What Not to Miss in Helsinki

Suomenlinna, before anything else

A sea fortress spread over eight islands, six of them fortified, begun in 1748 under Swedish rule when it was called Sveaborg. It was renamed Suomenlinna — the fortress of Finland — on 12 May 1918, and it has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991. About 900 people live there permanently and around 350 work there year round, which is the part visitors never expect: it is an inhabited place with a school and a shop, not a monument behind a fence. The submarine Vesikko, the last surviving Finnish submarine, is on the island.

Getting there is the bit people overcomplicate. The ferry leaves from the eastern side of Market Square, directly in front of the Presidential Palace, crosses in 15 minutes, runs every day of the year from early morning until late at night, and takes an ordinary AB ticket valid 90 minutes — the same ticket as the tram. I explain the whole thing on the ferry page, and what the fortress actually is on the Suomenlinna page.

The land half

Senate Square with Helsinki Cathedral above it is the photograph everyone takes, and it is a five-minute walk from the quay. Uspenski Cathedral sits on the Katajanokka side, red brick against the water. Temppeliaukio is the church cut into rock; the Chapel of Silence at Kamppi is the small wooden one people walk past without noticing. Oodi, the central library, is worth twenty minutes even if you are not a person who visits libraries. Esplanadi runs up from Market Square as a park boulevard, and the Old Market Hall is on the South Harbour quay, two minutes from where the boats tie up.

If you want art, Ateneum, Kiasma and Amos Rex are within walking distance of one another. If you want a street rather than a building, go to Huvilakatu — I have written about why on the prettiest street page.

The half people leave out

The city front from the sea. You cannot see Helsinki properly from inside it: the cathedrals, the harbour cranes, the fortress walls and the wooden villas on the inner shore only line up when you are a few hundred metres offshore. That is what a sightseeing loop is for. It goes out through the channels between the small islands and comes back to the same quay, it does not land, and it takes about 90 minutes. Say that out loud before you book, because the single most common mistake I saw from the kiosk was somebody buying a sightseeing ticket when what they wanted was the ferry.

The two are not competitors. Do the ferry to see a place. Do the loop to see the city. They cost different things and they answer different questions, and the decision page lays that out properly.

What I would drop

Queueing for the last ferry back on a July Sunday, which I watched happen every summer. Go out early and come back before the crowd turns around. And do not build a day around a boat in November: out of season the only thing still sailing from Market Square is the Suomenlinna ferry.

Frequently asked questions