Helsinki: fine architecture, coffee & saunas

                      

Finnish National Theatre, opened 1902
Two steeples with pointed terracotta roofs; 3 arched doorways and 5 smaller arches above

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I don’t like snow, ice or skiing. But Helsinki has been in the top cities in 2025 Global Liveability Index for at least 10 years and was next on my To Do List.  It is also perfect for anyone looking for a cool climate change that offers milder weather for summer travel and nature-based holidays, with 70% of the country being forest and 10% being lakes.

Helsinki (pop 684,589 in 2025). Finland’s southern capital, sits on a peninsula in the Gulf of Finland. Its central avenue, Mannerheimintie, is flanked by institutions including the National Museum, tracing Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present. Also on Mannerheimintie are the imposing Parliament House and Kiasma, a contemporary art museum.

Helsinki Cathedral

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Stunning Helsinki Cathedral is a loved landmark. Built from 1830-52 when Finland was still under Russian rule, it was a tribute to the then-Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. This notable building is the main Lutheran cathedral for the Diocese of Helsinki with a rich early C19th history. Designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in the Neoclassical style, see the distinctive green dome surrounded by 4 smaller domes, creating a striking silhouette. Engel intended the cathedral to be the focal point of his design for Senate Square, with other buildings adding to its grandeur. Note the symmetry with colonnades and pediments adorning each arm. The cathedral was called St Nicholas' Church until Finland gained independence in 1917. 

Uspenski Cathedral, ornate Russian iconostasis

The other great cathedral is the Uspenski Cathedral near the south harbour. This ornate red brick cathedral is the largest orthodox church in Western Europe, and is even more lavish on the inside. This redbrick cathedral dates back to 1868, well located to overlook the harbour.

Huvilakatu beautiful street

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Finland’s capital Helsinki is artistic, functional in design and naturally cool. Huvilakatu, with charming and colourful two-storey homes, is known as Villa St. This picturesque street, c320 meters long, is lined with beautiful Art Nouveau buildings from the early C20th. Huvilakatu is a very beautiful street.

The Finns are the world’s biggest consumers of coffee so its café culture would be perfect for me; a perfect few days for couples. Drink great amounts of coffee since Helsinki’s coffee culture is typically Scandinavian in beautifully designed cafés. Ex-Swedish, the favourite Helsinki café is Johan & Nyström, a fine heart of the city’s food culture. Slow roasted, sustainable, carefully chosen beans, passionate baristas also provide a mix of traditional Scandi treats eg cinnamon buns in a perfectly chic environment.

Book some weeks ahead for Grön Restaurant. This tiny restaurant in the city centre focuses on creating Scandinavian style plant-based food from seasonal, local and wild produce. The four-course set menu includes everyone’s favourite sweets - grilled strawberries with granita, meringue, fennel leaves and caramelised strawberry milk. Become obsessed with rooftop bars while travelling, viewing the city from above, with a cocktail in hand. The best place to do this is Ateljée Bar. The drinks are more exp ensive than the bars below, but the view is special.

 Market Hall

 My Thousand Miles

Helsinki’s famous Central Market Square/Kauppatori sits in the South Harbour at the end of the Esplanade Park, facing the Baltic Sea. The traditional fresh food sells next to souvenirs and homemade crafts. And visit the Fortress of Suomenlinna, a short ferry ride from the mainland.

Temppeliaukio Church is in the heart of Helsinki, and a popular tourist attraction. Built directly into a solid rock, Temppeliaukio’s nick is Rock Church. The interior still has rugged, rocky walls and a stunning copper dome roof surrounded by a thin row of skylight windows, distilling the light beautifully around the alter. Due to the great acoustics of the church, many concerts are held here.

National Gallery

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The Finnish National Gallery, which opened in 1888, now has a collection that includes 43,000+ works of art and archival material. The State-owned collection is part of Finland’s national heritage. My favourite Scandinavian artist was Norwegian Edvard Munch who was born in 1863; his works often explored themes of love, death and human emotions. And look for Munch’s Self-portrait and Swedish Anders Zorn’s Girls Bathing in the Open Air 1890. Finnish artist Albert Edelfelt’s Conveying the Child’s Coffin 1879 was emotional, as expected.

Kiasma Contemporary Art Gallery

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The mission of Kiasma Gallery is to collect and research contemporary art, so I didn’t visit. But others loved the 8,800 art works acquired by Kiasma which are part of the Finnish National Gallery collection, a significant element of Finnish cultural heritage.

Löyly is an impressive public sauna and restaurant that sits on the Baltic Sea c2km outside the city centre. For €19/person book 2.5 hours of pleasure, going between different saunas, jumping into the Baltic to cool off, and sitting around on the deck sipping drinks. Once given a towel and a locker, women and men are then split into different changing/shower rooms to get changed. Then they come together for a choice of three different types of facilities: continuously heated sauna, once-heated sauna and traditional smoke sauna.

Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia