Helsinki City Break

Irish Gunner

Booked a weekend break(4 Days) in Helsinki flying in with Ryanair and back out with Aer Lingus

Looking for anyone who has been there i.e things to do places to stay, pubs etc

Was thinking of going into Russia but to much red tape and not enough time

All suggestions welcome

jackbhoy

Its a nice city for short break, not that many things that stand out but the market just on the harbour is nice place to spend a few hours.

A day trip to Tallinn might be a good alternative to Russia. Its only couple of hours on ferry and the old town is beautiful. If you have the cash you can take helicopter from Helsinki to Tallinn, its only about 20mins trip and think they leave every hour or so, if you are nervous flyer though i wouldn't recommend it, it can get very bumpy in bad weather, see link below for details anyway.....


http://www.copterline.com/page54_en.html

tdp-carol

Helsinki is a brilliant place to visit - I've been there a few times.

There is a modern cathedral that is built partly underground, as I recall. Also there should be enough to see locally, so much so, that you probably won't need to take off somewhere else for a day trip. You could take a look at some of the local islands and lakes, as well as Helsinki's interesting buildings and sights. Plus the nightlife can be quite interesting ...

Irish Gunner

Found some good deals at the Scandic Hotel Group

Seem to get good reviews on tripadvisor

Anyone ever stayed here ?

aaronm13

I stayed in the Scandic Simonkenttä last year.Its a really nice hotel and is in a good location too.Helsinki is a cool city,I cant wait to go back.

Irish Gunner

aaronm13 wrote: »

I stayed in the Scandic Simonkenttä last year.Its a really nice hotel and is in a good location too.Helsinki is a cool city,I cant wait to go back.

Cheers thanks for this. To get the best rate have to pay up front without seeing room etc. Going with Miss Gunner so as long as its clean etc she will be happy.
Whats it like for Brekkie and is it centrally located or any other info

Any info on things to do places to eat and drink etc

Cheers

aaronm13

Location is great,about a two minute walk from the train station where the bus from the airport drops you off.The room we had was amazing,possibly the nicest hotel room I've stayed in,it even had a small sauna in it.The hotel is very modern throughout with a pretty impressive buffet breakfast.I was only there for a night as it was a stop off on our way to Tallinn but the nightlife seemed great with a cool atmosphere in the city.Only thing is the drink is not cheep.

Irish Gunner

Cheers

Superior rooms have own sauna but mailed them to see if I can get one. Landing on the night The Night Of Arts starts

Thinking of going on the ferry to Tallinn as seems loads of ferrys

Got some info posted from Here and some good information Here

Still doing some research on what to do so all information welcome got the below from another forum of things to do and see

* Suomenlinna fortress
* Kotiharju Sauna (http://www.aatos.fi/sauna/press/Kotiharjunsauna_web_eng.pdf)
* Punavuori area (bars, restaurants, galleries, shops), especially around streets Uudenmaankatu ja Fredrikinkatu
* Morning coffee at the Market Square
* University Library
* Uspenski Cathedral
* Art nouveau architecture in Katajanokka, Ullanlinna and Eira
* Atelje Bar, the best view over Helsinki (http://www.ravintolaopas.net/ateljeebar/index.asp?companyId=245&lang=en)
* Restaurant Kuurna, lovely food (contemporary Finnish), book ahead (http://www.kuurna.fi/)
* Ateneum Art Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma
* Sea cruise, Sunlines has the best route: http://www.sunlines.fi/web/index.php?id=2
* Kaivopuisto Park
* Bars: Bar No 9, Uudenmaankatu 9 (http://www.bar9.net), Tori, Punavuorenkatu 2 (http://www.ravintolatori.fi), Juttutupa, Säästöpankinranta 6 (http://www.juttutupa.com/index_en.asp), Rytmi, 2. linja 2 (http://www.rytmi.net)

Irish Gunner

Anyone know is there a direct bus from Tampere airport to Helsinki

Ryanair say there is but dont want to put my trust in them

Run by Mobus but not sure of times

Emailed the airport and they came back with the below


We only have one bus going to Helsinki per day and it departs after the Stansted flight at 11pm.

The fastest way for you to get to Helsinki, is to take our bus from the airport to Tampere railway station (departs after every flight) and take a train from there to Helsinki. You can check our bus timetables from http://www.airpro.fi/files/airpro/Ryanair%20linja-auto%20aikataulut/Kesakuu_2008_Tokee.pdf and the train timetables from http://www.vr.fi/heo/eng/index.html.

So is there a bus for Ryanair passengers as you land or do you have to go into Tampere to get the train bus

Any help much appreciated

Irish Gunner

Well to answer my own question they came back with the below

The bus that goes to Helsinki is from Mobus. It departs at 11pm, takes about 2 hours and costs 25 euros.

The one going to Tampere center is operated by Tokee. Bus trip to Tampere takes about 30 min and costs 6 euros. It runs after every flight and goes directly to Tampere railway station.

So you have to get the bus into Tampere then the train or bus to Helsinki just in case anyone is going

Tiriel

For a restaurant with a difference - go to Zetor - Traktor restaurant!! it is absolutely priceless!! There are tractors that are tables, buckets for lamp shades and absolutely fantastic steak. Highly recommended. Oh - and they had the BEST menu I have ever seen - a newspaper with running commentary on each dish. Very novel.

Zetor ("Traktor restaurant") Kaivopiha, Mannerheimintie 3-5