Itineraries
Where to stay
The center around the Esplanade for first-timers on foot; Kamppi for the Porvoo buses and shopping; Kallio for cafés and bars; the Design District for shops and galleries.
The areas: City center (Esplanade), Kamppi, Kallio, Design District.
Where to stay in Helsinki: areas and adviceHotels in HelsinkiPlaces to see
All things to do in FinlandMuseumAmos RexArt museum in domed galleries under the Lasipalatsi square, known for experimental contemporary shows.Entry: Buy at the door or online
MuseumAteneum Art MuseumFinnish National Gallery museum in the city center, showing Finnish and international art.Entry: Buy at the door
NeighborhoodDesign DistrictAbout 25 streets of design shops, ateliers, galleries and museums just south of the center.Entry: Free to visit
NatureEsplanade ParkEngel's tree-lined park between the Market Square and the center, with the Runeberg statue and summer stage.Entry: Free to visit
MarketHakaniemi Market HallTwo-floor market hall from 1914 on Hakaniemi square, with food stalls, crafts and lunch cafés.Entry: Pay as you go
ChurchHelsinki CathedralEngel's white Lutheran cathedral above Senate Square, completed in 1852 and crowned by twelve apostle statues.Entry: €[fee]
TransportHelsinki Central StationEliel Saarinen's granite station of 1919, where airport and long-distance trains leave.Entry: Free to visit
MarketHietalahti Market HallA market hall over 100 years old, now a hall of cafés and international kitchens.Entry: Pay as you go
FoodJokikatu, PorvooMain shopping street of Old Porvoo, lined with small cafés, restaurants and boutiques.Entry: Pay as you go
FoodKallioFormer working-class district in eastern downtown, now full of cafés, restaurants and bars.Entry: Pay as you go
TransportKamppi bus stationHelsinki's main bus terminal at Kamppi, where buses to Porvoo leave every day.Entry: Free to visit
ChurchKamppi ChapelCurved chapel of silence from 2012, set on Narinkkatori square beside the Kamppi center.Entry: €[fee]
FoodLöylySeaside public sauna and restaurant with a smoke sauna and year-round swims in the sea.Entry: Book a sauna time
MarketMarket SquareHelsinki's harbor market of food stalls, crafts and heated café tents, where the Suomenlinna ferry leaves.Entry: Pay as you go
MarketOld Market HallHarborside market hall trading since 1889 in fish, cheese, vegetables, cakes, coffee and tea.Entry: Pay as you go
NeighborhoodOld PorvooCobbled lanes of colorful wooden houses in the old town of Porvoo, about an hour from Helsinki.Entry: Free to visit
NeighborhoodOodi Central LibraryHelsinki's free central library on Kansalaistori square, a public living room for reading, events and work.Entry: Free to visit
ChurchPorvoo CathedralMedieval cathedral on the hill above Old Porvoo, in its present form since the late 15th century.Entry: Free to visit
ViewpointRed shore houses, PorvooRed-ochre riverside warehouses, mostly built in the 1760s, now restaurants, shops and lodgings.Entry: Free to visit
NeighborhoodSenate SquareNeoclassical square framed by four Carl Ludvig Engel buildings, with the cathedral steps on its north side.Entry: Free to visit
NatureSeurasaari IslandIsland across a white wooden bridge, with walking paths, squirrels and an open-air museum of rural buildings.Entry: Free to visit
ViewpointSibelius MonumentEila Hiltunen's 1967 sculpture of more than 600 steel pipes honoring the composer Jean Sibelius.Entry: Free to visit
NeighborhoodSuomenlinnaUNESCO-listed island sea fortress with six kilometres of walls, cannons and tunnels, 15 minutes by ferry.Entry: Free to visit
MuseumSuomenlinna MuseumMuseum in the Suomenlinna Centre telling the fortress's story under Sweden, Russia and Finland.Entry: €[fee]
ChurchTemppeliaukio ChurchChurch cut into solid rock in 1969, lit through 180 skylights under a copper dome.Entry: Pay at the door or online
FoodTeurastamoThe former city abattoir of 1933, reopened in 2012 as a yard of restaurants and food producers.Entry: Pay as you go
ChurchUspenski CathedralRed-brick Orthodox cathedral from 1868 on the Katajanokka hill, the largest in Western Europe.Entry: Pay at the door