9 Hours in Helsinki

[coriander]

Does Helsinki still have free wifi around the city centre?

Good question: can't remember / don't know. The airport has free wifi as of course do the lounges.
My phone didn't ask to connect to anything in the city apart from Stockmann when I was in their store. Having said that, I mostly had wifi off when walking around as it would connect to store wifis and then try to hang on to the connection as you walked away resulting in no data at all.
With my Vodafone sim, I had 4GB of 4G data so usually didn't bother with wifi (outside the hotel) as the 4G was much faster than most wifi. As it was I used only 1.8GB of my 4GB in the three weeks we were away.

 

[coriander]

This Sunday Helsinki will be 2°C and scattered rain.

Scattered rain means variable episodes of torrential rain followed by mild drizzle follwed by steady rain. No sun to be seen. Helsinki in rain is very bearable if there's no wind but then we had "balmy" 5-8°C days.
The day will be short - sunrise 8.20am sunset 3.50pm.
Just switch to "cloudy" white balance on your camera and up the saturation by 10% in Photoshop

 

[Quickstatus]

Only a few hrs in Helsinki but daughter will be 3 weeks in Finland so will get a SIM

Unlimited phone, sms, data for EUR$0.89/day

 

[OZDUCK]

Have just spent three days in beautiful rainy Helsinki and loved every minute.
Have lunch at Old Market Hall on Eteleranta, near harbour - we had an amazing seafood soup in there at the "Soup Kitchen"; Qatar flight attendants were eating there as well!
Tram #4 back to station, 30 minutes to airport, then 10 min walk to check-in area.

Yes the soup at the "Soup Kitchen" is pretty good

 

[Townsend]

Thanks for these suggestions, I will have a day there in early Feb which I realise is probably not the best time to visit!

I love Finnish glass and I would be really glad if someone knows of a museum, or something similar, in Helsinki. The only oneI have found is near Ittala which is to far for such a short visit.

Many thanks

 

[RooFlyer]

There are certainly shops to buy IIttala glass in Helsinki - in fact I can picture in my mind one of their shops on ‘Esplandi’ downtown, near the waterfront. As you might know, Finnair uses it in J

Also at the airport you can buy it of course, but I recall the range was much more limited.

 

[JMEL]

The iittala flagship boutique on Esplanadi is beautiful and pretty much a mini museum in itself. They will even make you a free mug of coffee/tea while you shop!

And adding to the general notes on Helsinki...

+1 to the soup at Soppakeittiö (soup kitchen). The seafood one is popular, although they always have two additional choices (one meat, one vegetarian).

I personally prefer the larger Hakaniemi Market (right opposite Hakaniemi station) over the Old Market Hall. Hakaniemi also has a soup kitchen branch.

One of my favourite Helsinki restaurants is Ravintola Karljohan (open lunch and dinner). It's quite popular with the locals.

I love Karl Fazer Cafe (on Kluuvikatu, off Esplanadi). It's open all day, so it works well for a casual breakfast/lunch/dinner/everything in between. They also sell lots of Fazer chocolate, which I highly recommend.

For supermarket shopping, I like the big K-supermarket in the basement of Kamppi shopping centre (above Kamppi station). There are some wonderful items in Finnish supermarkets (particularly tea, chocolate, cartons of fruit soup, pastries).

Side note: my avatar photo was taken in Finland

 

[Townsend]

Many thanks for all these suggestions. I will definitely do some of the things suggested above.
I have wanted to visit Finland for many years and I am very glad that we are flying Finnair and we can extend our stopover. One day I will be back there for weeks not hours!

 

[Isochronous]

Have dinner at NJK during the summer - it's fun ringing the bell on the shoreside and being taken by boat to the islet the restaurant is on! There is a large archipelago just off Helsinki and many islets hosting restaurants in a similar way.

Another good restaurant is Juuri.

 

[fall502]

Have 32 hours in Helsinki next year and finding lots of good ideas here.

 

[get me outta here]

If you like Marimekko, there is also an outlet store that I went to on the bus.

 

[OATEK]

Another good place for lunch, or even better fr breakfast on an extended visit, is cafe Engel. It is on Aleksanterinkatu facing Senate Sq and the Cathedral. Entry is through the door to the left when facing, and in cold weather is usually open so you can go in an queue until it opens.

 

[RooFlyer]

I meant to mention earlier ... not for "9 hours in Helsinki", but for anyone staying there.

Place to consider for staying: Hotel Fabian - lovely boutique place, just south of Esplandi in a great neighbourhood.

Restaurant: Seahorse Long established, traditional Finnish cuisine (not far from the above, also in a great part of the city). not much to look at from the outside, but very atmospheric inside. Not sure if that web site will come out in English or not, but Google will translate it for you.

 

[get me outta here]

Actually, the Marimekko outlet is a 10 min train ride, not bus as I said.

From TA : "The train out to the closest station Herttoniemen metroasema was quick and easy. We caught the train from the central station metro station and the trains were frequent and easy. The walk from the station to the store is an easy 10 minutes".

Also from TA : "The best place to shop for unusual and less pricey Marimekko products is their factory outlet in Herttoniemi, a suburb easily reached by metro. From the fabrics sold by meter you can find special editions not available elsewhere, the lowest prices are 15 euros per meter. Home decoration product range is large, towels, sheets, pillows, glassware, napkins in magnificent bright Marimekko colours. There are racks of garments from sample collections, leftovers and otherwise reduced items. In the same space with the outlet is a shop representing the latest collection and colours. Your visit may have lasted so long you feel hungry so step over to the employees restaurant cafeteria open also for customers and enjoy a tasty organic lunch from Marimekko tableware. The building is also a functioning printing factory where you can book a guided visit in advance".

 

[docjames]

Hi all, dredging this thread up.

I've snagged a RTW fare and have 0830-2355 in Helsinki in mid-April.

Some great tips here already but opening it again for other suggestions?

A wander around centre of town, lunch then afternoon shopping and then head to the airport sounding like the plan?

 

[OATEK]

The one day regional train ticket for the airport train also covers the ferry out to Suomenlinna Fortress (Island) where you could have lunch then head back into Stockmans for a shop.

 

[Wanderlust_tim]

Hi all, dredging this thread up.

I've snagged a RTW fare and have 0830-2355 in Helsinki in mid-April.

Some great tips here already but opening it again for other suggestions?

A wander around centre of town, lunch then afternoon shopping and then head to the airport sounding like the plan?

Depending on how much you like to travel, you could duck over to Tallinn for the day on the ferry - the old town is particularly pretty.

 

[Quickstatus]

A wander around centre of town, lunch then afternoon shopping and then head to the airport sounding like the plan?

That’s pretty much it. Helsinki is a small city - maybe like Adelaide terms of population.

 

[OZDUCK]

I go along with Oatek. The regional train ticket into town covers all the local trams as well as the Suomenlinna Fortress public ferry. It is a nice scenic boat trip across and the fortress is very much worth a few hours. Tallinn is lovely but it will take 4 or so hours out of your day for travelling alone so maybe stick with Helsinki.

Remember to be well rugged up, we were there in mid May and it was still very cold and grey - about 10 C max. dropping to 1 or 2 C.