Helsinki???

baby and crumble

Hey guys, I'm heading to Helsinki for a few days in June, just wondering if anyone has been, and any recommendations??

Maybe thinking one of the days doing a trip thing somewhere out of the city.

Thanks for any responses!

Zo

Lollymcd

I was there for two and a half days a few years ago, we went to Tallinn on a day trip and seen the whole city more or less, I'm pretty certain of this as I visited Tallinn last year and didn't see anything new! In Helsinki we also went to an island a few miles off the coast, used to be a military garrison, interesting and only took a few hours. We visited a number of churches and a market too and hung out in the local park where there was street entertainment. All interesting enough. I don't know if I could have spent anymore time there.

eskimoystava

If you're going in June, it will be fairly warm (around 20 degrees celsius) and after the long, cold winter Finns love to stay outdoors. The old island fortress Suomenlinna that the previous writer suggested is well worth a visit. There are some good cafes and restaurants on the island but a picnic is a good idea too. You can catch the ferry from the market square, it is operated by the city bus company so it's only 2.50€ one way.

Apart from a couple of churches (Tuomiokirkko and Temppeliaukion kirkko) and museums (museum of modern art Kiasma, etc), there are not so many must-see sights in Helsinki. Just walk around the streets around city centre, enjoy the parks and seaside. Spending time in parks is very popular in the summertime and drinking is very common, even in the parks in the city centre, and it's not frowned upon like in Ireland.

The "design district" in the centre and Punavuori/Eira area has lots of cool little shops with Finnish design, handicrafts, records, etc. There are also a lot of nice pubs and clubs there (try the pubs around Iso-Roobertinkatu, for example).
Take a tour in the tram 3T/3B, so you get a better view of the city. It is a circular route going from the centre to Kallio and Töölö. It runs every 10 minutes until late so you can hop on and off if you see someting nice on the way. Unfortunately there are a good few winos in Helsinki, especially in the trams, but they tend to be harmless if you just ignore them.
Tallinn in Estonia is a good day trip from Helsinki, the ferries are fast and cheap. Another good place to go is Porvoo, a small, historical town about 70km from Helsinki. You can take the bus or a ferry to go there.

By the way, on the 25th-26th of June is the midsummer festival and most Finns head out to the countryside to their summer cottages. If you're travelling around that time, don't be surprised of the deserted city...

I'm a Finn, currently living in Helsinki.