cakes, or beetroot and egg yolk meatballs. As for the drinks, let the friendly owner, Jani Kinanen, recommend the wine. A dinner for two costs around 80 euros without drinks, but it’s worth it if you want to try the authentic taste of Finnish food.
Otherwise, discover the rest of the cozy restaurants which you can find everywhere in the city center. Or, check out Market Square for some tasty local fare, from reindeer sausages to Lappish cheese served with bread and butter (around $10), as well as forest-grown mushrooms and warm mugs of glögi ($5.50) per glass.
Also, you’ll find local delicacies like cheese, freshly sliced salmon, and creamy salmon soup at Vanha Kauppahalli, an old indoor market.
Relax in lounges like in your own home dining room
Esplanade Park in the city center is often called the city’s dining room, but sobriety seems to have been left behind in these two locations. The Liberty or Death bar (Erottajankatu 5) has an intimate atmosphere maintained by candlelight and brick walls. A few blocks away, vintage sofas, armchairs, and wooden tables await you at the Vin Vin bar (Kalevankatu 6).
And don’t forget that Finland’s most famous park, Espá (Esplanade Park), is a large, scenic green space in the middle of the city. A lot is going on here in the summer, and it makes a pleasant place for a picnic in the sun. It’s also a wonderful place to walk or jog in the winter.
Find more about the classy Finnish design
If your familiarity with Finnish design begins and ends with Marimekko’s iconic fabrics, then a visit to the Design Museum (Korkeavuorenkatu 23, €12) will help fill in the gaps. The “Builders of the Future” exhibition focuses on the mid-century heyday, when Finland was a force in modern design, with prominent representatives such as Aalto, Timo Sarpaneva, and yes, Marimekko. In the basement of the museum, there is a different exhibition space called Design Gallery 12, which hosts monthly exhibitions illustrating the world of contemporary design.
A sun-drenched lunch in Helsinki
Helsinki enjoys around 19 hours of daylight in summer thanks to its extreme northern latitude. Find a spot in the sun for a lunch of moist korvapuusti (cinnamon buns) and cold Karjala beer on the terrace at Carusel café (Merisatamanranta 10). The daily lunch menus – soups, salads, and other dishes – will quench your hunger, but don’t forget that you came here in the first place to enjoy the sun.
After lunch, take a stroll along the cliff and board one of the boats that connect the mainland to Uunisaari Island; the trip takes only two minutes. For those who want to lie in the sun, there are stretches of sand on the island where you can laze around.
Fulfill your fashion dreams
The area around 25th Street, known as the design district, is full of specialty shops (more than 100), representing a real paradise for shopping enthusiasts. Look out for stylish shops like Ivana Helsinki (Uudenmaankatu 15), where the shelves are packed with traditional dresses and tunics. At footwear and accessories designer Minna Parikka’s shop (Bulevardi 24), you’ll find pink leather boots for €330 or silver wingtip shoes (€215). If you’re looking for a fashion break, pop into interior design shop Momono (Annankatu 12), where you’ll find vintage Arabic-style coffee mugs for €50, among other things.
Explore the cultural corner of Helsinki
Head to Korjaamo Culture Factory (Toolonkatu 51), a former warehouse turned cultural center, where you can catch stand-up comedy, concerts by bands, R&B bands, local DJs, and swing bands. There’s also a small art gallery and a pub open until 2 am on weekends. Before coming here, check out the monument to the famous Finnish composer Sibelius, a fascinating mix of birch trees and organ pipes. Eila Hiltunen designed the monument of the great Finnish composer, which was unveiled in 1967. The original Sibelius Monument (Sibelius-monumentti) was made of a ring of metal pipes that created music when breezes passed through them.
Then take the tram to the Arabianranta district, home to a 138-year-old former pottery factory that has housed an impressive collection of outdoor art for years. It’s worth taking part in an organized tour of the area. You can admire a metal sculpture that looks like a bird’s nest and a horizontal mosaic that reminds you of an oriental carpet. If you prefer indoor exhibitions, pay a visit to the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art (Mannerheiminaukio 2, €18).
Picnic on an island, at the Suomenlinna fortress
Stock up with food, then take the ferry for a 15-minute trip to Suomenlinna, a former 18th-century sea fortress with 8 islands nearby.
Finland’s Suomenlinna is an enormous fortress spread across seven islands. During the mid-1800s, the Swedes built it to protect their eastern territories, but the Russians overran the city by the beginning of the 19th century. Almost nothing has changed at Suomenlinna since then. Surrounded by star-shaped walls and gun positions is a small baroque settlement that 1,000 people still populate.
Have lunch on the grass in Piperin Park and admire the boats sailing the calm waters of the Baltic Sea.
When in Finland, do what the Finns do: sauna
Saunas are not only a fun recreational activity for Finns but also a way to relax and unwind. In Helsinki, public saunas are a unique experience that one must cherish, as not only are they refreshing, but they are also a place to interact with others. There are a variety of public saunas all over Helsinki that cater to different tastes.
So, if you want a sauna, you can try one of these: Alas Sea Pool, Uusi Sauna, Sauna Hermanni, or Sauna Arla. The last one dates since 1929 and is number one when we talk about the cool urban culture of Helsinki.
In conclusion, I would recommend that people have a chance to visit Helsinki to see the mix of the modern and the traditional. There are so many things to do there, from visiting museums to trying out some Finnish cuisine. The city is also great for walking, which is an activity I like to do.
Overall, Helsinki is a cool city, so… book your plane for Finland!
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