Moikka ja Tervetuloa! Hello and welcome to this post beloved blogntravel reader! This week we’ll be taking a look at the nordic country of Finland, it’s capital Helsinki, and we’ll be going through the 11 best things to do in Helsinki, which will for sure blow your socks off!
Ready? Let’s begin!
1. Explore The Suomenlinna Fortress
This crazy 8 Island Sea Fortress, was built by the Swedish in the mid 18th century while Finland was still under their reign, in order to develop the coastal defenses against the Russian expansionism, but is now one of the most popular tourist attractions in Helsinki.
The fortess is now a UNESCO World Heritage site. There are almost 1000 permanent inhabitants on the fortess, it houses a number of museums, a church, the last remaining Finnish world war submarine and is a very common picknicking spot for locals too.
It’s only a 4 km boat ride away from the port, and the ferries sercive works year round, so there is no reason not to go!
Fun Fact: “Suomenlinna” means literally “Finnish Castle” in Finnish, while “Sveaborg” (which is what it’s called in Swedish) means literally “Swedish Castle”…apparently it was pretty important 🙂 .
2. Visit The Kansallismuseo
Kansallismuseo Is finland’s Premier Historical Museum and this is’s absolutely awesome. It documents and exhibits the history of the Finnish country since the end of the Ice Age, until the modern era.
There are some amazing sculptures and artifacts as well as fossils and historical pieces that depict the development of the Finnish society, from it’s birth (back when the ice melted in the ice age) all throughout the Middle Ages, their serve under the Swedish kingdom and Russian empire era as well.
We checked out this museum just last week actually! Unfortunately it was on a Sunday, and the museum closed at around 6 pm, which didn’t give us enough time to see everything (we were there for around 90 minutes though).
I used to not really like museums all that much, but this one I´d love to revisit. I think I could have spent easily 6 hours in there, no joke. I really liked the middle age paintings of the former kings and queens, as well as the Russian golden throne. That one looked real badass.
3. Grab Something To Bite At The Vanha Kauppahalli
The old store hall or market hall, alongside the harbor it’s a traditional finnish market, made out of wood, with a really neat interior design. It was Created In 1888 as both a way to foment indoor markets, (as opposed to the traditional outdoor markets) as well as organize them, as outdoor markets were less hygenic and a bit more chaotic.
Inside, they sell everything from beef, cheese, butter, nuts and a whole lot of other stuff you can eat. Even raindeer meat!
There’s also a lot of fish ( like…a lot). if you like salmon as much as myself you’ll be in heaven here. There is smoked salmon, raw salmon, salmon broth, salmon sandwiches… let’s just say they eat a lot of salmon here in Finland.
There is another very similar market hall called Hietalahti, on the other side of the city, if you go up through South Esplanadi, at the end of the Bulevardi road. Locals host a flea market for second hand items, on the outside parking lot, on the weekends. You should check it out too!
4. Walk Through Beautiful Esplanadi
Speaking of Esplanadi, walking through the Esplanadi street is another thing you cannot miss out on and that will definitely be a fun experience!
This park was originally opened in 1818, and here, you could come listen and watch street musicians and performers at the Espa stage (Esplanadi is commonly known as “Espa” here), sit down and have something to eat at the classic old caffes and restaurants like the very famous Kappeli caffe, or even have a picnic or snack sitting on a bench or in the grass.
On the north side of the Esplanadi road in particular there are a lot of older buildings and very expensive cafes and shops like Luis Vuitton and the likes (I’m not very knowledgeble in this area, but it’s helluva expensive). Taking the north esplanadi road towards Mannerheimintie street, you can easily locate the more commercial part of the city.
Esplanadi is the ultimate place that the locals and turist use to sit down, have some ice cream, take away lunch or a coffee, and just watch people go by. There is always people walking through Esplanadi. You’ll have a blast, trust me!
5. Enjoy The Finnish Sauna At Löyly Sauna
Saunas are an essential part of Finnish culture. The “Finnish Sauna Experience” is an absolute must, and I can’t think of a better place to experience this, than the Löyly Sauna.
Even though there are a bit over 5 million Finns, there are over 3 million saunas (in fact most new apartments have sauna of their own). The idea here is: To sit in a sauna until your body is really hot, and then dip into a freezing cold lake to cool down.
Fortunately the Löyly Sauna is close to the water, so you can experience this “fun” traditional Finnish activity to the max. There is also a restaurant inside too!
My first experience with saunas, was probably when I was around 6 years, back when I lived in Sweden…but that was almost 20 years ago. Listen… I thought the heat was “pretty freaking annoying”, and I didn’t throw myself in a freezing lake either. But hey whatever floats your boat!
6. Adventure Through Seurasaari Island
Seurasaari is a fairly big island in north Helsinki, that is connected to land by a bridge, (also on it’s norther side).
This island is actually an out-door museum, and in it, you can find old wooden buildings, churches as well as old wooden ships that have been transplanted here from multiple sites throughout Finland and are now at display.
Apart from the old storehouses, watermill, tenant Farms, Manor houses and cottages that can be found on the island, there is a huge huge variety of wildlife present there so it’s an amazing place to go for a walk or hike and just connect with nature all together.
This island is a great example of pristine Finnish natural landscapes, and an amazing display of the rural Finland, from over 300 years ago. An awesome place to visit and take the stress of everyday life away. Pretty neat!
Fun Fact: Seurasaari also includes one of the 3 nudist beaches in the entire country, although they do charge a fee for you to…you know…”connect with nature”, if you will.
7. Check Out Otaniemi And Aalto University
Located in the district of Espoo, is the home of the Aalto University and probably the most beautiful and practical places in Finland to live in (i mean appart from the center). It’s relatively close to the city, while also feeling very “lost” and intertwined with nature.
Otaniemi is the base to many of Finlands research and development organizations and it has gained International recognition thanks in most part to the Finnish company Nokia.
There are also a few major companies that now have sites in Otaniemi and thus, Otaniemi is now considered a hub for cutting-edge technologies like nanotechnology and microelectronics.
Apart from that, the very prestigious, world renowned Aalto University can be found there. The university complex absolutely is huge, it’s very modern, new annexes have been recently added, and is very close to the metro station. It’s worth checking out for sure!
8. Explore The Amazing Oodi Library
Built in early 2019 and in the center of Helsinki right across the Parlament building, this amazing, 3 floor behemoth of a building is impossible not to see. Chosen as the best new public library in the world, the Oodi library is literally breathtaking.
On the third floor, is the Book Heaven. Here, they have over 100,000 items (books, magazines, music, films and games) that you can rent out, in almost 20 languages. You can you can relax in the sofas while you read your book, a magazine or play board games. There’s also a balcony where you can have a coffee or eat some cinnamon rolls too. They’re awesome.
On the second floor you can find soldering stations, laser cutters, 3D printers, sewing machines and much more. There is also computers you can use with free access to the internet as well as computers for designers.
Apart from that, you can also create your own music (from start to finish) in some of the audio rooms. There are different kinds of studios and playing rooms and soundproof rooms for audio recording that you can book!
To top it off, you can find game rooms for gaming enthusiasts, to play either retro games or virtual reality games, as well as Lan parties for the newer generation gamers. Did you know you can also host events, exibitions and organize your meeting and teaching sessions here? Crazy.
9. Get To Know The Uspenski Cathedral
The Uspenksi cathedral is the largest orthodox church in western Europe, and is one of the icons of the city of Helsinki. Dedicated to the Virgin Mary it was designed by the russian architect Alexi Gornostayev and was built after his death in 1862.
This red brick building is an architectural symbol of the relationship that once existed between Finland and Russia, and it was actually built from the same bricks that once made up a former fortress, thus, it highly ressembles Russian architectural buildings.
The interior is very richly decorated, with frescos and sculptures, paintings and much more, and in the summer, the finns love to have picknicks and relax on the green grass hill, atop which this amazing church is located.
At the base of the hill towards the water, in the dock area, there are some pretty cool restautants and bars, like the Sipuli and Nokka restaurants, and the Holiday bar. You should totally check these out, if you’re in town!
10. Enter The Temppeliaukio Church
More churches? Yup, another one!
However, there aren’t very many churches in the world quite like this one, that is for sure. This church was built partly underground, against the solid stone of a bedrock and has the natural sunlight bathe in through the skylight structure surrounding the copper dome roof.
The Temppeliaukio church, was designed in 1939 but the construction was interrupted by the 2nd world war. The construction was finished in 1969 however, but for economic reasons, the roof was reduced to only one quarter of what was originally intended. Too bad. It still looks good though!
This church is breathtaking and one of the most visited sites of the city. It doesn’t have any bells, so a recording is played through the speakers on the exterior wall.
There is however a 3000 pipe organ inside, and the church is frequently used as a concert venue due to excellent acoustics. Originally it wasn’t inteded to be carved out of the bedrock stone…but it worked out nicely!
11. Get Astounded By The Helsinki Catherdal
Saving the best for last, presonally, there should come to no surprise that this is the number 1 on my list.
This is the Finnish evangelical Lutheran cathedral. Formerly known as the St. Nicholas’ Cathedral, in honour of the Russian Tsar Nicholas, and is probably THE most famous building in Helsinki and without a doubt the number 1 icon of the city.
When I got to Helsinki, I wasn’t sure where the cathedral was located…no clue at all.
After getting lost in north Esplanadi, and just before getting to the market square, I decided to go up one of the streets, because I saw a white structure that resembled the Catherdal, but I wasn’t sure (it turned out to be one of the side buildings of the cathedral).
Could it be the catherdal?
I decided to go up Unioninkatu street. I creeped up towards the side of the road as to not spoil myself anything until I got there. I got closer and closer to the end of the road, and when I turned the corner…there it was.
I got the chills…
Words cannot describe, how amazing the cathedral looked. Absolutely massive, with the people sitting on the almost infinite staircase, the bright green dome, the apostole sculptures and the seagulls gently gliding over a clear blue summer sky… pretty unforgettable.
It’s one thing to see an image of it, but another is to be there in person. Trust me!
Conclusion
There you have it folks, the top 11 things to do in Helsinki, that will for sure blow your socks off!
I hoped that you enjoyed the read!
Did I miss anything?
Am I right? Am i wrong?
What was your favourite part of Helsinki?
Let us know in the comments below!
Have a great one!
Pablo.P