"Probably my favourite place on earth - Helsinki" Helsinki by sabsi

Helsinki Travel Guide: 3,614 reviews and 7,274 photos

***SOUNDTRACK FOR THIS PAGE: Sir Elwoodin Hiljaiset Värit - Mika sua vaivaa***


Päivää!

For me Helsinki is one of the most interesting and beautiful cities I've ever been to. Plus it's quite "exotic" compared to other European cities - because of the language and the style and everything!

When I still had a Finnish boyfriend I came here quite often in summer to visit him and his family. Now he is gone, I am gone and I had not been back here for 3 years.

I must have been completely nuts!!!! I went back for a long weekend in October/November 2003 and I fell in love with the city again right away. So much in love that I decided to go back in June 2004 for a midsummer holiday. It was - again - wonderful!

In March 2005 I visited for the first time in winter. I was scared of horror temperatures way below zero. Luckily it wasn't too cold (mostly -2 to -9C) and when the sun was out it was really beautiful and I wasn't even wearing gloves or hat. Unfortunately the afternoon I had reserved for picture taking in Helsinki was the only time the sun wasn't out. It was dark, windy and grey but definitely a real winter experience :)

In summer there's this lovely atmosphere with loads of boats, open-air cafes and concerts and every Finn seems to be smiling and enjoying summer. During midsummer it hardly gets dark at night and it's probably the most beautiful time of year.

I have many great memories of long summer days here ... of picknicks at Suomenlinna ... of washing a carpet "the finnish way" (see my travelogue for more about that!) ... of eating peas at Kauppatori ... of lazy sauna evenings ... of the Finnish midsummer celebrations ... of nice VT meetings and many cool lonkeros etc etc.

When winter arrives this city is different... it's grey and dark ... the people seem to be quieter (apart from the ones I know of course ;-) ... there are hardly any tourists ...

What a great time to go to finally experience Helsinki's great nightlife. I have been to more bars, restaurants and clubs during my four days in Helsinki in autumn than in all the times I had been there before in summer! So now you will finally also find quite a number of nightlife tips here.

Anyway, I hope you will enjoy this page as much as I enjoyed building and "renovating" it all the time.

Pros and Cons
  • Pros:Great architecture, nice port, exotic atmosphere, great nightlife
  • Cons:Queuing for a taxi in the middle of a freezing night can't be good for your health ;-)
  • In a nutshell:One of my favourite places in Europe
  • Last visit to Helsinki: Mar 2005
  • Intro Updated Sep 30, 2005
  • Add to Trip Planner (?)
  • Report Abuse

Reviews (84)

Comments (151)

  • junecorlett's Profile Photo
    Jul 20, 2009 at 8:18 AM

    Yes I do agree - a beautiful opening picture of Helsinki. Hi from South Africa.

  • gugi66's Profile Photo
    Feb 7, 2009 at 4:51 AM

    Great tips. I was wondering, is it a long walk from the ferry terminal (coming from Stockholm) to the city center? Or should I take a cab? Take care

  • Mikebb's Profile Photo
    Jan 12, 2009 at 1:17 PM

    Hi Sabsi, Information on your pages is fantastic. Looks a great place to visit, have not been this far north in Europe. Very different from my home in Australia.

  • nyperose's Profile Photo
    Jan 10, 2009 at 1:11 AM

    Hi, Great pages about Helsinki. I'm planning to go there in June, so I very much appreciated reading your pages. Have a nice day!

  • Belsaita's Profile Photo
    Jun 16, 2008 at 10:56 AM

    Great tips Sabine, thank you for sharing! Heading to Helsinki next week :) Greetings from Barcelona, Isa

  • pure1942's Profile Photo
    May 12, 2008 at 2:02 PM

    Great Page! Looking forward to checking out some of your great tips in three weeks time when I visit. Thanks - Brian

  • Wild_Orchid's Profile Photo
    Oct 19, 2007 at 9:45 AM

    nice tips. It looks like a lovely city. :-)

  • maztek's Profile Photo
    Oct 11, 2007 at 7:18 PM

    Nice to visit your pages...

  • livi4's Profile Photo
    Feb 4, 2007 at 12:12 PM

    nice notes and pictures. very interesting about a spot I know nothing about. I think I'll go !

  • tranceperent's Profile Photo
    Dec 7, 2006 at 11:29 PM

    loved your helsinki pages and tip. i think findland is the best place i have ever visited

sabsi

“It isn`t good having anything exciting if you can`t share it (Winnie the Pooh)”

Online Now

Female

Top 1,000 Travel Writer
Member Rank:
0 0 1 1 8
Forum Rank:
0 0 4 9 7

Badges & Stats in Helsinki

  • 84 Reviews
  • 187 Photos
  • 58 Forum posts
  • 165 Comments
  • 72,850PageViews

Have you been to Helsinki?

  Share Your Travels  

Latest Activity in Helsinki

Travel Interests

See All Travel Interests (5)

Latest Helsinki hotel reviews

Hotel Kamp
397 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013
Rivoli Jardin Hotel
79 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 19, 2013
Stadion Hostel
49 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013
Cumulus Olympia
25 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 25, 2013
Lonnrot Hostel & Cafe
6 Reviews & Opinions
Best Western Premier Hotel Katajanokka
272 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 29, 2013
Sokos Hotel Klaus Kurki
270 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 12, 2013
Best Western Hotel Haaga
51 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 8, 2013
Arthur Hotel
174 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 16, 2013
Palace Kamp Hotel Glo
507 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 20, 2013
Hilton Helsinki Strand
301 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 20, 2013
Airport Bonus Inn Hotel
55 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: May 15, 2013
Sokos Hotel Torni
139 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 21, 2013
Hotel Ava
32 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Apr 24, 2013
Martta Hotelli
3 Reviews & Opinions
Latest: Oct 30, 2008