Helsinki and Porvoo, Finland and Other Recommendations?

[sailawaybellaluna]

Hi! I'm planning for our multi-generational family to visit Helsinki on our Baltic Cruise this summer, and I'm a little stumped on what to do during our time there. So far I'm considering the Panorama Bus Tour or the Hop on Hop Off bus. Any feedback on these? We were also considering the Church in the Rock? 

 

I'm specifically curious if anyone has visited Medieval Porvoo and visited the Porcelain Factory? Holland America offers this as an excursion, and I was thinking of taking my mother since she collects European porcelain...

 

I'd love any suggestions you may have!

 

Thanks!

[cruisewiscrrq]

We had a foreign exchange student from Helsinki in 1998.  We have been there four times since then.  Assuming you only have one day on a cruise I will recommend the following.  First HOHO bus a good idea.  Second the Church in the Rock is a yes.  Another must is the open air market near harbor.  Another don’t miss is ferry to fortress island in harbor.  If you have more than one day there are many day trips worth exploring.  

[sailawaybellaluna]

13 hours ago, cruisewiscrrq said:

We had a foreign exchange student from Helsinki in 1998.  We have been there four times since then.  Assuming you only have one day on a cruise I will recommend the following.  First HOHO bus a good idea.  Second the Church in the Rock is a yes.  Another must is the open air market near harbor.  Another don’t miss is ferry to fortress island in harbor.  If you have more than one day there are many day trips worth exploring.  

Thank you for the great feedback! I appreciate it!

[cmph]

On 3/27/2023 at 5:43 PM, cruisewiscrrq said:

We had a foreign exchange student from Helsinki in 1998.  We have been there four times since then.  Assuming you only have one day on a cruise I will recommend the following.  First HOHO bus a good idea.  Second the Church in the Rock is a yes.  Another must is the open air market near harbor.  Another don’t miss is ferry to fortress island in harbor.  If you have more than one day there are many day trips worth exploring.  

What type of market is the open air market near the harbor? Is it a flea market with local goods? or a food market? or a combo? I tried to google that after reading your comment, but it looks like there are a lot of markets in Helsinki. We have plans to do the HOHO off already, and I think my 17yo would appreciate a shopping diversion from the rest of the things we plan to see. She would love to go to a good flea market!

[Slugsta]

We are back in Helsinki in May and our ship is overnighting there. We have been to the church in the rock and the island fortress so are looking for something else to do - especially in the evening. We don't really want to take out a mortgage for an evening meal and are not into clubs ( my hubby is in his 70's, I'm in my 60's and we both like classical music). Any suggestions please?

[Hezu]

7 hours ago, cmph said:

What type of market is the open air market near the harbor? Is it a flea market with local goods? or a food market? or a combo? I tried to google that after reading your comment, but it looks like there are a lot of markets in Helsinki. We have plans to do the HOHO off already, and I think my 17yo would appreciate a shopping diversion from the rest of the things we plan to see. She would love to go to a good flea market!

Traditionally the Market Square has been a food market and with sort of farmers' market type repertoire, but in recent times the focus has somewhat shifted towards more touristy offerings and these days many booths offer souveniers and prepared food and drinks to be consumed on the spot or as take away portions. Some sign of this process was news that on Easter Saturday the last fish monger on the market will cease trading there.

If you want to see an open air flea market that you could find in Hietalahti market, but it will be open only on Saturdays and Sundays 10-15. There are also some other indoor flea markets or second hand stores around Helsinki that have longer opening hours.

[janetcbl]

7 hours ago, Hezu said:

Traditionally the Market Square has been a food market and with sort of farmers' market type repertoire, but in recent times the focus has somewhat shifted towards more touristy offerings and these days many booths offer souveniers and prepared food and drinks to be consumed on the spot or as take away portions. Some sign of this process was news that on Easter Saturday the last fish monger on the market will cease trading there.

If you want to see an open air flea market that you could find in Hietalahti market, but it will be open only on Saturdays and Sundays 10-15. There are also some other indoor flea markets or second hand stores around Helsinki that have longer opening hours.

Sorry to hear that the Market Square has changed to include more “touristy” items. That market was one of my favorite places, especially the cloudberry piles in the Fall. The Karelian pies were a favorite!….tried making them at home….dismal failure!

[Hezu]

1 hour ago, janetcbl said:

Sorry to hear that the Market Square has changed to include more “touristy” items. That market was one of my favorite places, especially the cloudberry piles in the Fall. The Karelian pies were a favorite!….tried making them at home….dismal failure!

I think there is (or at least in summer will be) vendors offering fruits, berries and vegetables. And I presume that at least some of the cafe tents would offer Karelian pasties (or "rice pasties" as the Traditional Speciality Guaranteed (TSG)  definition of Karelian pasty has quite strict regulations on how one should prepare these). But certainly significant portion of the offerings will be more geared towards tourists rather than locals doing their grocery shopping.

[Tyskie]

On 3/27/2023 at 8:43 PM, cruisewiscrrq said:

 Assuming you only have one day on a cruise I will recommend the following.  First HOHO bus a good idea.  Second the Church in the Rock is a yes.  Another must is the open air market near harbor.  Another don’t miss is ferry to fortress island in harbor.

 

Thank you for your "one day" suggestions.  I have a question about the HOHO

 

There seems to be multiple companies - is that correct or just 3rd party tours? 

 

Is there one HOHO company that you would recommend?

 

Jane

[kitkat343]

5 hours ago, Tyskie said:

 

Thank you for your "one day" suggestions.  I have a question about the HOHO

 

There seems to be multiple companies - is that correct or just 3rd party tours? 

 

Is there one HOHO company that you would recommend?

 

Jane

An alternative is the 2 tram in Helsinki.  It goes to market square (that's where the open air market is in the harbor) and the rock church, and the tram drives through the scenic streets of Helsinki and is known as the tourist tram because it hits many of the tourist spots (I don't know exactly how many because we just wanted to go from Market Square to the Rock church and ride it to see the streets for a little while).  When we visited the Baltics there was a 24 hour transportation pass you could buy.  Market Square is also close to the ferries to Suomenlinna, and the Helsinki Cathedral (the rock church is more interesting, but if you are at Market Square anyway you should at least walk to see the outside of the Helsinki Cathedral because it is quite lovely.) The Skywheel Helsinki is also close to Market Square, so if anyone really likes Ferris wheels that's something to consider (not an absolute must do, but an option to consider).

 

The only issue with the 2 tram is seeing where you dock.  You'd need to get from the port to the tram.  We took a cab but there might be other alternatives depending on where you dock (we had a 3 year old in tow, so our ability to navigate was a bit limited but the public transportation system in the Baltics was excellent).

Edited April 12, 2023 by kitkat343

[cmph]

8 hours ago, Tyskie said:

 

Thank you for your "one day" suggestions.  I have a question about the HOHO

 

There seems to be multiple companies - is that correct or just 3rd party tours? 

 

Is there one HOHO company that you would recommend?

 

Jane

I have been wondering that same thing! I keep seeing the same red buses on the 3rd party sites, though, so I think it's just one company getting resold in multiple venues? I ended up assuming that it's the same company (or at least same route) for my tour planning, b/c I booked via our cruise line and doubt they'll give me a useful answer. We had $100 in excursion credits for the 4 of us, so it was definitely the cheapest option. 

 

FYI this is the one I've been referring to - hopefully not way off base. https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours.com/fileupload/Map Helsinki.png&nbsp. If you find out otherwise, please post back!

[Tyskie]

9 hours ago, cmph said:

I have been wondering that same thing! 

 

FYI this is the one I've been referring to - hopefully not way off base. https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours.com/fileupload/Map Helsinki.png&nbsp. If you find out otherwise, please post back!

Glad it wasn't just me!  

Your link doesn't work, however, that was the site I was on originally.  I think with the 3rd party sites, they offer a better cancellation policy - few $ more in some cases.

When will you be going?  Us, not until September. Waiting patiently for reports from the 2023 season.

[cmph]

8 hours ago, Tyskie said:

Glad it wasn't just me!  

Your link doesn't work, however, that was the site I was on originally.  I think with the 3rd party sites, they offer a better cancellation policy - few $ more in some cases.

When will you be going?  Us, not until September. Waiting patiently for reports from the 2023 season.

Sorry about the link! It looks like I added some gibberish at the end somehow. This should work (if it matters to anyone else reading this): https://www.hop-on-hop-off-bus-tours.com/fileupload/Map Helsinki.png

 

We will be there in late June. I'll try to remember to come back here and report when we return in July. :) 

[Hezu]

21 hours ago, kitkat343 said:

The only issue with the 2 tram is seeing where you dock.  You'd need to get from the port to the tram.  We took a cab but there might be other alternatives depending on where you dock (we had a 3 year old in tow, so our ability to navigate was a bit limited but the public transportation system in the Baltics was excellent).

The most commonly used cruise port in Helsinki is Hernesaari, which sadly is currently without any nearby tram or bus stops, closest one is something like kilometer away from the quays. And that is for tram line 6. Although if you want to ride around on tram 2, you could for example take tram number 6 to either Fredrikinkatu or Erottaja stops on Bulevardi, go to the stop on the other side of the street, hop on the next tram on line 3, which will eventually change into tram number 2 at Olympiaterminaali stop (and also the other way around for trams that are going to the opposite direction).

But in general, the public transport in Helsinki should be able to get you on most locations around the city quite easily, for more details on routes, prices and possible announcements on interuptions, please check out HSL website. The route planner there can be useful tool if you want to know how to get from certain location to some destination. The route planner is also included in HSL mobile app. It is possible to purchase tickets with this app. And all HSL area tickets include unlimited changes between busses, trams, local trains and Suomenlinna ferry as long as the ticket is valid (for single tickets minimum of 80 minutes).

[mskaufman]

On 3/26/2023 at 11:07 PM, sailawaybellaluna said:

Hi! I'm planning for our multi-generational family to visit Helsinki on our Baltic Cruise this summer, and I'm a little stumped on what to do during our time there. So far I'm considering the Panorama Bus Tour or the Hop on Hop Off bus. Any feedback on these? We were also considering the Church in the Rock? 

 

I'm specifically curious if anyone has visited Medieval Porvoo and visited the Porcelain Factory? Holland America offers this as an excursion, and I was thinking of taking my mother since she collects European porcelain...

 

I'd love any suggestions you may have!

 

Thanks!

We went to Porvoo.  Good for a quick visit but not a lot to do there.  Here are a couple of photos.

[sailawaybellaluna]

3 minutes ago, mskaufman said:

We went to Porvoo.  Good for a quick visit but not a lot to do there.  Here are a couple of photos.

 Thank you for the photos, it looks very quaint!