🗺 Tourism Information
The capital of Finland is full of interesting activities, culture and history in which to submerge into. The harbour and the pedestrian walkways in the city make it ideal to explore the city by foot and take a boat ride to see the many bays and islands which surround the city. The atmosphere in Helsinki is very laid back, people are friendly, patient and kind.
It's easy to communicate as everyone is fluent in English, it's like a natural language for them. Also it's very common to find translations in English and Swedish so no reason to get lost! The city offers a lot of green space, open parks and sanctuaries where to sit, relax and enjoy the beautiful landscape. But it's a city full of life where to go out, party and enjoy drinks in good company with friends at the open terraces and restaurants in the city centre, specially in the warm Summer months.
Helsinki's climate is generally described as both maritime and continental, with warm to hot summer weather and particularly cold winter months. The high season which runs from July to August sees daytime temperatures peak to 25°C, dropping to below freezing in the depth of winter reaching -4°C in February.
The long, sunny days of the summer, reaching up to 20 hours of light are perhaps the best time to visit Helsinki, however the city can become crowded during the peak of the season, when hotel prices rise in conjunction with the appealing climate and weather. Summer daylight hours in Helsinki are famous and the sun doesn't actually set for several weeks at this time of the year, with dusky skies remaining well after midnight. This prolonged twilight is simply another excuse to party into the early hours.
But if you are able to plan to visit May-June or September, this will make for a more relaxed experience and less crowded.
The springtime climate of Helsinki is fairly short lived and features a true explosion of fresh foliage and colourful flowers. Temperatures in the Spring range from 7°C to 15°C.
The coldest climate in Helsinki can be expected between December and February, when days are short, frosty weather is commonplace and deep, heavy snowfalls are predictable. Finland is home to many truly world-class ski resorts, a number of which are within reach of Helsinki, such as Alhovuori, Kauniainen, Kokonniemi, Messilä, Serena and Talma.
Arriving at Helsinki Vantaa Airport is easy thanks to a good ground transportation network of busses and trains. The cheapest option is to get the train which leaves both Terminal 1 and 2 and takes you direct to the main train station in the city centre. The ticket costs €5.50 and takes 30 minutes. It's a good idea to also get the train if you're travelling to other cities in Finland as you can buy a connection ticket and link from the main station. Alternatively you can take the Finnair Bus which leaves every 20 minutes and takes you to the city centre (Train Station) for a cost of €6.30 one way.
Once in the city, Helsinki has a modern infrastructure of ground transportation, a network of busses, metro and trams cover most of the city so it's very easy and practical to move around it. There is only one metro line in the city, so most people use the trams to travel around. The Helsinki region has an integrated public transport ticket system: HSL’s tickets are valid on public transport services in Helsinki, Espoo, Kauniainen, Vantaa, Kerava Kirkkonummi and Sipoo. The same tickets can be used for travelling on busses, trams, the Metro, commuter trains and the ferry to Suomenlinna. You can also transfer from one vehicle to another with the same ticket.
There are day tickets which is the best way in getting around the Helsinki metropolitan area. The tickets available on single-charge cards allow you to travel easily and at low-cost from 1 to 7 days. It's also the best way to discover the region of Helsinki. If you wish to buy single tickets, they are available from ticket machines, bus and tram drivers as well as conductors on commuter trains.
Below you will find a guide to sightseeing in Helsinki using public transport as well as the transport maps of the city to download.
Helsinki City Museum, it displays a big range of exhibitions from traditional Finnish costumes of both women and men dating from hundreds of years ago, to displays of 19th–century home décor, complete with early prototypes of refrigerators and irons. The centre also takes a look at the cultural life of the city and the incredible female presence in the political and economic environment of the last century. Located at, Sofiankatu 4.
Finnish National Gallery, comprises three museum units: the Ateneum Art Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the Sinebrychoff Art Museum. The Gallery is the largest art museum organisation in Finland and a national cultural institution.
Helsinki University Botanical Gardens is an exuberant oasis of life right in the centre of the city. Its history does not go without mentioning, it is the oldest scientific garden in all of Finland, inaugurated in 1678 (finally being transferred to the care of Helsinki University in 1829 as a result of a major fire). The garden is home to 800 species of plants. Located at Unionsgatan 44.
Temppeliaukio Church, built in 1969, it is the most popular architectural sight in Finland. The underground Rock Church is built inside of a massive block of natural granite in the middle of an ordinary residential square. It has a breathtaking copper roof that shines with natural light that brightens the inside through 180 glasses between the dome and the wall. The church is often used for concerts, because of the excellent acoustics.
Suomenlinna, also known as “Fortress of Finland”, it'd located on an island just 20 minutes away from Helsinki’s harbors. It is a fine example of a military fortified structure, listed by UNESCO for its cultural magnitude. It represented a major strategic point that was important for control of the city as a whole. Don’t miss the impressive dry dock, a real technological feat of engineering. There are also lots of green spaces on the island. Address: Suomenlinna C 74.
Design District, With an impressive accumulation of boutiques, workplaces, antique shops, galleries and restaurants, there are plenty of opportunities to discover the unmistakable simplicity of minimalistic Finnish design here.
Hietaniemi Beach, good for the summer, Helsinki offers over 310 islands and a coastline close to 100 km (62 miles) long. Hietaniemi is the most popular beach in the city and and often called ‘The Copacabana of Helsinki’
The origins of the sauna in Finland were rural, but it gradually became part of urban lifestyles too. Town saunas were first built in the yard outside the living area, then inside detached and terraced houses and blocks of flats, where they would be shared by all the families living in the building. In towns they also commonly had public saunas. Today the Finnish like to have their private saunas built in individual flats, even bed-sitters, with the bathroom serving as the washing room.
Finns cannot manage without a sauna. Whether an immigrant, a sportsman or an exporter, a Finn will take the sauna with him wherever he goes.
The ancestors did not use their sauna only for bathing. It was needed for drying flax, preparing malts, curing meat and for many other agricultural or domestic chores.The sauna was also a place for performing magic, mostly to do with healing or love affairs. Sauna baths were also believed to be useful for improving virility. In the countryside women usually gave birth in the sauna. The sauna was also the place where the dead were prepared for their last journey. The sauna was part of Finnish people’s lives literally from cradle to grave.
The basic sauna ritual is the same as it always was: warming up, sweating, taking löyly vapour and whisking, washing and cooling off. Cooling off nowadays often includes swimming. Many people like to cool off in the open air, and there are also brave ones who want to roll in the snow or take a dip in the sea or lake through a hole in the ice.
Sauna bathing does not only clean the body but also purifies the mind. The bather’s frame of mind after a leisurely relaxed sauna ritual could be best described as euphoric. It is like a rebirth; all unpleasant feelings fall away and you feel at peace with the whole world. This is what Finns mean by the care of the soul received in the sauna.
✔️Tip: Now you know the basics and the history about the sauna, don't forget to experience this enriching sensation and feel relaxed and reborn as described. One of the nation’s most popular sauna types, the smoked sauna, can be found at Yrjönkatu, the oldest swimming pool in the country, located at Yrjönkatu 21B in Helsinki.
Precautions and advice for using the saunas:
It's a good idea to begin with a wash or shower; a seat towel for the hot room is also useful.
The temperature should be 80-90°C; staying ten minutes at a time will be enough. Air humidity is regulated by ladling small doses of water onto the stove stones.
Warming up and cooling off can be repeated as many times as feels good. Whisking adds to the pleasure.
To finish off it's a good idea to take shower or a swim.
Heavy meals and alcohol should be avoided before sauna. Afterwards you will need a refreshing drink and possibly a snack.
Sauna bathing in moderation suits everyone. Those with health problems should nevertheless consult a doctor before trying it.
✔️Tip: Take a river boat tour! Whilst in Market Square you will see it's the terminal for all boat-tour services, including the canal boasts.The tours operate daily and cost from around €25 per adult. There are many different tours available so make sure you are early to book your trip. (it's also possible to book online now at "Stromma.fi".
You will be able to see the most beautiful shorelines of Helsinki, see the historic Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, Helsinki Zoo on Korkeasaari Island, the impressive fleet of icebreakers and the other pearls of the Eastern archipelago. Departures are from Market Square, behind the Old Market Hall.
Helsinki may be cold, but the pulsating nightlife is enough to get this city hot and sweaty. With a number of trendy nightclubs, bars and pubs, visitors will have no problem making full use of the long, dark winter nights.
Most of the nightlife in Helsinki is centred around Uudenmaankatu and Eerikinkatu, where bars and clubs abound and crossing from one to the other is a quick dash across the cold street. Finns love their tango music too so expect to find plenty of sultry dancing in restaurants, bars and even the streets during the summer months, with a few of the favourite outdoor dancing spots nearby the Vantaa area.
Head to the stylish bars in Uudenmaankatu 9 for a night out with the local trendoids and mingle with the ultra-hip, while sipping on designer beers and nibbling on tapas. Eerikinkatu 27 is the place to be seen working up a sweat to local techno music and a few bars here are synonymous with the gay scene of Helsinki.
While in Simonkatu there are mega-clubs, with some boasting up to three storeys, six bars and hundreds of Helsinki's hottest people partying the night away.
For live music, Telakkakatu 8 is where some of Helsinki's hottest new bands showcase their talents, while Mikonkatu 15 is great for those looking for a heavy rock gig and a little moshing for good measure.
For a more cultured evening, head to Finlandia Hall for the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and other concert performances. The Finnish National Opera performs regularly, and Helsinki's thriving jazz scene is personified in the UMO Jazz Orchestra.
For updated concert listings and gig guides, check myhelsinki.fi/en/see-and-do/events
Home to bustling market places, luxury boutiques and enormous department stores, shopping in Helsinki has its fair share of opportunities. They may not always be cheap, but the quality of the goods makes them worth their sometimes hefty price tags.
Best buys in Helsinki include reindeer furs, Nordic wool, traditional wooden kitchen utensils and jewellery made out of Finland's national gemstone, spectrolite, which captures the magnificent blues and greens of the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights). You can also find liquors made from locally-grown cloudberries, cranberries, and Arctic brambleberries that make unique and special Helsinki souvenirs.
Head to Itis in East Helsinki, one of the biggest shopping centres in Finland, where nearly 150 shops selling everything from clothing and shoes to sports equipment and cameras will keep you on your toes. The Sello shopping centre in Espoo in the west of the city provides a slightly less exhausting day of spending. The Stockmann department store on the Aleksanterinkatu, which has become somewhat of an institution in Helsinki, sells everything from electrical goods and clothing to make up and teddy bears.
Shopping streets in Helsinki include Aleksanterinkatu, Eerikinkatu, Fredrikinkatu and Uudenmaankatu where boutiques and specialist stores can be found.
Market Square at the eastern end of Esplanadi is undoubtedly one of Helsinki's most popular tourist attractions and a great place to scoop up some souvenirs, especially during the spring and autumn months.
The capital of Helsinki is expensive due to the high quality of life in the country so naturally Hotels and apartments are on the rise as the city is a favourable place for immigration and relocation. Tourists can expect to pay high prices for Hotels in the city centre. Prices can be anything from €50 per night. However if you look around there are many options which make the price drop. Airbnb is a good option for private or shared accommodation. Make sure you are close to a tram stop for transportation or ease of walk.
Also you will notice how the difference in price can drop 25% in the Winter months, naturally as the cold weather holds tourists back from visiting.
The city is divided in many districts which each have something different to offer. It's also worth doing some tours and visits to the outskirts of the city to see the scenery. Helsinki is relatively small and can be seen in a couple of days. But the activities and the options are large if you are prepared to pay for them and extend your stay a few days more.
A more realistic 3 to 5 nights would be enough to take in all the city has to offer and relax at the same time.
