Helsinki

UpCork

Has anyone been. I'm looking to go away for a few days in July/August. Am not really interested in night life: just want a place that has shops, sightseeing and generally a place just to chilll out and relax & am wondering what Helsinki was like.

I've been to other Scandic countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) and really enjoyed them but have always been interested in going to Helsinki.

However, in the past people have gone mentioned 'the boring Finns' etc and I just wonder is it a place that after two days one would have run out of things to do (I was thinking a 4 night stay).

Any comments appreciated.

Eoinsku

UpCork wrote: »

Has anyone been. I'm looking to go away for a few days in July/August. Am not really interested in night life: just want a place that has shops, sightseeing and generally a place just to chilll out and relax & am wondering what Helsinki was like.

I've been to other Scandic countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden) and really enjoyed them but have always been interested in going to Helsinki.

However, in the past people have gone mentioned 'the boring Finns' etc and I just wonder is it a place that after two days one would have run out of things to do (I was thinking a 4 night stay).

Any comments appreciated.

Well, I live here in Helsinki, and it's a great place to be in summer time. I've lived here for over 8 years and would never dream of going back to Ireland.

To answer your questions though, there aren't a hell of a lot of 'sights' to see in Helsinki. There are some, like the Cathedral on Senate Square, the Russian Orthodox church, and the Sibelius monument, but the best thing about Helsinki in summer is just chilling out, sitting in the sun on the esplanade or in the park (kaivopuisto) with a few beers and a disposable barbeque.

For shopping, there are plenty of shopping malls and markets (e.g. in 'kauppatori' - market square), but Finland in general is fairly pricey so I wouldn't expect to pick up any bargains.

There's a beautiful archepelago here, and you have a choice of numerous boat trips around the islands (lasting 2-3 hours) which are worth considering. Alternatively, you could head to Suomenlinna (Finland's Castle), which is an old defence fortress located on an island just off the coast.

The Finns are a quiet bunch, but they're honest, genuine and friendly, and in summer time they come a lot more out of their shell. Also, the women are generally more outgoing than the men.

Also don't forget that you can hop on the ferry to Tallinn from here and it's only 90 minutes away - defintely worth a visit. Add to that the fact that you can fly here direct with Aer Lingus for pretty cheap (less than €200 if you get lucky with dates) and I think you couldn't go wrong for a short break.

If you need any more info, feel free to PM me.

UpCork

Many thanks for that Eoinsku....you should work for the Finnish tourist board after that. I'm definitely considering it as a place to go for a few days, just to see it. Some relations went there last year, but only for a few hours as part of a cruise, so they weren't able to furnish me with much details.

Polar101

Well, July/August is a good time to visit Helsinki - it's a very nice place in the summer. Not too many sights, but Suomenlinna is a great place to visit (15 minutes on the ferry). 4 days should be all right, especially if you include a day trip to Tallinn.