The frozen capital city of Finland was next on our Northern European tour. The city was just really a stopping off point for us to get other forms of transport out of the city.
We visited Helsinki twice – first for a day to get the Santa Claus Express train to Lapland, and the second time to get the ferry to Tallinn in Estonia.
Helsiniki, the frozen city
We were fortunate to visit twice when there was snow on the ground. The city is relatively small, but has a tram network and good public transport. We were impressed by some of the older buildings, but noted that most buildings are around five stories high. We also noted that most of the newer buildings are plain and have little decoration or architectural variation. There was a large park near our hotel, and although it was covered with snow, we could tell that the grand “Esplanadi” would be magnificent in the summer.
Being so dark for their long winters, they do Christmas lights well. The warming white lights are suspended around the shopping streets of Mikonkatu and Aleksanterinkatu.
It was the first time in our holiday that Bianca had seen snow, and it was quite exciting! Unfortunately, our flight in to Helsinki had a delayed interconnection, and so our baggage was left behind in London. This was a major issue, as our next stop was to be Rovaniemi at the Arctic Circle, and we had no gloves or snow boots or other cold weather gear! So, we had to go shopping and buy thermals and jumpers. This made our trip on the Santa Claus Express quite different, with no baggage.
Exploring the city
We found Helsinki to be charming, but mostly because it was covered in snow! There were some museums and galleries that we explored – Ateneumin taidemuseuo was €22 and had a mixture of art and sculpture. The Nykytaiteen museo Kiasma was modern and contemporary art for an entry of €22.
Exploring the city was relatively easy, with a cheap all-day tram ticket for €2.70, or the city is flat enough to walk around. We chose to walk to most places, as we like to discover new place on our walks, like little bars or hidden back streets. The tram has stop names in Finnish and Swedish, but almost everyone can speak English – and some announcements of major stops are in English too.
Finland’s capital had all the usual shopping to discover, plus a series of historic sights and locations.
Christmas Market at Helsinki Cathedral
The Helsingin tuomiokirklo cathedral overlooks Senate Square (Senaatinori), and this is the location of the Christmas Markets. On our initial visit to Helsinki, we actually missed the markets altogether, instead we stumbled upon the Kauppatori, which was a general market in the harbour. When we took the tram along Aleksanterinkatu, we found Senate Square, and the small Christmas market there.
The market was less significant than other Christmas Markets in Europe, and in some respects it was a little disappointing. There was not much food options, and all alcohol had to be consumed in a small enclave in the middle of the market.
Suominlinna Fortress
We took a ferry for €5 over to Suomenlinna, the UNESCO listed world heritage sea fortress that has been in occupation since the 1700s. The ferry took up to two cars over to the collection of 8 islands. It is possible to stay on the islands, and people live there, but almost every other building was a museum. We explored the islands on foot, crossing the bridges and causeways to reach down to the furthest sight, the 1754 “Kings Gate” or Kuninkaanportti. The islands were very cold and windswept, with extensive ice that we needed to be careful of. The fortress buildings, ramparts and scenery was interesting and entertaining.
