A Trip Around the Baltic: Helsinki, Finland

Hello, we're back with our Trip Around the Baltic series, and today we are visiting Helsinki, Finland!

Helsinki Overview

Helsinki is the capital and most populous city of Finland. The city is located on the southern shores of the country right on the Baltic Sea, just across the Gulf of Finland from Tallinn, meaning that these two cities have a great deal of connectivity. Helsinki is a very nice city to pay a visit, with all sorts of sights, museums, churches, and other attractions to keep visitors entertained and immersed in Finnish culture and history. In this post we will talk about some of the most popular places in Helsinki, talk about some of the less popular sights, and some traditionally Finnish elements that will fascinate visitors.

Helsinki Must Do

TOP: Helsinki Cathedral
BOTTOM LEFT: Uspenski Cathedral
BOTTOM RIGHT: Sibelius Monument

Just like our other posts, this section will focus on the more popular sights in Helsinki. One of the most popular images of Helsinki is the Helsinki Cathedral, which is a very large Lutheran church. This church has a more minimalist look on the inside than one might find inside a Catholic church of Eastern Orthodox church, which are the more commonly famous churches around Europe. Another famous Helsinki fight is the Uspenski Cathedral, which is an Eastern Orthodox church, and has a more ornate, decorated interior than the Helsinki Cathedral. The Sibelius monument is another very famous sight for visitors in Helsinki, this is a monument dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, and is located among a park with trees and other vegetation.

More off the radar Helsinki

TOP: Helsinki Olympic Stadium
BOTTOM LEFT: Fresh Berries on display at a Market
BOTTOM RIGHT: Inside of Temppeliaukio Church

In Helsinki there is much more than what we have in the must do section, and even more than what this section will cover. Our first off the radar location is the Helsinki Olympic Stadium, this stadium was used for various events during the 1952 Summer Olympics, which were hosted in Helsinki. The stadium nowadays is the largest stadium venue in the country, and plays host to national soccer matches, various other large sporting events, and large concerts. A small note however, the stadium is temporarily closed for renovations, and is expected to reopen in 2019. Next on our off the radar Helsinki is taking a visit to a market. In summer, there will be many markets open selling fresh produce among other things. According to thisisFINLAND, some of the types of berries that are native to Finland that one would expect to find in markets include Lingonberries, Raspberries, and Cloudberries. Another off the radar activity in Helsinki would be to visit the Temppeliaukio Church, or the Rock Church. This church, also lutheran, was built into the rocky terrain that makes up much of Finland, and has incorporated rock into various design aspects. Also a draw for visitors, that is maybe only a tad off of their radar if the traditional Finnish sauna, which is very prevalent with all sorts of sauna locations around Helsinki, many locals even have their own saunas at their homes. 

Thanks for reading along, I hope you all enjoyed our look at Helsinki! As always, leave a comment below if you've been to Helsinki, or if you want to!