Sign in with Facebook"Helsinki - A Real Baltic Treasure!" Helsinki by BillNJ
Helsinki Travel Guide: 3,614 reviews and 7,274 photos
Before visiting Helsinki, I had read in some guidebooks that it was a dull place without much to see and do. My advice -- ignore those guidebooks because they are wrong! During my 2-day visit, I found Helsinki to be a wonderful and vibrant city -- and I wish I had allocated even more time to explore it.
I arrived in the port of Helsinki by boat from Tallinn, Estonia. Although close in distance, Helsinki and Tallinn are far apart culturally. Tallinn is a very charming place (and also much less expensive!) and certainly worthy of a visit; however, Helsinki is a much more modern and vibrant city.
When visiting the center city, it is not necessary to have a car. Helsinki is a great walking city -- and it also has a great public transportation system consisting of trams, buses, and small subway system. Also, as mentioned previously, Helsinki has a port where you can take ferries across the Baltic Sea to nearby cities in northern Europe such as Tallinn, Estonia and Stockholm, Sweden.
I highly recommend a visit to the beautiful, modern, clean, safe, and vibrant city of Helsinki!
The Market Square on the Helsinki waterfront is a bustling place with local vendors selling produce, fish, knitted goods, jewelry, and more. Even on the rainy day in late October when I visited, it was delightful place to walk around and see the sights.
Helsinki is a port city on the Baltic Sea with a lot of ships coming and going.
- Pros:Clean, safe, beautiful, and vibrant city! Great public transportation.
- Cons:Expensive. Harsh weather at times.
- In a nutshell:Don't overlook the charms of Helsinki!
Reviews (25)
Beautiful Orthodox church near the...
Things to Do
(10)
From the Market Square on the waterfront, you can see the beautiful Uspenski Orthodox Church perched atop a small hill.... more travel advice
Large department store in central...
Shopping
(1)
Out of curiosity, I stopped in the Stockmann Department Store in Helsinki. It is a very large department store in a... more travel advice
Drink Koff Lager
Local Customs
(1)
While in Helsinki, I drank mostly Koff Lager. It's a refreshing, easy drinking beer brewed in Finland. Enjoy! more travel advice
Finnish coffee shops are delightful
Restaurants
(5)
The coffee is superb -- and the pastries are delightful. Enjoy! more travel advice
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Share Your TravelsLatest Activity in Helsinki
- Commented on one of gordonilla's Helsinki travel pages
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- Wrote a Review Beautiful Orthodox church near the waterfront about Uspenski Orthodox Church in Helsinki Things to Do
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Food and Dining
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Comments (37)
Sounds like you had a good time here. Your hotel sounds wonderful,
I love the breakfasts in these Hotels.
Returned to your tips Bill as our trip is getting close. I note our tour is using the same hotel you stayed in. Only one day & night , but we will enjoy in August.
Hello mr Wedding chrasher! :D Great page, really makes me wanna go back to Helsinki again! You're right, it's a great city!
What a nice and friendly city,i would like to visit there one day! Thanks for visiting my page. The refrigeratories are really too big for us!!!
I imagine that the Finns drink a lot of coffee! I would like to travel to Helsinki - we have a lot of Finns here in the U.P. of Michigan, so it already seems a little familiar.
Enjoyed reading your Finnish pages -- brings back memories...and I do agree they are nice people and so bilingual (speaking English as well)
You had a great view over Helsinki when arriving! I should really visit one day, as it is not too far away from me.
Hello Bill, thanks for sharing your stories & insights, I enjoyed reading your pages :-) Happy Easter and greetings from a German girl - living in Dubai - travelling to Scotland, haha! / Jess
falafel , kebabs, good beer plus convenient public transportation, Helsinki sounds good to me
I would like to visit the Baltic counties one day. You write very nice tips and I enjoyed reading your page. Thank you for your visit to my Oman page!