February in Helsinki

1) Admire the architecture and statues: from the modern wonders of the airport (no joke!) to the Senaatintori (Senate Square), through 19th century Pohjoisesplandi with it’s mermaid statue (Havis Amanda) Helsinki is undoubtedly a pretty city, despite the occasional concrete monstrosity.

2) At this time of year, frequent coffee or chocolate stops are necessary, and Helsinki certainly presents you with many opportunities, without a Starbucks in sight!

3) The museums: we especially liked the National museum and the Museum of Cultures.

4) Helsinki Zoo, and Korkeasaari as a whole.

Quick Tips:

Don’t rely too heavily on the (sparse!) publications about Helsinki you may be able to pick up at home. You can pick up a selection of monthly/weekly listings magazines in various languages from the tourist offices and ‘kioski’ scattered around the city, which have up to date information and accurate maps! Don’t be afraid to ask at the tourist office for advice!

Best Way To Get Around:

We mainly walked: despite the temperatures, this is the best way (as ever) to see the city. When we used the trams and buses they were cheap, efficient and comfortable, but the drivers tended not to speak English. This is a pretty small city, though. The street names are in both Swedish and Finnish, and different maps refer to different languages.

This was one of the best hotels we've ever stayed in: luxurious, friendly, generally great. The comfort was really necessary as well, because of the cold. The room was light, bright and modern. The bathroom was gorgeous, marble, with heated floors and mirrors!

The service was excellent, but not intrusive: the maids will clean your room in the day, and 'turn it down' in the evening, leaving you with chocolate on your pillows and flowers! The food was delicious, but expensive (we fell foul of the bistro buffet!) with few vegetarian options.

Part of the joy of staying in the hotel is the building: lovingly restored it is grand and impressive. The hotel's location is central and in the sleekest part of town.

This was a mixed experience for us: as vegetarians Helsinki was a restricting city foodwise, to say the least, so we leaped on the oppurtunity to visit the 'Vegetarian Cafe'. In the 'school dinners' style of cookery, my maincourse (a vegetarian moussaka) was tasty and cheap, but my boyfriend had the pea soup and was disappointed to find a green mush with a limp carrot floating in it!

This is clearly a favourite with the locals, and is probably worth a visit if you're passing and hungry and vegetarian.

Our visit to this market certaintly ranked as one of the strangest experiences of our visit. Expecting general second hand gear we walked from the city centre down Lonnrotinkatu, worth it in itself for the various second hand book stores and other oddities. The walking guide the tourist office gives out has the best map and highlights 'sights of historical interest' to liven up exploration of the city.

When we got there we found two or three stalls sparsely arranged in the square overlooking the docks. Slightly disappointed, but putting our lack of sucess down to the time of day and (perhaps) year, we ventured over. The stalls certainly stocked the antique market/flea market pre-requisits of ancient, broken binoculars, '80s walkman and second hand clothing. However in amoungst this was a selection of military memorabilia of all types, but most plainly originating from the former Soviet union. My boyfriend unearthed full Soviet uniforms, while I found Iron crosses, soviet medals, etc. Perhaps not an experience you will find documented in any tourist office guide, none the less a fascinating - if unsettling - insight into the cultural discord that underpins the experience of visiting Helsinki. Alongside the 'Leningrad Cowboys' bar and the splendid results of the Russian influence on the architecture, this certainly persuaded us that if any city can claim to fulfil the cliche 'east meets west' it is the Finnish capital.

If we couldn't quite reconcile ourselves to purchasing the soviet medals (images of what they may have been won for stopped us) we picked up a few harmless examples (see pictures) including a Soviet space agency badge.