Helsinki - Skandinavian Venice

When you come here, you'll have an impression that you are in a small town, or in a small cute building with cozy atmosphere. All things are so nice and small. These green trams and small streets, the sight of the gulf with small sightseeing boats. And, of course, it's the city - Daughter of the Baltic Sea. Prepare yourself to dive in and explore!

Quick Tips:

There is one thing, that's required when you visit Helsinki - take a water tour - either to Suomenlinna or a sightseeing one. Without it, you won't see the real Helsinki. The weather of Helsinki is difficult to understand, so you just better take warm clothes, if the temperature goes down.

Best Way To Get Around:

Helsinki is a small city - you'd better walk. But if you want to discover speed and pleasure without breathing auto gases, you'll better take the bike and roll down the bike paths. Yeeah!

Eurohostel is the classic budget place to stay in Helsinki. Frankly speaking I'm a bit disappointed with it now, but it still has its pros:

-Moderate prices
-Relatively good quality of service
-You pay only for the things you need
-Great view of the Helsinki bay and ferry terminals from the window (it will remain until next year - they're building a house in front of the hotel)
-Great location (it's on the Katanajokka island - just a 5-minute walk from the Kauppattori)
-An idyllic surronding: ferry terminals, old brick houses and small parks
-The morning sauna is included in the price.

Drawbacks:

-Well, it's a real hostel. The bathrooms and the kitchen are in the corridor.
-Rooms have a "worn"-look. No renovation since 1998.
-The breakfast is to be paid separately and is too expensive. You get just a small choice of food and not a Swedish table, as stated.

A cute, small, and comfortable hotel. It's great, good and budget class, inexpensive. Room has a TV, radio, cooker, fridge, toilet with bath. Situated not very far from the centre (10 minutes walk), it is perfect for night Helsinki walks.

There are some cafes a 5-minute walk from Fenno, but if you need a good eatery, you have to head for the centre.

Academica turned out to be a completely renovated "hotel-looking" hostel. The rooms are a bit more expensive than in Eurohostel, but you get an in-room bathroom, a sink, and a stove. Plus, the breakfast in a neighbouring restaurant is included in the price. Rooms are well furnished - the designers seem to like genuine Nordic style.

All the rooms are available for direct online reservation. Just check their site at http://www.hostelacademica.fi.

The only drawback is that the place is a bit far from the city centre. The 10 minutes walking from the Mannerheimintie can be tiring after strolling through the city the whole day.

On the whole, I would highly recommend staying in Academica.

Katajanmarja is situated in the same building with Eurohostel. In the morning, it serves breakfast to the hostel guests, and all the other times, it operates just like a normal restaurant.

There's a wide choice of different pizzas and a selection of traditional Finnish sandwiches (what I liked most) with some difficult-to-say Finnish names. These things are really great!

The service is very fast and friendly. The restaurant is fully licensed. Katajanmarja also has an outdoor terrace, but it's in the yard of Eurohostel, so there's hardly any view. Katajanmarja itself is also situated in the basement, so you have to admire the interior design of the place. It’s not bad after all.

The only drawback of the place is that it's really of no use to go there in the evening. The island of Katanajokka is interesting only during the day, but everything closes there at 6pm. If you are walking somewhere in the centre, it's much easier to find an eatery there instead of going to Katajanmarja. But if you're taking a walk along the terminals and suddenly feel like having a snack, that's okay.

Katajanmarja is also a great dining place for those people staying in Eurohostel who haven't found anything suitable in town.

A big base of citybikes and motorbikes in lines. Good Service and nice people. Recommended. As a deposit you can leave a document, like your passport or id card.

Your first action on your arrival here must be buying a map. It's really vast and you can easily get lost here. For sure, you'll spend more than 3 or 5 hours, exploring the island or just relaxing. Don't worry for the time, Korkeasaari is worth it!

For additional info, consult

www.hel.fi/tourism/html/english/artikkelit/artikkelit/korkeasaari
www.hel.fi
www.hel.fi/hkl/english/aikataulut/bussit/eng11
for the water bus and bus timetable.

Great, Great, Great! A large tramway hall with 5 rows of pure tramways! An unforgettable impression for a tramway fan! It's 10 minutes to walk from the Finlandia Hall.

UPDATE: the museum is closed for summer 2005 for renovation.

The park consists of two parts--indoor and outdoor.

Indoor contains: tubes, whitewater stream, big pool, children's pool.
Outdoors: half-pipe water slides, pool
Breathtaking experience!

Saunas (Turkish and Finnish) also available.

I personally would recommend coming there at 16.00 to buy a reduced price ticket. 4 hours will be enough to see and try all the fun and not to get bored.

Getting there:

The bus 339T leaves from Kamppi (central Bus Station) every 1.5 hours. But be sure to check the timetables first.

For more info visit http://www.serena.fi

It's an old Finnish fortress, built by Russians to protect Finland (at this moment Russia's province) from Sweden. Ouf. It's a little bit complicated. But, don't worry. It'll be unforgettable impression from your trip to Helsinki. You can troll 'round it, fire from the canons (in your imagination, of course) and sit in cafes inside or on the walls of the fortress, drinking beer. This is now a part of the city where people live. You can get there by taking a water bus from Kauppattori. It's like a usual transport, so you must follow the timetable and you can use your usual ticket (if it's valid).
Useful URLs http://www.hel.fi/tourism/html/english/artikkelit/artikkelit/suomenlinna.html http://www.hel.fi/hkl/english/08%5Fextra/matkailu/suomenlinnaan.html http://www.suomenlinna.fi/english/ http://www.hel.fi/hkl/talviaikataulut/english/aikataulut/lautat/index.htm

There's a great activity in Helsinki for active people, for those who don't want to see the city from the bus seat.

Strolling through Helsinki, you may have noticed people cycling on strange green bikes with yellow wheels. They are a part of City Bikes, a bike-rental system.

It works like this: there are several places around the city centre where these City Bikes stand. To take it, you should just insert a 2€ coin into the lock and off you go, exploring Helsinki in an unusual way. Cycling is widely spread in Finland, so there are plenty of bike paths throughout Helsinki and the drivers respect cyclists.

When you're finished, you should cycle to the nearest City Bike stand and, locking the bike, get your 2€ coin back. Yes, that's a completely free rental.

Of course, the City Bikes are not mountain bikes and do not have gear shifting, hand brakes, and so on. But that's enough to get a completely different view of Helsinki.

A map with marked City Bike stands can be found in the tourist center or on every bike stand. The most popular of them are:

-The Railway Station (south side, in front of Sokos)
-The Kanavaterminaali ferry terminal
-Kauppattori (Market Square)
-The Esplanade

This activity is very popular in Helsinki among tourists, as well as among the locals. The best way to get a City Bike is to take it in the morning or from the stand at the ferry terminal in Ktanajokka.

Important: ALWAYS CHECK YOUR BIKE BEFORE TAKING IT! Some people use them too much or ride too violently. That's why you should pay attention to the saddle and to the wheels - these are the parts that break most often.

Frankly speaking, I haven't understood anything in the museum. Maybe I'm not a connoisseur of contemporary art?

There are some interesting and funny things, but I would have not paid 6€ for the entrance. The fact is that I got there on a Museum Day, when the tickets were free.

The only thing I admired in Kiasma was the "Spider" and the building itself. I wonder if it's the famous Finnish designer Aalvar Aalto who designed it.