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Joy S
Joy S
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5 out of 5
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Editor Pick

Things to Do in Helsinki

  • July 6, 2007
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom
Things to Do in Helsinki

Helsinki is a beautiful city - green, clean, and really friendly. There are lots of interesting sites to see, great shops, a beautiful harbour with all kinds of ships and boats forever coming and going as well as loads of parks and beaches.

Esplanade Park is a good place to start sightseeing. It is always busy, buzzing with lots of street-performers and people strolling through. Amongst the more unusual buskers we saw included a lady performing with three cats and a poodle (it was great!) and a trio of Red Indians in full costume playing great music.

At the end of Esplanade Park near the market is the Havis Amanda statue - the symbol of Helsinki. Helsinki's bustling Market Square, at the end of Esplanade Park, is not only where traders set up shop selling food and other goods, but is also the central meeting-point of the city, sandwiched between the sea and a row of impressive historical buildings, which include the City Hall, the Swedish Embassy, and the Presidential Palace. If you visit the market do sample the strawberries and cherries - there are no end of stalls selling these and they are delicious. The market is also a good place to buy souvenirs and little trinkets. All the traders were friendly and all those we encountered spoke perfect English.

The market is a great place to have lunch. We enjoyed a mouthwatering fish dish. You have to be careful and watch out for aggressive seagulls. They hover around the food stalls and swoop at you and actually try to steal your food. We managed to escape with the food intact.

Trams and waterbuses come to Market Square and it is here you catch the ferry to Suomenlinna and the zoo. Watch out for people selling salmon and potatoes from their boats. The Old Market Hall is worth wandering around. The stalls here are quite upmarket and they sell all types of food products.

Senate Square, very close to Market Square is lively and has splendid neoclassical buildings. The square is dominated by the city's main landmark, the Lutheran Cathedral, designed by Engel. It celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2002. Other buildings in the Square designed by Engel are the Palace of the Council of State and the University Buildings of 1832 - including the library, regarded as Engel's finest masterpiece.

Helsinki's harbour area is fascinating and very beautiful. You could spend hours here, watching all the activity. Ships are forever coming and going. It is a nice place to stroll in the evenings.

The Sibelius monument - commemorating Finland's most famous composer is a little way from the centre, but is good to see. We caught tram 3T, it's a short walk from the stop. The monument is in a beautiful park, right by the sea.

One of the best things about Helsinki, is that wherever you go and whichever street you walk down, you can easily reach the sea. The views everywhere are beautiful.

From journal 5 Days in Helsinki

Editor Pick

Helsinki Churches

  • July 6, 2007
  • Rated 4 of 5 by Joy S from Manchester, United Kingdom
Helsinki Churches

In Helsinki we visited three churches - all very different and all very interesting.

We went first to Upenski Cathedral - you can't miss it on a rocky outcrop opposite the fish market. Many people have compared Helsinki to the city of St Petersburg - a close neighbour across the water. The exotic red brick orthodox cathedral Upenski, designed by Aleksei Govnostayev of St Petersburg in the late 1800s cements the Russian connection. At the front of the cathedral there is a statue of Tsar Alexander II as a memento of Russia's occupation of Finland until 1919. The building is magnificent with a golden onion dome. Once inside we were quite surprised at how small it was. It is very ornate and decorated in an opulent way with lots of valuable icons. Upenski is quite unlike any of the other churches we visited in Finland.

The second church on our list was the Lutheran Cathedral. It is in Senate Square - you can't miss it. It is the city's main landmark and apparently Finland's most photographed and recognised building. It was designed by Carl Ludwig Engel and consecrated in 1852. The interior is beautiful - bright, airy, white and bare. All these churches are part of the sightseeing tours routes, so can get a bit busy at times.

The Church in the Rock was third on our list. It is really unusual and very different. It is built into solid rock and was consecrated in 1969. Only the roof is visible from the outside. We spotted it from the large number of tour buses parked outside. It is an awesome and unique piece of architecture. The church was designed by two architect brothers - Tuomo and Timo Suomalainen. They chose a rocky outcrop of granite rising to 40 feet above street level. The interior walls were blasted from bedrock. Because of its superb acoustics - the rock walls are roofed over with a massive concave copper ceiling, the church is often used as a concert hall. It has become one of Helsinki's most famous attractions.

All of these churches are very interesting in their own way and all are worth visiting. The vast number of organised sightseeing tours of the city all include the three churches in their trips, so plan the time you visit carefully. If you do this, instead of sharing the churches with crowds of tourists taking photographs, you will be able to appreciate the architecture, admire the beautiful interiors fully and enjoy the special atmosphere each one has.

From journal 5 Days in Helsinki

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