Helsinki, a small tour guide

Helsinki is not the first European capital that springs to mind when you think of a vacation, but it should! It is a compact city, with over 600K people, full of Art Nouveau style buildings and Influenced by Classicism! If you have a soft spot for beautiful architecture, with buildings full of character, the works of Eliel Sarunen such as the Train Station and Alvar Aalto with The Finlandia House, is a great place to see.

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Helsinki has a good and functional integrated public transportation system, so you can ride the areas of interest with convenient day tickets for an affordable price. The trams are always on time and can take you fast to most places of interest in neighborhoods like the bohemian Kallio , the elegant Eira or the traditional Töölö.

Modern and yet traditional, Helsinki has a fantastic Design District close to the city center and in Bulevardinkatu and Aleksanterinkatu streets you can check out the epitome of Finnish smart classic design Marimekko and its bold prints and the timeless modern glass designs at Iittala. Don’t forget to take a look at the meeting clock point in front of the department store Stockmann. Take the time to visit the store’s market downstairs where you can find a myriad of pastries and sweets to indulge yourself as you should!

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In Helsinki, go green! If visiting during the summer, enjoy the parks and soak some sun! 1/3 of the city is made up of green areas and you can even find a park in the middle of the city center, at Bulevardinkatu street! Not so far from the city center, you can take a walk at Hesperian Puisto and watch the sunset at Töölö Bay! This is a must in June/July since the sun hardly sets before midnight, so you can stay outdoors and enjoy nature as much as you’d like. The long summer days also make an excellent time to enjoy a trip to the sea fortress of Suomelinna, an 18th century fortress or just enjoy some cold cider or craft beer at the roofs in Löyly at Eira or the more central, Allas Sea Pool. There, you can also take a ride at the Helsinki Wheel for a great city view from above. Also, both bars offers saunas, one of the most loved free time activities of the Finns! Sauna is an institution for Finnish people and is it even said that more important decisions are made in saunas than in actual meetings! Usually men and women go separately and no swimsuit is the norm, but most likely Finns will understand if you’d like to wear a towel. Be prepared for the heat: average sauna temperatures are about 70–80 °C (158–176 °F) so be ready to sweat!

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Museums and cultural activities are another option if you are spending some time in Helsinki! Most big museums such as Kiasma (modern art), Natural Museum, and National Museum have free entrances at the first week of the month, making it even easier to attend! Make sure to check the web for all the museums and exhibitions you can visit during your time in there.
Music is always so present in Helsinki, so whether you are a heavy metal fan or classical music fan, most definitely something of your liking will come your way! For the rock fan, visiting Tavastia is a must!  They have existed since 1970 and many iconic Finnish bands such as Hanoi Rocks and HIM stepped on that stage on their early days! At On The Rocks you can easily bump into a Finnish rock star since the bar is owned by the drummer of The 69 Eyes, Jussi. The Virgin Oil Co. offers great food besides having quite the schedule of concerts every month and during the summer, you can even enjoy an outside area! The same goes for the favorite of many rock fans, The Hard Rock Cafe, where you can taste the exclusive Finnish burger they offer: is made of reindeer and Finnish squeaky cheese leipäjuusto (called like that for the noise it makes when you chew it). If you are a classical music fan, you should visit the Sibelius Monument at Töölö Lahti. Sibelius is the most important Finnish classical composer, author of the beautiful ode to Finland, Finlandia. While visiting the monument, have a coffee break moment at the most adorable little cafe in the city: Cafe Regatta! Stop and enjoy a typical korvapuusti (a much better and improved cinnamon bun) and some karjalanpiirakka (a rice, potato or /carrot little pie) that pairs up divinely with a tall cup of coffee!

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Yes, you will be drinking lots of coffee, the Finns are amongst the biggest coffee drinkers in the world so you will understand that when you spot a lot of coffee shops everywhere!
Apart for the love of coffee, sauna and heavy metal, Finnish people are also well known for their Sisu, as it roughly translates to great strength. It is evident especially if you are brave to visit Helsinki during the winter time, when is night by 3 in the afternoon and it is -20 C and yet Finns seem to strut around at the Christmas markets after work or jump at a frozen lake after hot sauna like it is no big deal!
Helsinki is also home to many beautiful churches and even if you are not a religious person, a visit to The Helsinki Cathedral at Senate Square and the Uspenski Cathedral, in Russian style, more ahead, should be on your destination for that perfect postcard picture to remember the city by! Also in the same neighborhood, is the Kauppatori (Port Market) where you can get handmade souvenirs and try some Finnish street food! Just be careful with the seagulls, they may fly away carrying that amazing reindeer meatball just when you were taking an Insta worthy shot of it! Other interesting churches are Temppeliaukio Church, a stone church which was carved from a single piece of stone and has marvelous acoustic and the odd Silent Church, in the middle of the busy city center at Kamppi!

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Helsinki is also really close to Tallinn, so you can either hop on a Viking Line or Silja Cruise line day trip, since is only about 2,5h to arrive at the Estonian capital! Many Finns love to do that trip but they never leave the port though. Why? The alcohol is much cheaper in there, also much less restricted than in Finland. Note to self: if you are planning to buy drinks for the hotel later, mind that markets only sell them until 9 PM and stronger liquor such as wine and vodka, can only be purchased at the government regulated shops, called Alko, until 8pm! But don’t worry, bars do not follow that rule!

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This is just a small city guide to the Finnish capital, if you need more detailed info on the activities mentioned here or would like more suggestions, visit the site myhelsinki.fi or visitfinland.com and start planning that trip already!