Helsinki Travel Guide

WHERE TO STAY IN HELSINKI

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HELSINKI OVERVIEW

Helsinki, better known as the 'Daughter of the Baltic', is surrounded by an archipelago of 315 little islands, perfectly placed between Stockholm, Moscow and Tallin.

It's the capital and the bigger city in Finland. It shares its history with Russia as well as Sweden and it gained her independence just in 1917. Helsinki is a man-size city, one of Europe’s most creative and technologically progressive capitals. As a nordic city, it's very pleasant during the summer, with light almost all the day, and quite hard during the cold and dark winter. The official language, the Finnish, doesn't resemble the others european languages but nearly everyone speaks English. The population jof Helsinki ust reach the half a million and it seems almost provincial.

The territory  of Helsinki is full of wild forests and lakes and the nature has an important role in the finnish culture.

WHAT TO SEE AND WHAT TO DO IN HELSINKI

The city center of Helsinki is small and all the attractions are quite near. The symbol of Helsinki is the white and green Lutheran Cathedral, in the Senate Square. From the Market Square, behind the port, you can reach the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral that remember a russian building.

Other important points: the Parliament House, the Church in the Cave, the train station, the Olympic stadium, the Esplanadi street, the Hietaniemi beach, the Sibelius monument, the Finnish national Theatre.

From the harbour, with a short boat trip, you can reach Suomenlinna island, one of the UNESCO World Heritage site. Taking a bus from the train station, in half an hour you will arrive in the open air museum of Seurasaari, with ancient houses from every part of Finland. Join the Finnish in one of the omnipresent shopping center or try the finnish sauna.

GETTING THERE

The easier way to get in Helsinki is by plane, in Vantaa airport, well connected by bus with the railway station in the city center of Helsinki. The low-cost airlines arrive in Tampere airport, that is far from Helsinki, two hours by train. You can reach Helsinki by boat from Stockholm and Tallin, by train from Saint Petersburg.

GETTING AROUND

The transports in Helsinki are generally quite expensive. There are a metro and a bus system, but the train is used for short distances too. You can visit the center  of Helsinki and arrive quite everywhere on foot, the bike is often used in every season and there are, around the city of Helsinki some point where you can rent a bike for free. 

HELSINKI USEFUL INFORMATION

Language: Finnish

Currency: Euro

Electricity: standard

Area Code: +358

Emergency Codes: Ambulance, police and Fire 112

Time Zone: GMT+2

Main Tourist Office: Pohjoisesplanadi 19

P.O.Box 1, 00099 City of Helsinki

Climate: climate is transitional between maritime and continental. Summers are warm and bright and towards the end of September temperatures cool down drastically. The city is blanketed by snow in winter, temperatures plummeting well below freezing to the point where the sea itself freezes over. Generally it's really windy.