Best things to do in HELSINKI 🇫🇮 Finland

One of the things that shouldn’t be missed while visiting Scandinavia is definitely tasting a fresh salmon in any possible way. Oh Yeah, and I think we found the best spot in Helsinki where to try a salmon soup. And it was the best one we’ve ever had. The Market Square is a home to lively open-air stalls selling food, handicrafts, wooden items, gifts and anything else you could think of. 📌Located just right next to the square you find the historic market hall called The Vanha Kauppahalli. This traditional, 19th-century venue offers unique Finnish experience. One of the indoor stalls, The SOUP+MORE is a spot where we tried the fresh salmon soup and it was honestly one of the most delicious soup we ever had.

The iconic Allas Sea Pool is located on the water of the Baltic Sea. Open a year-round, this marine spa provides unique experiences for locals and visitors as well. Allas Sea Pool has three saunas, two warm water pools and one sea water pool, to which the water is pumped from nearby streams and filtered clean. Except the wellness facilities, there's a café, a restaurant and also the Allas Sky Bar.

Probably one of the most iconic part of the city, The Helsinki Cathedral, stands on the northern part of the Senate Square. Walking the stairs from the square leading to this landmark, you can get pretty nice views over the city- which makes the experience even more charming ✨ The Cathedral was built in the neo-classical style in the mid-19th century. Today it’s an active lutheran church, decorated with statues of Twelve Apostles from the outside. Interior of the Cathedral has white minimalist design.

You probably wouldn’t think about putting a library on your itinerary when exploring a new city but trust me this one is really special 📚 The Helsinki Central Library commonly named as Oodi, is a public library located close to The Central Station. Its impressive architecture asks for attention as apart from the top floor, the whole facade is made entirely from wood. Oodi is not only a library whether it’s a meeting place featuring so much more than just borrowing books. It’s free to enter and among the services it offers there is for example a professional studio rentals, gaming rooms, wide range of tools from electronic workstations to laser cutters, and not forgetting traditional handicrafts as sewing machines.

The Ursula Cafe located on the shore of the Baltic Sea in Kaivopuisto Park is a perfect stop after a walk from one of the eight catholic parishes in Finland, St. Henry's Cathedral. Cafe Ursula offers various salty and sweet pastries, freshly brewed coffee, and others organic local products. Both interior and exterior sitting provide beautiful views to the sea and its islands. Definitely recommend to try local KARELIJA PIE 🥮

The Temppeliaukio Church is probably one of the most unique spot in Helsinki we visited. It’s also known as The Rock Church because it was excavated directly into a solid rock. Completed in 1969 this church holds lutheran services and due to its excellent acoustics it’s also a popular venue for concerts. The church has a dome made out of copper and glass through which the light spreads inside and creates beautiful light patterns.

The Suomenlinna Fortress spreads across a few linked islands and it’s one of the biggest sea fortress in the world 🌍 This area is easy to reach by hopping on a City Transport Ferry from the Market Square which operates all year round and the journey takes about 15 minutes ⛴ This UNESCO World Heritage Site is a perfect gateway from the hustle and bustle of Helsinki where you can enjoy coastal nature and learn about the history of Finland.

The next thing to do in Helsinki no matter the day or the weather is visiting The Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden. Situated close to the city centre, this University Garden offers a unique tropical experience all year round. The complex consists of an outdoor central garden and two types of glasshouses, The Rainforest House and The Palm House. You can easily spend a couple of hours navigating yourself around, relaxing and learning about the different types of plants 🌱

Any trip to Finland wouldn’t feel right without having a proper sauna experienced. And that’s why our next tip what to do in Helsinki is a very unique sauna spot. This sauna connected with restaurant by the Baltic Sea was nominated by The Time Magazine as “One of the World’s 100 Greatest Places” Löyly is an urban oasis stretching over the waterfront. There are four different types of sauna and relaxing outdoor and indoor areas. What makes the experience of finish sauna here so unique is the possibility of making a cold dip directly to the sea.

The next treasure of Finland that shouldn’t be missed is the largest orthodox church in Western Europe. The Uspenski Cathedral rises above the city center and completes the Helsinki skyline with its golden cupolas and redbrick facade. The cathedral has several valuable icons from which a few were stolen in recent years. After the robbers had been caught and jailed, one of them had a change of his heart and revealed the location of the stolem icon. After eight months in the ground, it luckily had remained nearly undamaged and was put back to the church.

It's easy to soak up the Finish nature as the archipelago of Helsinki consists of around 330 islands. You can enjoy a perfect gateway from busy capital city to lush green forests, sandy beaches and coastal nature. As a part of a nature reserve, The Lammassaari is a recreational area accessible by duckboards - paths made of wooden planks. It’s a perfect place for nature hikes and bird watching while there are thousands of migrating birds in the area every spring and autumn.

I felt in love with these typical cinnamon buns that I even took one to the air plane for a goodbye, they are really so delicious. And when speaking about food, you probably already heard that the typical finish food are sausages, fresh cinnamon pastry and black brewed coffee. All of these taste even better sitting by an outside fireplace next to the Baltic Sea. So that’s why put to our list the iconic Cafe Regatta, a great spot to refresh yourself at. Additionally, you can prepare the sausage here by your own, by roasting it on the fire. What an authentic experience!

The next thing on our Helsinki Bucket List is The Sibelius Monument. This modern statue overlooking the sea stands in a tiny Sibelius Park. It’s quite a unique piece of art by Eila Hiltunen which consist of more than 600 hundred metal steel pipes. The wave-like structure represents music and it’s dedicated to honour the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.

Would you believe this beautiful beach is in Finland? Locals believe that the Aurinkolahti in Vousaari Area is the best beach in Helsinki. This beach consists of two long sandy coastlines divided by a rock in the middle. Aurinkolahti beach is easily accessible from the city center and it’s well maintained. There is also a watch tower with lifeguards, an outdoor shower, a Café, and so much more.

Linnanmäki Amusement Park has been entertaining people since 1950. This Amusement Park has a wide selection of rollercoaster rides, from ultra scary to more easy-going. The original wooden rollercoaster from 1951 remains the most popular one tho. The area is huge and offers a lot of fun activities, shops and restaurants.

The next spot worth stopping by when in Helsinki is the Seurasaari island. After crossing the white wooden bridge which leads to the island, you run into adorable little squirrels which occupies the area. This island is mostly known as the location of the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum, which consists of old, mainly wooden buildings relocated from all around Finland and placed in the forest landscape of the island to protect its heritage.

This incredibly cute hidden gem, Puu-Vallila, a wooden house district was built for working classes during early 19th century. Nowadays many of these pastel colored houses are empty but it’s a great calm place for a walk and taking nice pictures.