11 Things To Do In Helsinki

Things to do in Helsinki

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At 10 pm, while most people back home are getting ready to go to bed, the sidewalk cafés along Helsinki’s Pohjoisesplanadi esplanade are awash with the soft glow of daylight. It’s a wonderful time in Helsinki to be out and about. I’ve taken my place at a table at one of the outdoor cafes talking to a suave well-dressed cigar-puffing Helsinki local by the name of Gideon.

“Do you know the difference between a Finnish esplanade and a boulevard?” he asks, answering his own question before I get the chance, he waves his arms at the crowds of people milling around the esplanade. 

things to do in helsinki

“An esplanade has this wonderful patch of trees and wide lawn that divides the street,” he says. A string quartet plays Brahms’ Hungarian Rhapsody; people sit on the benches and lie on the grass chatting. In the distance, a pop band belts out numbers in Finnish and English. “Now you wouldn’t have all this activity in a boulevard where the lawn is set on either side of the street. Would you?” poses Gideon.

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Helsinki

Things To Do In Helsinki

1- Explore Helsinki’s waterfront markets

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At the waterfront markets, you’ll find an interesting assortment of local delicacies such as cans of reindeer, several varieties of smoked salmon, smoked Baltic herring, yellow berries and packets of smoked moose.

The strawberries were particularly juicy and sweet, apparently a result of the longer-than-average daylight they receive in summer.

Stalls with souvenir items like wooden animals, Finnish knives and pelts are colourful against the backdrop of the pastel-coloured historical buildings.

2- Visit Soumenlinna

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The boats in front of the waterfront markets run regular trips to one of the world’s largest maritime fortress, UNESCO World Heritage Suomenlinna.

This fortress was built in the 1700s and stretches across six islands just off Helsinki’s coast.

The 15-minute ferry ride to Suomenlinna from Market Square highlights the massive dimensions of the fortress.

Amble through the old fort enjoying the ambience as actors in period costume streak past.

Surprisingly, while Suomenlinna is a tourist destination, it is also home to around 1000 people who commute to the mainland each day.

Most get around the island by bicycle.

While exploring the maze of tunnels underneath the old fortress you’ll learn that the Swedish, who once ruled Finland, built the fortress as their main point of defence to counter the ambitions of Russian Tsar, Peter the Great.

On other parts of the island, there were crowds of Helsinki day-trippers sunbaking on the rocky cliffs.

Many groups of young people laze in the long grass enjoying the sun.

3- Wander Around Senate Square 

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The Russian influence in Helsinki is also clearly seen at Senate Square, a place of some historical importance with amazing 19th architecture.

The square is dominated by an enormous Russian cathedral that presides above the other buildings with its stark white walls and impressive green domes.

In the centre of the square, there is the only remaining statue in the entire world of Russian Tsar, Alexander II. On a bench beneath that statue, a young couple were kissing passionately oblivious to the people walking past.

One side of the square is lined with quaint 18th and 19th-century merchant houses that have been converted into city offices, shops and restaurants.

You could almost be convinced that you are in Russia and not Finland.

4- Admire The President’s Palace

The creamy yellow President’s Palace and the blue City Hall building provide a contrast to the red brick and golden cupolas of the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral which adds an exotic aura to the city skyline.

5- Finlandia Hall

Even though Helsinki has an interesting history, there are also many contemporary buildings that give the city a 21st-century look.

Its main concert hall, Finlandia Hall, is one building that is distinctively Finnish in design with cubist shapes and marble walls that give it a futuristic look.

Inside, its large asymmetrical auditorium is ultra-modern, with no right-angles and no set shape.

6- See The Church In The Rocks

things to do in helsinki

An unusual place to visit is the Temppeliaukio (The Church in the Rocks). This strange church was excavated from a rocky outcrop and looks more like a rock cave than a place of worship.

The light that streams in from its skylight windows casts an eerie glow on the rough-hewn granite walls.

Sibelius’ turbulent Finlandia fills the rocky hall of the church with an emotional atmosphere that signifies the awakening of Finland as a nation.

Everyone in Finland is extremely proud of Sibelius.

There is even a strange monument fashioned from silver tubes in an artistic interpretation of the pipes of an organ at Sibelius Park, built in honour of Finland musical son.

7- Go To The Beach 

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Check out the city’s various summer activities.

The only city beach in Helsinki was packed to the brim with people sunbaking, swimming and cooling off with a beer, so don’t plan on working on your suntan.

If you’re used to experiencing kilometres of pristine sandy beaches, the sight of so many bodies in such a small space will make your jaw drop.

8- Hire A Bicycle

Hire a bicycle and follow the stream of cyclists around the foreshore, where you’ll come across some other crazy sights.

A man dressed in a gorilla suit thumping his chest as he plunges off a tall platform might be one of the intriguing sights, while other thrill-seekers queued up for their turn.

Further along the foreshore, families wash their carpets in the sea following an old Finnish tradition.

9- Relax In A Public Sauna 

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At the public sauna, you’ll see a couple of dozen people sitting on the sidewalk wrapped in towels gulping down water and Lapin Kulta beer to cool off.

As total nudity is a requirement, all saunas have separate sections for men and women.

The Finnish people have an ongoing love affair with the sauna and see it as a way to relax and unwind.

Every Finnish house or apartment block has a sauna.

During family gatherings, the entire extended family will take turns to relax and bond in the sauna, men and women in separate sittings.

They say the experience is poetic, uplifting to the soul and will put you in touch with nature. 

You’ll have to strip all your clothes off and sit in a steamy roomful of strangers.

The thought of parading about nude in a public sauna might be discomforting but ignored your embarrassment and look for a poetic experience in the hot steamy room.

Your tensions will begin to melt away as the hot steam permeates your soul. 

10- Go Bar Hopping  

In Helsinki, there are many unusual nightspots to choose from, ranging from bars that serve drinks inspired by comic-book characters to spartan Russian bars that are a reminder of Helsinki’s Soviet past.

There are loads of chic restaurants that double up as nightclubs when the midnight sun finally fades.

Uniq Ice Bar’s temperature in this ice-box bar freezes the thermometer at five degrees Celsius below zero.

It is one of Helsinki’s hottest nightspots and is booked out several days in advance.

20cm of ice lines its walls, the bar and tables are also made from ice.

After putting on the warm cape, moon boots and gloves provided, head for the bar and order the house speciality, a Sea breeze – a generous serving of Finlandia Vodka, cranberry and grapefruit juice. 

11- Eat In The Tractor Restaurant

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Enjoy Finnish food and rock & roll at the hippest tractor restaurant in the centre of town.

Quite the opposite of the sleek and cool atmosphere of Uniq, Zetor (a tractor brand in the Czech Republic) – is a farm time-capsule of old tractors, straw, giant cow statues, saddles, rakes and old farm bikes.

Waiters dressed as farmhands scamper around busily as the patrons munch away to foot-tapping rock and roll music.

At 11 pm the sun is finally setting and the darkness begins to surround the hype of the city. There’s no doubt however that Helsinki’s party-goers have only just begun and are set for several more hours of celebrations.

Looking for more things to do in Europe? Try these cities:

How to spend time in Helsinki

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Christina Pfeiffer
Christina Pfeiffer is a writer, photographer and video blogger based in Queensland, Australia. She has lived in three continents and her career as a travel journalist has taken her to all seven continents. Since 2003, she has contributed travel stories and photographs to mainstream media in Australia and around the world such as the Sydney Morning Herald, CNN Traveller, The Australian and the South China Morning Post. She has won many travel writing awards and is a full member of the Australian Society of Travel Writers.