From both land and sea, the city is attractive and a great walk of Helsinki it is home to many parks, museums, art galleries and design houses. Make it part of your Finland itinerary.
where the steel-gray waters of the Gulf of Finland hug the rocky shore, sailing on a marine archipelago tour dotted with more than 300 Scots pine, Norway spruce and birch-covered islands. On your port side, the intercity ferries come and go like clockwork, connecting of Helsinki with its dozens of islands. Still, further afield, you’ll see large commercial ferries looming and plying on the horizon, connecting Finland with its Baltic Sea neighbors of Russia, Estonia, Germany and Sweden.
The islands beyond Helsinki are dotted with vacation homes for the wealthy, Finland’s equivalent of cottage country, each with a freestanding wooden sauna near the water’s edge. Saunas are often painted a rich, red-brown color known in Swedish as “falu red” (“punamulta” or “red earth”, Finnish), a natural pigment obtained from Swedish copper mines. Even on a sunny summer day, the air will be clear and cold, and I admire some stoic Finns swimming in the cool waters off their cabin docks.
By sea. UNESCO World Heritage Site
Cruise past the once-mighty stone walls of Suomenlinna (‘Finland’s Castle’), a UNESCO World Heritage Site located on a group of islands and accessible by ferry or water bus from Helsinki’s Market Square. The largest Baltic sea fortress, Suomenlinna, was built for defensive purposes during the Swedish period (1748 – 1808). It fell under Russian control after the Russo-Swedish War of 1808 and finally became the property of Finland in 1917-1918, when Finland gained its independence. Today, Suomenlinna houses the Naval Academy, and the many tunnels and walls of the old fortified structure are open to public tours. A great day with the family.
By land. Bustling Senate Square
Back on shore, there are so many things to do in helsinkiEnjoy the sights and sounds of the bustling Farmers’ Market in Helsinki Harbour. Hakaniemi Market Hall, Hietalahti Market Hall and Old Market Hall are filled with berries, currants, wild mushrooms and other fruits and vegetables grown or eaten locally and unique local dishes. Walk north along the cobbled streets that slope towards the sea until you reach the lively Senate Square, dominated by four large, neoclassical buildings built between 1822 and 1852 (each designed by Karl Ludwig Engel); , the white Helsinki Cathedral rising above the square; Government House; National Library of Finland; and the main building of the University of Helsinki. On a late summer weekday afternoon, Senate Square is packed with tourists and tour buses and polished young Finns in business suits enjoying their lunch break in the sun. Stop at the Sibelius Park to visit the monument to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, which consists of over six hundred steel pipes.
From both land and sea, the city is attractive and a great walk of Helsinki it is home to many parks, museums, art galleries and design houses. Make it part of your Finland itinerary.
World traveler, writer and blogger, co-founder and editor-in-chief of followsummer.com travel blog. Come travel the world with me and my experienced eye.