What's To See In Helsinki?

[spcl4cs_gal]

I will be visiting Helsinki in August on the Eurodam and would like to know what there is to see while there...the "shouldn't miss" things. I'm not really interested in taking an excursion through the ship and would like to know if a walking tour on my own is do-able. Also what is the preferred currency in this port? Thanks. :)

[RachelG]

We walked all over the place. There was a shuttle from the ship to Senate square. In the morning, it was pouring rain, but it cleared in the afternoon. From senate square, we walked down to the outdoor market. Really nice fresh produce-we saw the ship's chef buying some mushrooms, and they appeared on the dinner menu that night.

The huge Lutheran church is right on Senate square and and worth a look. We went through Stockman's dept store (mostly to escape the rain but it is always interesting to see what things are in a dept store in a different country. Dockers sold for over $100 a pair--don't think we will be buying them in Finland.)

When it stopped raining, we walked to the Rock Church. There is also a tram that goes there, but we like to walk. Definitely interesting. I would have liked to have been able to attend a service there.

Then we walked back to the ship and visited the Orthodox church on the way. Interesting to see the differences between it and the protestant churches we are used to.

Very nice town for walking if it doesn't rain too much. We had planned to take the ferry to the fortress, but it was just raining too much for that.

[lovecruisingtoo]

I will be visiting Helsinki in August on the Eurodam and would like to know what there is to see while there...the "shouldn't miss" things. I'm not really interested in taking an excursion through the ship and would like to know if a walking tour on my own is do-able. Also what is the preferred currency in this port? Thanks. :)

 

In Helsinki there is the "3T / 3B" hop-on / hop-off tram that goes around the city and is a good starting point to see the city. In the last couple of months they have changed the route so the 3T tram goes for one half of the "figure 8" and the 3B tram goes the other half (used to be the 3T went one direction and the 3B went the other).

 

Here is the "old" brochure that has the various tourist sites.

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/84...df?MOD=AJPERES

 

Here is the new route map.

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/3d...df?MOD=AJPERES

 

"Worldisround" has a description of the various sites at the "old" tram stops.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/61999/text.html

 

Have not been able to find a brochure with the new route as well as the tourist sites.

 

If you would like more walking tour and visitor information for Helsinki, it can be found at:

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_Engli.../Brochures.iw3

[spcl4cs_gal]

In Helsinki there is the "3T / 3B" hop-on / hop-off tram that goes around the city and is a good starting point to see the city. In the last couple of months they have changed the route so the 3T tram goes for one half of the "figure 8" and the 3B tram goes the other half (used to be the 3T went one direction and the 3B went the other).

 

Here is the "old" brochure that has the various tourist sites.

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/84...df?MOD=AJPERES

 

Here is the new route map.

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/3d...df?MOD=AJPERES

 

"Worldisround" has a description of the various sites at the "old" tram stops.

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/61999/text.html

 

Have not been able to find a brochure with the new route as well as the tourist sites.

 

If you would like more walking tour and visitor information for Helsinki, it can be found at:

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_Engli.../Brochures.iw3

 

Sorry but your links didn't work. :(

[lovecruisingtoo]

Sorry about the problem. Reposting links:

 

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/8477a4804a17377d9402fc3d8d1d4668/3T_english_2007_net.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

 

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/3dcf1e004d4f4eadbf5eff62d49fe7b7/kartta.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

 

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/61999/text.html

 

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_English/Visitor/Helsinki/Brochures.iw3

 

These should work.

[spcl4cs_gal]

Sorry about the problem. Reposting links:

 

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/8477a4804a17377d9402fc3d8d1d4668/3T_english_2007_net.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

 

http://www.hel.fi/wps/wcm/connect/3dcf1e004d4f4eadbf5eff62d49fe7b7/kartta.pdf?MOD=AJPERES

 

http://www.worldisround.com/articles/61999/text.html

 

http://www.visithelsinki.fi/In_English/Visitor/Helsinki/Brochures.iw3

 

These should work.

 

They work fine now....thanks very much. :)

[Leejnd4]

We're also planning on doing Helsinki on-our-own. I've read that shopping in the downtown market in Helsinki is a great way to spend some time. Where exactly is that market? And...can anyone give me ideas on items to shop for, that are uniquely Finnish? Or Helsinki-ish (or however you say that :p)?

[spcl4cs_gal]

We're also planning on doing Helsinki on-our-own. I've read that shopping in the downtown market in Helsinki is a great way to spend some time. Where exactly is that market? And...can anyone give me ideas on items to shop for, that are uniquely Finnish? Or Helsinki-ish (or however you say that :p)?

 

A fellow teacher visited Helsinki last summer and she said that she found it to be very "high end" with regards to shopping. My family visited Norway and Sweden a few years ago and found things quite expensive...not sure about Finland though.

[LucyH]

These links should work.

 

One more link http://www.discoverthebaltic.com/helsinki/index.htm answers the shopping question, too.

[dfwguy62]

We're also planning on doing Helsinki on-our-own. I've read that shopping in the downtown market in Helsinki is a great way to spend some time. Where exactly is that market? And...can anyone give me ideas on items to shop for, that are uniquely Finnish? Or Helsinki-ish (or however you say that :p)?

 

You won't be able to miss it. Depending on how you decide to get into the city center, a shuttle bus or taxi or city bus will drop you somewhere in the center of things. You'll find the market along the water at the end of the Esplanade (a nice walkway park between two major streets). The market is only a block or so away from the Cathedral and the other sites that you're likely to be looking into. Head toward the center of activity and you'll find the market.

 

If this link works, it should show the waterfront market with a little icon.

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=60.16882,24.953427&spn=0.007557,0.027959&t=h&z=16&msid=109330402931279856293.00046bd70fb09bff90030&iwloc=00046bd7118e448da18e5

[joelamp]

My wife likes Iittala glassware/tableware. Is anyone aware of an Iittala factory store or outlet in Helsinki?

[Leejnd4]

Fantastic info! Thanks! I've done so much research worked so hard to make my plans in the other ports, and spent so much time focusing on them...and now my cruise is 3 weeks away and I realize I've done virtually NO research on Helsinki. Those links are VERY helpful. Why I love Cruise Critic! :D

[Ultima Thule]

My wife likes Iittala glassware/tableware. Is anyone aware of an Iittala factory store or outlet in Helsinki?

 

There is one on the Northern Esplanade:

 

http://www.iittala.com/web/Iittalaweb.nsf/en/stores_iittala_stores_own_iittala-myymala_esplanadi_helsinki

[TSC]

We were there in May on the Constellation. We thought prices were high but not as high as Copenhagen. But, we were so impressed with the people. Everyone was so nice.:p For example, we took the city bus into town because the bus came to within one block of the ships pier, and we weren't really sure where we needed to go - so our bus driver, stopped the bus and walked to the corner so he could point out the tram stop for us! We were amazed! :D We bought a one day transport ticket - which included all the buses and trams - can't remember how much but I think about 12 Euros? Another option was the hop-on bus which also came right to the pier.

 

After we found the tram, we took the 3T around its loop (as mentioned above it is now half the figure 8). (it wasn't all that special -so maybe we needed to take the other half .) However, we did enjoy the Rock Church which the tram takes you to within about 2 blocks. Also nice is the Esplanade, the othrodox church and the Luthern church on Market square.

If I visited in the warmer months.. (it was pretty cool in early May):p,

I would go to Suomenlinna first thing - then come back to Market square in the afternoon. I think half a day in the market square - senate square area would be enough.

Hope you have a great time.

[TSC]

We're also planning on doing Helsinki on-our-own. I've read that shopping in the downtown market in Helsinki is a great way to spend some time. Where exactly is that market? And...can anyone give me ideas on items to shop for, that are uniquely Finnish? Or Helsinki-ish (or however you say that :p)?

 

 

The market on the water is like a flea market. Stalls with some touristy things, carved things, pieces of reindeer horn carved into handles, fur stuff like hats, stoles, and scarves, vegetables, flowers etc.

As far as Finnish things - there were also some really lovely shops on the Esplanade - lovely like Channel - but I also found some that sold really unique crystal, pottery, dishes etc. - and our cruise line pushed a clothing designer who made gorgeous color blocked jackets - for about $1000.00 a each. Pretty enough for me to consider - but too much to buy without more thought! :p

[Leejnd4]

Thanks TSC! The market sounds great, and I'm sure we'll love it. :)

[joelamp]

There is one on the Northern Esplanade:

 

Thanks and kiitos, Ultima!

[RandS]

We're stopping in Helsinki in August. I'm hoping someone can answer these questions:

 

- What's the traffic like in Helsinki? We're thinking of doing the hop on/off bus but I still have memories of Dublin traffic where I could have walked faster than the bus travelled.

 

- Has anyone done the pub tram? It sounds kind of corny but hey I've never heard of a pub tram any place else so it would be something different to do. Does the pub tram go by the same locations as the hop on/off bus?

 

- We want to go to the Rock church. Is it possible to walk there from Senate Square? We're able walkers but I'm wondering about how busy the streets are. Are they walkable or is this a busy area with highway type roads?

 

- Olympic stadium - is this worth the stop or is it more of a drive by sightseeing location?

 

Thanks in advance.

RandS

[Giantfan13]

We were considering doing one of the boat tours around the islands. Has anyone done this and is it worth it. I guess we were looking to do maybe a lunch tour or something like that. How is the food on these type of tours. Is it basically common stuff or can you get a taste of Finnish food there also??

[Ultima Thule]

 

- What's the traffic like in Helsinki? We're thinking of doing the hop on/off bus but I still have memories of Dublin traffic where I could have walked faster than the bus travelled

 

The worst is around 4 pm in a few places, otherwise it shouldnt be too much problem.

 

 

- We want to go to the Rock church. Is it possible to walk there from Senate Square? We're able walkers but I'm wondering about how busy the streets are. Are they walkable or is this a busy area with highway type roads?

 

No problem at all. Actually I recommend it highly. You'll see most of downtown at same time.

[RachelG]

We walked from Senate Square to the Rock church--easy to do. There are sidewalks the whole way.

[GRBlizz]

A note about the market - We loved it; it is a flea market, farmer's market and art fair all rolled into one. We tasted fresh fruit, and brought huge sunflowers back to our cabin and they brightened our room for the rest of the cruise. We also bought a few small art pieces from the artists which we are happy with. And then we bought some souvenirs from a place advertising Finnish-made items.

 

About those "Finnish made" products - we later saw the identical items in Tallin, Estonia for about 33% less. We bought some juniper kitchen items, a poplar wooden mug, and some ornaments. In Tallin, the man selling the ornaments laughed when I said I had bought these in Helsinki as "Finnish-made." He said the lady lives in Latvia and sells them to all the port markets.

 

Who knows, just wanted to put it out there.

[LucyH]

- What's the traffic like in Helsinki?

- Has anyone done the pub tram?

- We want to go to the Rock church.

- Olympic stadium

 

On the Esplanade and around Market Square, people on foot can overtake buses. Elsewhere the traffic's usually light.

 

Yes, the pub tram is a bit corny but it's fun too, especially if the weather's not to good for walking around. Try this link.

 

Either walk or take a tram to the Rock Church. Tour buses take forever to find parking, and then the whole church fills up with the people from the bus.

 

As you guessed, the Olympic Stadium is a drive-by. Nice looking but there's nothing else to see or do. In fact the pub tram goes past it...

[TSC]

We also walked from the Rock Church to Market Square - but - (I think) because we started out at the Church and headed toward the Market, I got all turned around as to directions. Thankfully, people were helpful and when I pointed on a map where I wanted to go - they could at least point in the right direction.

Once I found Market Square - I got my bearings. ? Not sure if it was just me or not.

[RachelG]

We also walked from the Rock Church to Market Square - but - (I think) because we started out at the Church and headed toward the Market, I got all turned around as to directions. Thankfully, people were helpful and when I pointed on a map where I wanted to go - they could at least point in the right direction.

Once I found Market Square - I got my bearings. ? Not sure if it was just me or not.

The route is a bit confusing--I got turned around once, but as you said, people were helpful and got us back on the right track.