Flight time
2h 50m
Best season
May–September & December
Budget
Splurge
Best for
Design, saunas, Baltic islands, food
Overview
Why Helsinki for a city break?
Helsinki is Scandinavia's most underrated capital — a city of 650,000 people on a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland, where the archipelago of 330 islands begins at the city's edge, where the Finnish sauna culture is a civic religion, and where the design legacy of Alvar Aalto, Eero Saarinen and the Arabia ceramics tradition has shaped the way the world makes objects. The food scene, led by a generation of chefs who treat Nordic foraging and fermentation with religious intensity, has put the city firmly on the European gastronomy map. The Suomenlinna sea fortress (a UNESCO World Heritage Site on an archipelago island 15 minutes by ferry) is the most extraordinary military monument in the Baltic.
From most UK airports it's around two hours fifty minutes — direct flights from London and good connections from regional airports. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport is 30km from the centre (Ring Rail Line I, 30 minutes, €5). The city is expensive — similar to Stockholm and Copenhagen — so budget accordingly. Go in May to September for the Baltic light and the archipelago life; December for the Christmas atmosphere and the best sauna season. The fast ferry to Tallinn (2 hours) makes a brilliant day trip addition.
Where to stay & explore
Helsinki's best neighbourhoods
Design District
The 25-block district south of the city centre — the finest concentration of Finnish design shops, galleries and restaurants, anchored by the Design Museum and the Museum of Finnish Architecture.
Kallio
Helsinki's most creative neighbourhood — the best craft beer bars, independent restaurants and the most local version of the city, away from the tourist centre.
Market Square & South Harbour
The waterfront heart of Helsinki — the Kauppatori market, the Old Market Hall, the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral and the ferry connections to Suomenlinna.
Things to do
What to see in Helsinki
1
Suomenlinna Sea Fortress
The most extraordinary military monument in the Baltic — a UNESCO World Heritage sea fortress spread across six islands at the mouth of Helsinki harbour, built by Sweden in the 18th century and now home to 800 permanent residents, several museums, a submarine, cafés and extraordinary coastal walking. The ferry from Market Square runs every 15-30 minutes (€5 return, covered by the day ticket). Allow four hours; the island has beaches, ramparts and the finest view of Helsinki's skyline from the water.
2
Temppeliaukio Church & Helsinki Cathedral
The Temppeliaukio Church (1969) — blasted directly into a granite outcrop in the Töölö neighbourhood, with a copper dome and walls of natural rock face — is the most distinctive piece of sacred architecture in Scandinavia. The acoustics are extraordinary; concerts are held regularly. Helsinki Cathedral (1852, the city's defining neoclassical building on Senate Square) and the surrounding Senate Square (Senaatintori) — with the Government Palace and Helsinki University on three sides — is the finest neoclassical ensemble in the Nordic countries.
3
Finnish sauna experience
The sauna is the Finnish national institution — there are 3.3 million saunas for 5.5 million Finns. The Löyly public sauna (a striking wood-clad building above the sea in Hernesaari, with outdoor terraces for swimming in the Baltic between sessions), the Allas Sea Pool (floating pools and sauna on the Market Square waterfront) and the Rajasaari island sauna (only accessible by kayak or swimming, the most authentic) are the finest options. The ritual: heat (80-100°C), löyly (steam from throwing water on the stones), cooling (jump in the sea, whatever the temperature), repeat.
4
Design Museum & Alvar Aalto
The Design Museum in the Design District covers 140 years of Finnish design — the Arabia ceramics, the Iittala glassware, Marimekko textiles, the Hackman cutlery — in a beautiful 19th-century building. The Alvar Aalto House (the architect's home and studio in Munkkiniemi, 20 minutes by tram) and the Academic Bookstore on Pohjoisesplanadi (Aalto's finest interior in Helsinki — the glass roof, the white marble, the terraced floor plan) are essential Aalto visits. Book the house tour online.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Helsinki
Olo
Two Michelin stars / New Nordic
The finest restaurant in Helsinki — a tasting menu of New Nordic cooking using Finnish and Nordic produce of extraordinary quality (reindeer, Arctic char, Finnish crayfish, foraged herbs). The wine and juice pairing is exceptional. In the city centre. Book months ahead.
Savotta
Traditional Finnish / Senate Square
The best traditional Finnish restaurant for visitors — the lunch menu (served 11am-3pm) offers excellent Finnish classics at manageable prices: reindeer meatballs, salmon soup, Karelian pasties with egg butter, bear (in season). The dinner menu is more expensive but the surroundings (an 18th-century building on Senate Square) justify it. Book ahead for dinner.
Old Market Hall (Vanha Kauppahalli)
Historic food hall / waterfront
The finest food market hall in Finland — a 19th-century brick hall on the South Harbour waterfront housing specialist vendors: the freshest Baltic herring, smoked reindeer, Finnish cheeses, extraordinary open sandwiches, and the finest cup of coffee in the market at the Robert's Coffee counter. Go for breakfast or lunch; the smoked fish sandwiches are the essential order.
Itinerary
3 days in Helsinki — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Market Square, Suomenlinna, Design District evening
Ring Rail from the airport to Helsinki Central (30 minutes, €5). Walk down the Esplanadi to Market Square (Kauppatori) — the outdoor market stalls of fresh produce, smoked fish and Finnish crafts. Old Market Hall for breakfast — smoked salmon sandwich, coffee. Ferry to Suomenlinna (15 minutes, €5 return) — four hours on the islands: the fortress ramparts, the submarine, the beaches, the views back to Helsinki. Return ferry to Market Square. Walk the Design District — the design shops, the Design Museum (open until 8pm on Wednesdays). Savotta for dinner.
Day 2
Temppeliaukio, Aalto, Finnish sauna at dusk
Temppeliaukio Church at 10am — the granite walls, the copper dome, the acoustic extraordinary. Alvar Aalto's Academic Bookstore on Pohjoisesplanadi for the interior. National Museum of Finland (the finest coverage of Finnish history and culture, free on Fridays) in the afternoon. Löyly sauna complex at 4pm (book online for evening slots) — the wood-clad building above the sea, the löyly steam, the Baltic plunge. Dinner in Kallio: the most local and most affordable neighbourhood in Helsinki, with excellent restaurants along Fleminginkatu and Vaasankatu.
Day 3
Tallinn day trip by ferry or a slow Helsinki morning
The Tallink Silja or Viking Line fast ferry to Tallinn takes 2 hours (book ahead, from €30 return) — an excellent day trip to the medieval Baltic city for the old town and the return ferry experience. Alternatively: a slow Helsinki morning — the Hakaniemi Market Hall (more local than the Old Market Hall, excellent for Finnish food shopping), the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral (the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe, on a cliff above the harbour, extraordinary domed interior), and the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM) covering 20th-century Finnish art. One last herring sandwich at the Market Square. Ring Rail back to the airport.
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