Things to do in Helsinki
1- Do a walking tour on your first day
Do our Finntastic walking tour in Helsinki on day 1 of your trip. Helsinki is a very walkable city, and on our walking tour you will get a great first impression of the city. Not only you will visit the highlights of Helsinki, but you will also learn about history, culture, foods, and way of life in Finland.
2- Get hot a Finnish sauna!
A trip to Finland will not be complete without trying a Finnish Sauna! Sweat in a hot sauna and swim in the cold lake or sea water. Feel free to chat with others in the sauna as locals do!
3- Try Finnish Food: they are surprisingly good!
Finnish cuisine is simple and healthy. Salmon soup, Reindeer Sausage, Reindeer Burger, and Muikku are some of the foods everyone must try in a Helsinki trip!
4- Have a coffee break!
Finns love coffee and coffee breaks, so sit in a local cafe and enjoy a coffee with Finnish pastries. Korvapuusti (cinnamon bun) and Pulla (cardemom bun) are our top picks for you!
5- Go shopping and get inspired by Finnish design
Finnish design is sustainable and comes with high quality! Go shopping in Marimekko and buy a new colourful summer dress with beautiful flower patterns! Or go to Arabia shop and buy your first Moomin mug. At Ittala shop, you can buy gorgeous glassware for your shelves at home.
6- Take distance from the city center
You can do a day trip on your second day: Porvoo is a gorgeous mediaval town just 45 min. drive from Helsinki. If you don´t mind longer distances by train: Tampere is the world´s capital city of Sauna! Turku is the former capital city with great food and amazing architecture.
7- Island hopping!
Helsinki archipelago is home to 550 islands. Suomenlinna sea fortress is a UNESCO world heritage site that you cannot miss! Lonna is a small sauna island! And korkeasaari is a zoo island perfect for famailies. Seurasaari island is an open air museum, perfect to learn about Helsinki way of life in the past.
8- Visit an art museum
Helsinki is home to 6 art museums: Ateneum (national art gallery) is our top pick for you. Kiasma and Amos rex are contemporary art museums and both are amazing.
9- Visit our amazing churches!
Helsinki has few churches, each are wonderfully different: Helsinki cathedral is the main landmark you should not miss, but Uspenski cathedral is another beauty with amazing Orthodox architecture. Rock church is carved inside granit, and St. John´s church has a wonderful Gothic architecture
10- Watch an ice hocky Match!
Finns love ice hocky, and some of the best hocky players in the world are actually Finnich. So don´t miss the chance to watch a hocky match during your trip, the vibe is crazy!
12- Visit libraries!
It may sound such a lame idea but Finnish libraries are another world! From the National library, National Archives, Univeristy of Helsinki library to award-winning Oodi
13- Dive into Finnish Architecture!
Alvar Aalto and Eliel Saarinen are two world-famous Finnish architects, whose masterpieces are in Helsinki. Get lost in Ullanlinna area and enjoy hanging around the beautiful Jugend still buidlgins.
