Sights & landmarksSuomenlinna Sea Fortress
A UNESCO-listed 18th-century sea fortress spread across six islands, a 15-minute ferry ride from Market Square.
Suomenlinna, 00190 Helsinkifree
Places
The Helsinki shortlist
Sights, museums, tables, cafés and design shops — every one visited and chosen by our editors.
Sights & landmarks
Sights & landmarksTemppeliaukio Rock Church
A church hewn directly into solid granite, crowned with a copper dome and famed for its acoustics.
Lutherinkatu 3, 00100 Helsinki€
Sights & landmarksOodi Central Library
Helsinki's living room — a sweeping timber-and-glass library with 3D printers, sewing machines and a rooftop terrace.
Töölönlahdenkatu 4, 00100 Helsinkifree
Cafés & bakeriesCafé Regatta
A tiny red cottage by the sea where you grill your own sausage over the open fire and sip coffee by the water.
Merikannontie 8, 00260 Helsinki€
Sights & landmarksHelsinki Cathedral
The white neoclassical landmark crowning Senate Square, reached by a grand flight of steps.
Unioninkatu 29, 00170 Helsinkifree
RestaurantsMarket Square & Old Market Hall
Harbourside stalls selling salmon soup, fried vendace and berries, next to the restored 1889 Old Market Hall.
Eteläranta, 00170 Helsinki€
Museums & galleriesAteneum Art Museum
Finland's national gallery, home to the Golden Age of Finnish painting from Gallen-Kallela to Schjerfbeck.
Kaivokatu 2, 00100 Helsinki€€
Museums & galleriesAmos Rex
A subterranean art museum whose domed skylights pop up like hills in Lasipalatsi square.
Mannerheimintie 22–24, 00100 Helsinki€€
Museums & galleriesDesign Museum
The story of Finnish design from Aalto vases to Marimekko prints, in a neo-Gothic former school.
Korkeavuorenkatu 23, 00130 Helsinki€€
RestaurantsRavintola Savoy
Alvar Aalto-designed dining room on the eighth floor serving refined Finnish classics with harbour views.
Eteläesplanadi 14, 00130 Helsinki€€€
Cafés & bakeriesCafé Kappeli
A glass-walled 19th-century café pavilion at the end of Esplanadi park, famous for cinnamon buns.
Eteläesplanadi 1, 00130 Helsinki€
Bars & nightlifeBar Molotow
A cult Kallio rock bar — cheap beer, a crowded jukebox and pure working-class Helsinki charm.
Helsinginkatu 20, 00500 Helsinki€
Bars & nightlifeAteljee Bar
Rooftop cocktail bar on the 14th floor of Hotel Torni with a 360° view over the city.
Yrjönkatu 26, 00100 Helsinki€€
Design & shoppingArtek Helsinki
Flagship of the furniture company founded by Alvar Aalto in 1935 — stools, lamps and timeless Finnish modernism.
Keskuskatu 1B, 00100 Helsinki€€€
Design & shoppingMarimekko Esplanadi
Bold Unikko poppies and Finnish prints at the brand's flagship on the main boulevard.
Pohjoisesplanadi 33, 00100 Helsinki€€
Parks & natureSeurasaari Open-Air Museum
An island of old wooden farmhouses and manors, linked by a white footbridge and full of tame red squirrels.
Seurasaari, 00250 Helsinkifree
Places to stayHotel St. George
Art-filled boutique hotel in an 1840s building facing Old Church Park, with a superb bakery downstairs.
Yrjönkatu 13, 00120 Helsinki€€€
Sights & landmarksUspenski Cathedral
Western Europe's largest Orthodox church, all red brick and golden onion domes on a rocky hill.
Kanavakatu 1, 00160 Helsinkifree