Airport Details
Airport Full Name
Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport
IATA Code
HEL
Location:
The airport is situated about 12 miles (20km) from
Helsinki city centre.
Airport Facilities
The airport has several banks with exchange facilities, and there are ATMs throughout the airport. Numerous restaurants and cafes are available in the terminals, as well as duty-free shops and three shopping areas with a variety of retail outlets. Travel agencies, pharmacy and luggage storage are also available. There are several Internet kiosks and wireless Internet access is possible throughout the terminals.
Transfers
Regular bus services to Helsinki City and the Tikkurila railway station to the airport. From the city centre, catch bus #615 and from Tikkurila bus # 61. Both journeys take around 30 minutes. Bus transfers from the airport to local hotels and parking areas is free of charge. The Finnair City Bus also transfers passengers to downtown Helsinki. Taxis to the city centre cost around EUR30 and take half an hour. Five car rental companies operate; their service desks can be found at Arrivals Hall 2 in the corridor between terminals. For the rental car parking area go to the ground floor of car park P3.
Contact
Tel: +358 200 14636 or (0)9 82 771.
Climate Details (C)
| J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D | |
| Min | -9 | -9 | -6 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 6 | 2 | -5 | -7 |
| Max | -3 | -3 | 1 | 7 | 15 | 20 | 22 | 20 | 14 | 8 | 2 | -0.8 |
Travel Guides: Helsinki
General Information
The mean annual temperature in efficient, elegant Helsinki hovers around 43°F (6°C), but this does not mean visitors need expect a chilly welcome. The funky Finns, known for their hip and happening sense of style, design and association with high technology, know how to warm hearts and minds in their modern, cosmopolitan capital.
The city, spread across a cluster of promontories and peninsulas, is 450 years old, its clean, wide avenues lined with buildings echoing centuries of architectural excellence from Gothic through Art Deco to cutting-edge contemporary. It all fits together in total harmony with nature, which invades the urban environment with green spaces when it is not blanketed in snow. Trees, flowers, hares, squirrels, pheasants and even the odd elk are often spied in the myriad parks in the centre of the city, the whole surrounded with crisp, unpolluted air and the bright blue waters of the Baltic Sea.
Despite the cold climate, the invigorating outdoors beckons in Helsinki even in the middle of winter. Recreation takes the form of ice skating, skiing, ice-fishing, sailing, cycling, soaking in saunas, or during the short-lived summer, sunbathing. After action, sit tucked in a rug outside one of the many street-side bars sipping hot 'gloggi' (spiced wine) and watch the wintry world go by. The city is also ideal for walking, the sights all concentrated in the central area beneath the towering cathedrals.
The great outdoors is also the setting for Helsinki's numerous festivals and fairs, like the May Day Carnival, October Herring Festival, the Helsinki City Marathon, annual Samba carnival and the midsummer festival, to name but a few. Events do move indoors when it comes to the city's rich cultural life, featuring some of the world's finest orchestras and choirs, rock concerts, film festivals, the Finnish National Opera and Ballet performances, and the output of countless theatre and dance troupes.
Whether visited as a snowy winter wonderland or scenic sun-splashed cityscape with almost permanent daylight, Helsinki is a unique destination that will delight the heart of any traveller.
Getting Around
Helsinki has a simple and extremely efficient public transport system, rated one of the best in Europe, making it easy to hop onto trams, buses, the metro or a ferry with a single ticket purchased from the driver, ticket machines or even by SMS on a mobile phone. Special tourist tickets are available for visitors allowing for one, three or five days unlimited use of the public transport system. When the weather is good, why ride when you can walk? The city is so compact and pleasant that getting around on foot is an attractive option. Alternatively, in summer make use of the hundreds of kilometres of bike trails by picking up a bicycle for a small coin deposit at one of the bike racks dotted around the city centre. There are also plenty of taxis available to be hailed, ordered by telephone or boarded at one of the many taxi ranks. A car in the easily navigable city poses no problems, and there are several car hire agencies available.
Activities
Market Square, Helsinki
The bustling Market Square in Helsinki is not only where traders set up shop selling food and various other goods, but it is also the central meeting point of the city, sandwiched between the sea and a row of impressive historic buildings which include the City Hall, the Swedish Embassy and the Presidential Palace. Trams and waterbuses converge on the square, where visitors gather to watch the changing of the bulkily clad guard at the Palace and admire the Havis Amanda mermaid statue at the west end of the Square in front of Esplanade Park.
Uspenski Cathedral, Helsinki
Many travellers have compared Helsinki to the beautiful Russian city of St Petersburg (a close neighbour across a short strait of water), and the exotic red-brick Orthodox cathedral Uspenski, designed by Aleksei Gornostayev of St Petersburg in the late 1800s, cements the Russian connection. The cathedral sits atop a rocky outcrop on the Katajanokka peninsula opposite the fish market, fronted by a statue of Tsar Alexander II, as a memento of Russia's occupation of Finland until 1919. The magnificent Byzantine edifice is topped with a characteristic golden onion dome, and the interior is opulently decorated with valuable icons.
Getting There:
Tram 4
Opening Times:
Monday to Friday 9:30am-4pm (closed on Mondays from
October to April); Saturday 9:30am-2pm; Sunday
12pm-3pm.
Admission:
Free
Senate Square, Helsinki
Architecture buffs will enjoy sitting in a café admiring the buildings surrounding Helsinki's lively Senate Square, renowned as Europe's finest examples of the neoclassical style. The square is dominated by the city's main landmark, the Lutheran Cathedral, designed by Carl Ludwig Engel and consecrated in 1852. The interior is as perfect as the exterior design, and is open to the public daily for no charge. Other buildings on the Square designed by Engel are the Palace of the Council of State, built in 1822, and the University buildings (1832), including the library, regarded as Engel's finest masterpiece.
Getting There:
Tram 1, 2, 3B or 3T
Opening Times:
June to August daily 9am-midnight; September to May
Monday to Saturday 9am-6pm, Sunday 12pm-6pm.
Admission:
Free
Suomenlinna Fortress, Helsinki
The historically significant Suomenlinna fortress is not only a major military monument worthy of the UNESCO World Heritage List, but also home to about 900 Finns who live in the renovated barracks. The entire site is a fun, multi-faceted attraction for Helsinki residents and visitors. The fortress, built during Swedish rule in the 18th century, is situated on an island at the entrance to Helsinki's harbour. The fortification became a strategic military shipyard with one of the biggest dry docks in the world, comparable to the fortress at Gibraltar. Apart from admiring the architecture there is plenty to experience at Suomenlinna, which contains seven museums, galleries, restaurants and cafes, several parks, beaches and nature areas. Guided walking tours are offered and there are always events taking place like exhibitions, jazz shows and theatrical performances, particularly during summer.
Getting There:
Ferries run regularly from Market Square, from 6am to
2am. During summer a water bus also operates. Private boats can
moor at the Suomenlinna visitor's marina.
Opening Times:
The various museums usually open between 10am/11am
and 5pm/6pm daily with shorter hours in winter. For information
regarding the various events and exhibitions contact the Visitor's
Centre which is open 10am-4pm, and until 6pm between May and
September.
Admission:
Museums charge between EUR3 and EUR5
admission.
Santa Claus Village, Helsinki
It's Christmas every day of the year in the rather commercialised (but quaint) 'Santa's secret hideaway' in Lapland, northern Finland, where the redoubtable Mr Claus spends his time preparing gifts for the world's children, and meeting and greeting an estimated 500,000 delighted visitors a year. Co-incidentally the valley inside the Arctic Circle where Santa's Village is set is shaped like an ear, so, it is said, Santa can listen to all the children of the world. At the village all sorts of activities are on offer at Santa's office, the reindeer park and the Santa Park theme park, and of course you can use Santa's personal post office to mail a letter or card home with the coveted postmark. The highlight of any visit, though, is of course meeting the great man himself, and whispering your wishes into his friendly ear. Santa's Village and Santa Park are located just a mile from the international airport of Rovaniemi (capital of Lapland), and is also easily accessible by bus or car from Helsinki.
Opening Times:
Village: 1 June to 31 August 9am-6pm; 1 December to 9
January 9am-7pm; 1 September to 30 November, and 10 January to 31
May 10am-5pm. Santa Park: Opens on 22 November Tuesday to Sunday.
Closed public holidays.
Admission:
SantaPark: EUR20 (adults), EUR15 (children)
National Museum of Finland, Helsinki
Visitors who enjoy getting to know the country they are exploring will enjoy the National Museum of Finland in Helsinki, which depicts Finnish life from prehistoric times to the present. Housed in an impressive Romantic style building, the museum's permanent exhibition is divided into five sections, including the 'Treasure Trove', a display of coins, medals and weaponry. The archaeological section features some rare Stone Age finds. Also interesting are the folk costumes, textiles and furniture displays that make up Finland's cultural heritage collection. The museum also has a café and shop.
Opening Times:
Tuesday 11am-8pm; Wednesday to Sunday
11am-6pm
Admission:
EUR7; free for those under 18, or with a Helsinki Card;
free admission Tuesdays 5:30pm-8pm; other concessions
available
Seurasaari Open Air Museum, Helsinki
The Seurasaari Open-Air Museum allows visitors to step back in time and glimpse the traditional way of life in the Finnish countryside, and all this in the heart of the capital city, Helsinki. The museum, situated on a lovely green island accessed from the mainland via a footbridge, consists of a collection of cottages, farmsteads, parsonages, rural churches, manor houses and other old buildings, all preserved and relocated from their original sites around the provinces of Finland. The 86 buildings currently on the museum site have been arranged to form a complete replica of a country district, reflecting what life was like in various levels of rural society between the 18th and 20th centuries.
Getting There:
Bus 24 from Erottaja to the end of the bridge to
Seurasaari
Opening Times:
15 to 30 May: Monday to Friday 9am-3pm, Saturday to
Sunday 11am-5pm. 1 June to 31 August: Monday to Sunday 11am-5pm. 1
to 15 September: Monday to Friday 9am-3pm, Saturday-Sunday
11am-5pm.
Admission:
EUR6. Free for under 18s, or with Helsinki Card; other
concessions available.
Temppeliaukio Church, Helsinki
This awesome and unique piece of architecture, the Temppeliaukio ('Church in the rock') was designed by brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and carved out of solid granite as recently as 1969. It has become one of Helsinki's most famous attractions, its rock walls roofed over with a massive concave copper ceiling, which gives it excellent acoustics. The church is often used as a venue for musical events. English services are conducted Sundays at 2pm.
Getting There:
Tram 3T
Opening Times:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 10am-8pm (closed on
Tuesdays in winter); Wednesday 10am-6:30pm; Saturday 10am-6pm;
Sunday 12pm-1:45pm and 3:30pm-6pm.
Admission:
Free
Helsinki Zoo, Helsinki
Situated on the popular island of Korkeasaari, the Helsinki Zoo is one of the best family attractions in Helsinki. Home to more than 200 different animal species and five times the varieties of plantlife, the zoo makes a great stop for anyone travelling with children in Helsinki. Visitors can see Finnish wildlife like musk ox, reindeer and snowy owls, or more exotic flora and fauna from all over the world. The zoo also offers rest areas, restaurants, and souvenir shops.
Getting There:
There is a bridge to Korkeasaari from Mustikkamaa, and
ferries in the summer from Kauppatori and Hakaniemi.
Opening Times:
October through March 10am-4pm; April and September
10am-6pm; May to August 10am-8pm.
Admission:
EUR10 adults, EUR5 children 6-17. Combination zoo and
ferry tickets are also available.
Events
Helsinki Baltic Herring Fair
Helsinki's oldest traditional event is dedicated to the humble herring, Scandinavian staple, which has been sold and eaten at the end of the fishing season each year at a fishy fair in the city's Market Square for about 200 years. Visitors are astounded at the number of different ways this delicacy is served up. Try it salted, pickled or marinated, on the spot or to take away.
Date:
2 - 8 October 2011
Venue:
Market Square
Helsinki City Marathon
Finland's popular annual Marathon event attracts thousands of runners from around the world, most probably because the race follows a particularly scenic course along the coastline in and around Helsinki.
Date:
20 August 2011
Venue:
The marathon starts and ends at the Olympic Stadium
Venue:
3pm
May Day (Vappu)
Finns know how to have fun, and when they party they do so seriously. The best party of the year in Helsinki, particularly for students, is the May Day celebration. Although neighbourhoods throughout the city celebrate to herald the arrival of spring in their own way, the main event takes place in Market Square and along the Esplanade, where crowds gather in the early evening of 30 April (Walpurgis Night) to watch the statue of Havis Amanda adorned with a white cap. Champagne is sprayed over the mermaid statue, launching the festivities, which take the form of an exuberant street party continuing well into the night. For more information contact the Helsinki City Tourist and Convention Bureau (0)9 169 3757.
Date:
30 April to 1 May 2012
Venue:
Market Square
Helsinki Festival
The massive Helsinki Festival is designed to showcase Finnish and international performing and creative arts, drawing about 300,000 people every year to enjoy a full programme of classical and contemporary music, dance, theatre, popular and world music, cinema, and art exhibitions. The festival, founded in 1968, takes place in a unique tented venue in the city centre. One of the most popular aspects of the festival is the Night of Arts when the city streets, parks, churches and galleries are given over to dance groups, orchestral groups and buskers. The festival also features a Children's Festival.
Date:
19 August to 4 September 2011
Venue:
The Huvila Festival Tent at Hakaniemi, opposite the Helsinki
City Theatre
Wife Carrying World Championships
In the Wife Carrying World Championships held annually in the town of Sonkajärvi, men carry their wives on their backs over an 820 foot (250m) course comprising obstacles and even a water jump. The winner is awarded his spouse's weight in beer. Several types of carry may be practised, namely piggyback, fireman's carry or Estonian-style, where the wife hangs upside-down with her legs round her husband's shoulders, holding onto him waist. Participants must pay a EUR50 registration fee.
Date:
July 2012 TBA
Venue:
Rutakontie 21, Sonkajärvi
Restaurants
Lappi
For a taste of traditional Lapland cuisine in the heart of Helsinki, Lappi should be a definite dining experience on any visitor's itinerary. Finnish dishes, including reindeer of course, are served up on the rustic wooden tables in a warm, friendly 'log cabin' atmosphere. If you want to just pop in for a drink the attached Kelonkolo bar will give a sample of the ambience to be enjoyed in the restaurant itself, where specialities include dishes like reindeer tongue and liver, grilled breast of snow grouse, or grilled fillet of elk with turnip and red wine sauce. Reservations are essential at Lappi, so popular with tourists that its menu is printed in eleven languages. The restaurant opens daily for lunch and dinner.
Address:
Annankatu 22
Bellevue
Helsinki is renowned for its Russian restaurants, and probably the best of the bunch is Bellevue, which is reputedly the oldest Russian restaurant outside of Russia. It also claims to produce Russian favourites that are better than you will taste in the home country, and many gourmets tend to agree. Characteristics of Russian cooking are soups, black bread, pastries, caviar and fish dishes. Bellevue's menu contains all these, for example a set menu featuring beetroot soup, Chicken Kiev and Baked Alaska, or try post-roasted bear steak or roast fillet of reindeer off the à la carte menu. The ambience is pleasant, the décor unpretentious but classy, and the service friendly and efficient. Open Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner, and Saturday for dinner only.
Address:
Rahapajankatu 3
Sundmans
For many years Sundmans has set the standard for Helsinki fine dining and can be consistently relied on for high-class cuisine, a beautiful setting and elegant atmosphere, top class service and the best desserts in Finland. The landmark restaurant is housed in five rooms in a 19th-century empire house designed by Finnish architect Carl Ludwig Engel, offering a great view across the Market Square. Only the finest ingredients are used to create the dishes on the menu, which are modernised Finnish, including the specialty Baltic Herring Fillet. Another plus for this restaurant is its extensive wine cellar, the selection housed in a magnificent vaulted chamber, which can be hired for private functions. Open for dinner Monday to Friday. The wine cellar is open Monday to Friday from 11:30am and Saturday from 6pm. Closed Sundays. Reservations are essential.
Address:
Eteläranta 16
Chez Dominique
Pride of Helsinki's very worthy cuisine scene is the Michelin-starred restaurant Chez Dominique, imbued with elegance through and through - from the inventive signature dishes to the minimalist décor. The ever-changing menu blends traditional Scandinavian with French gourmet touches to produce items like pigeon stuffed with foie gras or roasted lamb from the Pyrenees. The beautifully prepared dishes are prepared under the direction of top Finnish chef, Hans Välimäki. Open for dinner Monday to Saturday, and lunch Tuesday to Friday.
Address:
Rikhardinkatu 4
Nuevo
The décor, clientele and menu at Nuevo Restaurant and bar are upmarket and trendy, but fortunately the prices, along with the setting in an alleyway off Helsinki's Market Square, remain more historic. This restaurant is particularly attractive in summertime when diners can sit on the sidewalk terrace with a view of the harbour. Inside, stainless steel and glassware gleams as guests enjoy a varied menu and affordable wine list. Fish dishes are the favourite here, but the menu includes some hearty and eclectic meat offerings like almond-roasted lamb or beef fillet. Open daily for lunch and dinner (from 2pm on Sundays).
Address:
Sofiankatu 4
Gran Delicato
Whether you're after a quick bite or a relaxed cup of coffee, Gran Delicato is one of the most popular delicatessens in Helsinki. The scent of fresh-roasted coffee pervades the air as customers linger over the stuffed ciabatta and baguette sandwiches as well as pastas, salads and other light meals. The restaurant is a bit of a walk from the city centre, but worth it for the great food and cosy atmosphere.
Address:
Kalevankatu 34
Papa Giovanni
The far north has not been left out of the worldwide penchant for Italian food, and Helsinki boasts its fair share of Italian restaurants, from fast-food pizzerias to top-notch gourmet establishments. Papa Giovanni's in the city's World Trade Centre is rated one of the best. This is not a spot for the ubiquitous pizza, but the small, quality menu does offer several meat and fish dishes, and various pastas, at a comparatively reasonable price. The restaurant is very proud of its lobster pool from which diners can pick out their chosen lobster for immediate preparation. A handy touch is that each item on the menu is listed with a recommended wine. The restaurant opens Monday to Saturday until late, and for lunch on weekdays.
Address:
World Trade Centre, Keskuskatu 7
Kynsilaukka Garlic Restaurant
If the pervasive scent of garlic tickles your taste buds, Kynsilaukka Restaurant in Helsinki is a must, particularly in a country where this renowned root is a rarity in local cuisine. The atmosphere is intimate, and the quality of the fascinating dishes excellent. The menu includes items like hot goat's cheese as a starter, salmon loaf, lamb stew or noisettes of pork as a main, all imbued with garlic. Side items like garlic jam and garlic beer spice up the experience. Snails sizzling in garlic sauce are, of course, a hot favourite. The restaurant opens at 11am on weekdays and 1pm on weekends.
Address:
Fredrikinkatu 22
