What to do in Helsingfors - Helsinki

We went to Helsinki in juli 2015. Helsinki was not on our 'places-we-must-visit-list', but we had a few stopovers there on our way to and from Asia, and we decided it was about time we got of that airport. And we are happy we did.  The weather forecast was not very good (mostly rain), but turned out pretty well. Since we went in the summer, the days are very long. The sun did set, but was down only for a few hours. So what did we do while we were there?

Helsinki harbour

We visited most of the places that are in the guidebooks and a few places that I read about on different blogs.  Our first evening we walked to the Sibelius monument, the Temppeliaukion kirkko (Rock church, that was closed unfortunately) and after that went into town for a burger and a beer. Then we watched the sun set over Lapinlahti from the Hietaniemen cemetary.

The old Arabia factory

We spent the most of our Friday in town, walking down the Pohjoisesplanadi and the Eteläesplanadi, admiring the gorgeous Jugenstill buildings and the cool stuff in the design shops. I just love Finnish design, so one of the places I wanted to visit was the old Arabia factory. The whole area is now turned into a housing area and really lovely. The factory itself was a tad dissapointing, though I did get my hands on a collectors item from the Iitttala outlet.

Back in town we visited the improptu photo exhibition on the top floor of the Akateeminen Kirjakauppa (Academic bookshop) and of course regularly stopped for coffee with cakes. The Finns do love their cakes.

View from the ferry

There are several markethalls (Kauppahalli) in Helsinki. A nice, albeit touristy one, is near the main harbour: the Vanha Kaupahalli (Old Markethall). Another one is the Hakaniemi Kaupahalli that has the Sunday flea market. Unfortunately the rain was pouring down on Sunday, so we skipped that one. Other places we visited were the Lutheran cathedral and the Russian orthodox cathedral.
Great contrast between the two.

Glooming skies over the Lutheran cathedral

On Saterday it was just lovely weather and we decided to visit one of the islands, and went to Suomenlinna, the old fortress island.  We took a public ferry, and during the boat ride we had a nice view over the Helsinki waterfront.  Suomenlinna consists of five interconnected islands. One has a village on it, and another one still houses the Finnish Naval Academy.  The church dome actually doubles as a light house. I had never seen that before.
The seaside islands are mostly natural, with of course the occasional canon and seawall. It was a lovely day out.
 

Travel tips:

• Buy a public transport pass for several days. Buying a pass for a few days is cheaper than buying single day passes, and it's just relaxing to hop on and off the trams.
• We bought a 4-day pass for 2 zones, since this was the same pice as a 4-day pass for 1 zone and 2 separate airport tickets.
• If you want to visit the Araba factory: take tram 6 or 8 to the second to last stop.
• You can use your day pass for the ferry to Suomenlinna.
• When visiting Suomenlinna: use sunscreen!