Ideas for Helsinki?
 

Hi - I'll be in Helsinki for a conference in early September and am fortunate to have a few days (4th-7th Sept.) for sight-seeing.

I have read the thread from 2007, and looked at the wiki-travel guide but wonder if any 'locals' are able to suggest some absolute must-sees/must-dos?

I like museums/galleries, wandering around and ferry to Suomenlinna sounds perfect for Sunday tourist venture.

Any and all suggestions will be welcome ... thank you!

Not a local, but I would suggest you take the hydrofoil, and day-trip to Tallinn Estonia.

Krhmm, that Wikitravel guide is edited by a local, namely yours truly :p

As it happens, I'll be playing tour guide in Finland again for the next two weeks, and (off the top of my head) here's what's on agenda:

Sunny days
- Picnic in Suomenlinna with supplies grabbed from the Market Square/Old Market Hall
- Seashore walk from Hietaniemi Beach to and around the Seurasaari open-air museum, dropping in at the Sibelius Monument along the way
- Daytrip to Tallinn

Rainy days
- Arabia factory outlet (beats most museums if you have any interest at all in modern Finnish design)
- Temppelinaukion kirkko (aka Church in the Rock)
- Kiasma art museum
- Shopping in Stockmann and along Esplanadi

Food and drink
- Lunch: Postres (Michelin star), Mesta (light Russian), Kahvila Suomi, VPK
- Dinner: Mostly home cooking, but one splurge in Kosmos or Manala?
- Cafes: Fazer, Aalto, Strindberg

Early September is a good time to go, the summer crowds will be gone but it's still warm -- at least by Finnish standards.

OK ... I'm impressed :)

Thank you for the ideas - from the two messages posted, Tallinn for a day trip seems a must!

Two other summer stalwarts:

Outdoor swimming and people watching at the Swimming Stadium next door to its Olympic cousin.

The Linnanmaki amusement park and especially the old fashioned wooden rollercoaster with great city views.

THanks for the tips ... in a fit of rashness I booked the Lindaline ferry to Tallinn last night ... Linda class course ;)

I'm looking forward to my first visit to HEL!

A few more suggestions:

* Visit to the Hakaniemi Market (Hakaniemen tori) in the morning (much less touristy than the main market, with mostly locals having coffee and shopping for produce and/or fish)
* Tram sight seeing ride on the 3B/T combo (does a circular route) to see several different areas of Helsinki
* Visit to the American Bar at Torni Hotel -- great views over Helsinki
* For lunch (on a week day), I'd suggest Chez Dominique over Postres (both are excellent, though)

Cheers,
T.

Thank you all for your ideas ... seems like I'll have no trouble filling in (and enjoying!) my free time in HEL ... if you see a middle-aged Oz librarian wandering around, take pity - say hello - that'll be me :D

This has become less fun than it used to be, since 3B and 3T are now separate half-circles, not a full loop, meaning you need to change trams halfway through. :td: On the upside, it might solve the problem of bums who've crapped their pants riding around all day long...

I think you mean Ateljee Bar, which is the one on top? Don't expect Eiffel Tower kind of views though, this skyscraper is all of 13 stories tall :cool:

You don't need to change the tram. The tram will change its designator at Eläintarha. This was made to make it clearer that it is 3T running on the west side of the circle and 3B on the east side. Anyway a great and rather cheap way to browse around. If using public transport consider the tourist ticket: it gives you opportunities for unlimited travel within Helsinki (or area, depending on the ticket) for selected period. Easily worth the investment, at least in my opinion.

Day-trip to Tallinn is great and a good way to explore a bit more than just Helsinki.

For the Finns luring around here I would like to initiate the following challenge:Like I said above, there is nothing wrong in Tallinn. But I just feel it is rather lazy from us Finns to recommend Tallinn as a great sight of Helsinki. (No offence to anyone & please correct me if I am wrong, I hope I am.) There should be a lot to see also in Helsinki, even though it can for us seem to be too evident to be worth checking out. At least Finland, as is Helsinki, is loaded with museums. Some of those are even specialized in small sectors and while they might not be world class, they could offer something special.

Suomenlinna is very beautiful place to visit but so is Korkeasaari, the zoo of Helsinki. Take a ferry/boat from Market Square. Great views from "the wooden ball".

If you like jogging it is very popular to run over Töölönlahti that is a bay (almost a lake) in middle of Helsinki. Keskuspuisto (Central Park) begins from Töölönlahti and goes all the way north towards Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. Beautiful and quiet forest area in central Helsinki. If extremely beautiful Finnish forest area is your thing take a bus to Nuuksio National Park.

Finnish Design Museum is also a good museum to visit.

You Finnish nationalist, why are you so against recommending Tallinn? I'm sure you still want to annex Estonia into "greater Finland" and re-take Viipuri from the Russians along with Sortlava and the whole of the peninsula since it would look very nice on a map ;)

In all seriousness, good recommendations. I would like to see a few more in the city or surroundings of Helsinki proper.

Anyone know if the nuclear power plant in Loviisa offers tours? It would be interesting to see around a soviet make nuclear plant.

Here are a few outside of city centre:

Tarvaspää: the studio of Akseli Gallen-Kallela with some of his works and changing exhibitions (10 km outside of city centre in Espoo). Smallish but well worth the visit.

EMMA (Espoo Museum of Modern Art): in Tapiola, the largest modern art museum in Finland. Possibly a stronger permanent collection than Kiasma, the changing exhibitions vary greatly in quality. The building is a 1950 printing facility, quite spectacular. The same building houses some ethnographic collections, a watch museum etc. 10 km from Helsinki Centre, an easy bus ride.

Hviträsk: the studio of architects Saarinen, Lindgren, and Gesellius. A fantastic example of Finnish art deco building, with great insights into the life of Eero Saarinen. Spectacular location on a hilltop over some lakes. Roughly 30 km from city centre, easiest seen with a car.

Didrichsen Museum: a small, private museum just outside of city centre (in Kuusisaari). Lovely 1950's modern house with a small but high quality modern art collection and interesting changing exhibitions.

Villa Gyllenberg: a private museum close to Didrichsen with one of the largest collections of Schjerfbeck paintings around. Very limited hours (Wednesday 16-20, Sunday 12-16).

Seurasaari Outdoor Museum: the traditional Finnish way of life is displayed in the cottages, farmsteads and manors of the past four centuries that have been relocated from all around Finland. Five kilometers outside of the city centre, near Meilahti.

Tamminiemi: the official residence and now museum of Urho Kekkonen, the president of Finland from 1956 until 1981. Very close to Seurasaari.

Nuuksio National Park: pristine wilderness with plenty of hiking opportunities and spectacular views just 30 km from the city centre.

Cheers,
T.

And for some strange reason the two best steak restaurants in the Helsinki area are both located in the same suburb. Spartanic decor but good value for money and very, very local.

Grill Ribis: http://eat.fi/en/espoo/grilli-ribis

Grill Toro: http://eat.fi/espoo/grilli-toro