Take a walk through Helsinki

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/12/2018 (2692 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

If you’re planning a trip to Helsinki, be sure to pack two things: a good pair of shoes and your appetite.

The Finnish capital, located on the northern shore of the Baltic Sea, is a combination of old European charm and Nordic practicality; compact, clean, sensibly laid out, quite beautiful and incredibly friendly. An added bonus is there is virtually no language barrier as most Finns speak and understand English quite well.

One of the first things you want to do when visiting Helsinki is get a Helsinki Card. Available for periods of 24 to 72 hours, it entitles the holder to entry to many of the city’s top attractions, fare on the transit system and transportation between the railway station and the airport. Priced reasonably, it pays for itself with only a few uses.

Getting around Helsinki is almost effortless, the city centre is compact and relatively flat and many of the city’s sights are within a short walk of each other. If wearing out the soles of your shoes on the cobblestone streets of Finland’s capital doesn’t work for you, the transit system, which consists of streetcars and buses, is an alternative. A third option is a tour bus — there are at least two companies providing guided tours with headphone audio guides in numerous languages. The Hop-On Hop-Off bus gives riders the option of visiting any of the 18 sights on its route, while Panorama Sightseeing uses a double-decker bus to showcase the city during a nearly two-hour tour. A final option is hiring a guide to take you on a three-hour walking tour, during which you visit the sights and learn about them and their history from a local.

One of the things that stands out about Helsinki is the roads, sidewalks and bicycle paths are almost all paved with cobblestones. Cobblestones, by the way, that are heated in the winter, keeping them safe and clear of ice and snow. Not only that, the stones are colour-coded so cyclists, pedestrians and vehicles all know where they should be, thus enabling smooth traffic flow regardless of one’s mode of transportation. In five days in Helsinki, I may have heard a motorist use their horn once, and that was because some Canadian tourist stepped off the curb when he shouldn’t have.

When you’re ready for a rest from treading the cobblestone streets or riding the streetcar, but still want to see the city, head to Market Square next to the harbour, take a load off and enjoy the unique perspective of Helsinki from 40-metres above the ground with a go-round on SkyWheel Helsinki. The view is nothing short of spectacular, with the Baltic Sea and all its islands on one side and the city and its National Romantic-style architecture on the other; 12 minutes and three revolutions are hardly enough time to take it all it in. Some of the attractions immediately surrounding the SkyWheel are the presidential palace and city hall.

If you want to enhance your SkyWheel experience, you can book one of its two special gondolas, the Veuve Clicquot Experience, in which many as four passengers enjoy a 30-minute ride in a gondola fancied up with leather seats, a glass floor and a bottle of champagne to make the ride all the more memorable. If a bottle of bubbly and leather seats aren’t your speed, perhaps the Original SkySauna is. What could be more Finnish than including a sauna with the panoramic view? It’s a gondola, it’s a sauna — only in Finland.

There are a number of public saunas throughout Helsinki, one of the best-known and most popular is the Allas Sea Pool complex, located in the shadow of the SkyWheel, overlooking the port and Market Square. In addition to having a men’s sauna, a women’s sauna and a unisex sauna, that is also used for special events and activities such as sauna yoga, it has a warm-water pool, a seawater pool and a children’s pool, all of which are outdoors and open year-round.

Churches are a dominant feature of Helsinki’s landscape. Without a doubt, the best-known house of worship is Helsinki Cathedral, a massive Finnish Evangelical Lutheran church located in Senate Square, a short walk from the SkyWheel. Designed by Karl Ludvig Engel and built between 1830 and 1852, it towers above the surrounding area and is visited by hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, admission is free and, in addition to holding regular religious services, it plays host to concerts as well.

Helsinki’s second most-famous church is literally a hole in the ground. From the outside, Temppeliaukion kirkko (a.k.a. Rock Church) looks like little more than a dome on top of a massive granite outcropping. It is, in fact, another Evangelical Lutheran church serving the Töölö neighbourhood, around two kilometres from the Helsinki Cathedral. The church was built by excavating the granite outcropping when area residents objected that if it were built on the granite outcropping, it would ruin their view of the surrounding area. The resulting church is a stunning architectural accomplishment bathed in natural light that shines in through a massive dome and with acoustics that also make it a popular venue for holding concerts.

From breakfast to dinner, it isn’t hard to find healthy dining options in Helsinki. If you’re staying in a hotel that offers breakfast, for a few extra euros, do not hesitate to include it in you package, it is well worth it. The portions and selection are vast, with fresh fruit, fish, cheese, meats, cereal, juices, coffee and tea seemingly de riguer to starting your day in Finland.

When it comes to dining out, the usual North American chains aren’t hard to find, although it would be a shame not to sample the local fare.

Restaurant Savotta is located in Senate Square and, if you get a table by the window, you’ll be treated to a great view of Helsinki Cathedral, especially after dark when the floodlit cathedral seems to glow. Describing itself as “Real Finnish Food and Nostalgic Atmosphere,” Savotta certainly lives up to its billing. Its rustic interior (Savotta is the Finnish word for logging camp) provides an instantly relaxing atmosphere reminiscent of a cabin in the woods heated by a pot-bellied stove.

The meals — prepared in a kitchen that cherishes Finnish traditions and prides itself on using ingredients from Finland — are exquisitely presented in perfectly sized portions which leave the diner wanting a bit more while eagerly anticipating the next course, only to find their hunger sated when the last bite of dessert is consumed.

If the thought of consuming one of Santa’s animal guides doesn’t bother you, reindeer is something you have to try while in Finland. Kappeli Restaurant, located in a 150-year-old building near Market Square on the east end of Esplanadinpuisto (Esplanade Park), is just the place to try it. The atmosphere and service is that of a high-end restaurant; however, judging by the number of diners wearing Winnipeg Jets jerseys and sweatshirts when I was there, formal wear is not required to enjoy the fine food of Kappeli. For those who eschew the carnivore lifestyle, Kappeli also caters to vegetarians.

Helsinki is home to several great art galleries, among them is Ateneum, the Finnish National Art Gallery. Opened in 1887, its permanent collections and exhibits feature an amazing array of art that reflects the uniquely Finnish experience while making it accessible to outsiders. Ateneum isn’t alone; a very short walk from the National Gallery are the Museum of Contemporary Art and the Modern and Contemporary Art Museum.

It’s isn’t necessary to visit a gallery to see great art in Helsinki, there are statues throughout the city centre dedicated to the country’s rich history. Esplanade Park alone is home to numerous statues, each with its own story to tell. One of Helsinki’s most significant pieces of public art is a bit off the beaten track, but well worth seeking out. Valon tuoja (Lightbringer) is a memorial to the 1939-40 Winter War, where the vastly outmanned Finns emerged victorious against Russia. It is located two blocks south of Esplanade Park in a public square surrounded by, among other buildings, the ministry of defence. Unveiled in the fall of 2017, it is described as a long-awaited “national symbol of the struggle and sacrifice that Finland went through in the face of Russian aggression.”

The art in Helsinki is not limited to museums, galleries and statues. On any given day or evening, street performers can be found entertaining the public on one of the main shopping streets, Aleksanterinkatu, one block north of Esplanade Park.

There is little to say about Helsinki that isn’t positive. It is an incredibly clean and safe city that combines a progressive approach to services such as public transit with a steadfast appreciation for its traditions, culture and history. The people are polite and friendly — but not overly so — and helpful when asked. It is a city I would definitely visit again, perhaps as part of a larger tour of Scandinavia and northern Europe. Instead of visiting in early November, when the sun is out for around 8 1/2 hours a day and the average temperature is 4 C, I would book my vacation for June or July, when the sun shines for more than 18 hours and the daily temperature climbs to around 20 C.

gilbert.gregory@freepress.mb.ca