Helsinki
Helsinki, the sustainable capital of Finland, is a vibrant seaside city of beautiful islands and great urban culture including food, design, architecture, history – and not to forget about sauna. In Helsinki, you can experience the Finnish way of life, eat with the locals, shop for Finnish delicacies and design and even go for a refreshing swim in the Baltic sea (all year round!). Within easy reach from Helsinki, Nuuksio National Park enables you to enjoy typically Finnish scenery, with lovely lakes and green forests
Arrival in Helsinki, easy train connection form Helsinki airport to city center
TIP!
Consider buying the Helsinki Card by Stromma that gives you access to public transport as well as top museums and attractions. If you will follow this itinerary, 72h card is recommended. Helsinki Card REGION has all the benefits included in the Helsinki Card CITY plus public transport within zones ABC, including transfer to/from Helsinki Airport with the train
Helsinki Cards bought online can be collected at: Europcar Car Rental at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and Department store Stockmann Service Point, Aleksanterinkatu 52 (8th floor)
Private Custom Helsinki Tour
Welcome to the beautiful capital of Finland. The Green Cap Tours’ private Helsinki tour offers you a modern way to experience the city. The tour includes everything there is to know about the Finnish culture and history and focuses especially on the unique Finnish way of life. By default, this tour is a walking tour. Helsinki is a compact city and best approached on foot. Walking tour is also by far the most sustainable and environment friendly way to conduct sightseeing. The tour program will be tailored to best suit your interests
Enjoy lunch at Fazer Café Kluuvikatu 3
Fazer Café Kluuvikatu 3 is a modern yet classic café where you can enjoy a delicious lunch or a weekend brunch. The iconic cafe has been in the heart of Helsinki ever since its’ founding in 1891. There is also a shop where you can buy freshly baked breads, cakes and Fazer´s classic sweets and chocolates – highly popular among the Finns.
Finnish design and vegetarian food
After the food tour, it’s time for some culture. The Design Museum is an internationally recognized national specialist museum of Finnish design. The museum organizes also workshops and guided tours. Free admission with Helsinki Card
In the small shops of the surrounding Helsinki Design District area, you can also do some shopping while supporting local entrepreneurs.
When your feet are tired of shopping, enjoy a lovely dinner at Yes Yes Yes. Their vegetarian menu is based on seasonal produce – including the creative cocktails, available with or without alcohol
Now it’s time to say goodnight!
Hotel suggestions
Klaus K
Hotel Klaus K welcomes you to Helsinki city center where a beautiful Art Nouveau building meets the modern Scandinavian lifestyle and design. The hotel’s design is inspired by Finland’s national epic, Kalevala. Throughout the hotel’s interior there are small details that bring you to the magical world of Finnish folklore and mythology. Ideal location near shopping, galleries, museums, and tourist destinations – everything within walking distance and easy access to public transportation for day trips
Radisson Blu Plaza
The Radisson Blu Plaza Hotel building dates back to 1917 when Finland gained its independence. The hotel's close proximity to a number of local attractions puts the city within easy reach. The Central Railway Station is only 2 minutes from the hotel which makes it a perfect starting point for day trips by public transportation
Day 2
Enjoy a generous breakfast at your hotel
Nuuksio National Park
Within easy reach of the Finnish capital, you can escape into wild natural settings and enjoy typically Finnish scenery, with lovely lakes, green forests and rugged crags at the Nuuksio National Park
The easiest way to get to Nuuksio is by public transport. Simply take a commuter train from Helsinki railway station to Espoon keskus and then get on bus 245. If this is your first visit to Nuuksio, get off the bus at Haltia and visit the modern nature centre for tips on where to go. Bus 245 also makes it possible to avoid hiking in loops, for example by getting off at Kattila and then hiking along the trails aback to Haltia. The HSL route planner will help you to find the right train and bus connections
After your hike, enjoy lunch at Restaurant Haltia with stunning views over Lake Pitkäjärvi. Their food is cooked with pure Finnish ingredients and the flavors of the season. The restaurant is open from spring to late autumn
If you feel like you would prefer experiencing the Finnish nature with a guide, book one of the wild herb excursions or berry and mushroom picking tours by Hawkhill. Depending on the season, you could also try their ice-swimming or canoeing experience. These activities are nice when travelling in a small group, e.g. with family or friends
After you have filled in your lungs with fresh air, head back to Helsinki city center by bus/train
Canal cruise
If you still have enough energy, you can enjoy the beautiful shorelines of Helsinki on a canal cruise (included in the Helsinki Card). On the cruise, you will pass many famous sights and hear fascinating stories about the archipelago. The recorded commentary via loudspeakers is available in Finnish, English, German and Russian. Written information is available in Swedish, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Estonian, Japanese and Chinese. On board, you will be able to buy some beverages and small snacks
Departures from Market Square, by the yellow flags. Season: May - September
Dinner time! Here’s some suggestion where to eat
Nolla The idea of Nolla was born out of a desire to serve great food without compromising sustainability. They aim to minimize the amount of waste. All the ingredients are sourced from local farmers, fishermen and producers, with a strong focus on seasonality.
Natura is an intimate, family-run restaurant in the heart of Helsinki, serving modern, innovative food with the main focus on Finnish game, vegetables and sustainable seafood
Now it’s time to say goodnight!
Day 3
Enjoy a generous breakfast at your hotel
Now head back to the the Market Square and take the ferry to Suomenlinna (included in the Helsinki Card)
Visit Suomenlinna World Heritage Site
Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most popular visitor attractions in Finland. Joining a guided tour is a great way to see the fortress. The tour takes you around the fortress islands through the centuries, presenting the main sights and the key events in the history of the fortress, offering interesting perspectives on the Finnish history and history of Northern Europe
Guided tours are offered by Ehrensvärd Society and held by authorised Suomenlinna-guides. The 1-hour tours start from the Suomenlinna Museum (included in Helsinki Card). In the summer months (Jue-August), guided tours are given in Finnish, Swedish, English, Russian and Chinese. During the winter season, tours are available only on weekends, and the languages are English and Russian
Also located in Suomenlinna, the Finnish submarine Vesikko (free admission with Helsinki Card) is the Military Museum's most popular attraction and also globally a significant memorial to naval warfare
Lunch at Lonna island or the Old Market Hall
Take the JT-Line ferry from Suomenlinna to Lonna, a sweet little island between the Market Square and Suomenlinna. Only a few minutes ferry ride from Suomenlinna, the island was used at a time for making ships immune to sea mines. The restaurant at Lonna serves lunch menu that is adjusted according to seasons and availability. If you feel like a light lunch will be enough, consider their waffle bar that serves savoury and sweet waffles including toppings such as smoked salmon. Also vegetarian options available.
Lonna can be reached in the summertime (May-September) with JT-Line's ferry running every 30-45 minutes. After a delightful lunch, head back to the Market Square with the same ferry.
If travelling outside the summer season, head back to the Market Square directly from Suomenlinna (the same HSL ferry that brought you there) and visit the Old Market Hall that has served its customers since 1889. There you will find several cafe and restaurant options for lunch
NB! If the weather feels too cold for visiting Suomenlinna, the Green Cap Tours’ private food & beer tasting tour is another great way to spend the day. Get familiar with local ingredients and seasonal specialties and hear how the Finnish food scene has developed from simple porridge-eaters to the Michelin Star cuisine of today. For a drink, you will have some of the finest products of the local microbreweries
Löyly – Finnish sauna experience
If you feel like you still have enough energy, take a leasurly walk towards Löyly - an urban sauna oasis. The walk will take from 30 min. to 1 hour, depending on the route. If you don’t mind taking a few extra steps, walking along the seafront will enable you to enjoy some magnificent views. However, if your feet are already sore from all the walking in Suomenlinna, you can also take the hop on hop off bus that will take you all the way from the Market Square to Löyly and is included in the Helsinki Card
Löyly offers a warm welcome and many delights. On a beautiful summer’s day, their terrace is the place to be and you should definitely try the saunas, a traditional smoke sauna and a wood-burning sauna, available daily (advance booking recommended!). After a good steam, when you feel like cooling off, both saunas offer direct access to the outdoor seating area and the sea, where you can enjoy a refreshing swim, all year round
After the sauna, you can try the famous Jasper’s salmon soup with Finnish, sustainably farmed rainbow trout. After dinner, you can easily head back to the city center either with the hop on hop off bus or the HSL bus number 14 that both stop right in front of Löyly
Day 4
Enjoy a generous breakfast at your hotel
Sightseeing + shopping
Take the hop on hop off bus (or regular bus/tram) – or a leasurly walk to visit the famous Rock Church and Sibelius monument in Töölö district. Get acquainted with the architecture and history of the Rock Church on a free guided tour (entrance to the church is free of charge with Helsinki Card).
If you would like to shop like the Finns, visit the Relove second hand store next to Töölöntori square. They also have a lifestyle pop up corner and a café with lunch and delicious cakes, sandwiches and fresh smoothies
After a light lunch at Relove, head back to the city center for some more shopping. Some suggestions of shops to visit
Costo x Pure Waste Concept Store (Yrjönkatu 34) sells ecogically sustainable clothing & accessories for men & women. Pure Waste makes ecologically sustainable and premium quality 100% recycled garments
Lokal (Annankatu 9) is a concept store and home to independent Finnish art, design and craft. Besides the unique art pieces in the gallery space, there is a wide array of selected products from some of the leading names in ceramics, furniture, art prints and kitchen ware. There is a strong emphasis on the timeless value of handmade items, craftsmanship and small scale production. The themed group exhibitions change every 1-2 months
Looking for a more active way of sightseeing?
The city cycling routes in Helsinki present the history of the different city districts and their natural and cultural sights, and also exhibit the various characteristics of different areas. City cycling routes take you to various sights of different city districts
There are 29 different city cycling maps from the whole Helsinki region. The length of the routes has been marked on the maps, ranging from 10 to 30 kilometres. The routes range from one-hour routes to routes that may take an entitre day. You can choose routes based on timing, interests and fitness level
During the summer season (April-October), you can do the cycling tour using Helsinki city bikes. If you prefer renting a bike for a day, check out e.g. Bicyclean in Katajanokka
Amos Rex
If you still have some time before heading back home, pay a visit to the recently opened Amos Rex museum. Their exhibition programmes extend from the newest, often experimental, contemporary art to 20th-century Modernism and ancient cultures. Amos Rex aims to present captivating and ambitious art refreshingly and exuberantly. A permanent exhibition with Sigurd Frosterus's post-impressionist art collection is also on display. Amos Rex is a meeting place for art and urban culture, consisting of new underground exhibition spaces, the old Lasipalatsi building ("glass palace") from 1936 and its Bio Rex cinema, as well as a vibrant event forum on Lasipalatsi Square, which serves as the roof of the exhibition hall. The goal of the new museum is to produce unique experiences and surprising encounters
Now it’s time to head back home and take the train to the airport!
