Holiday Destination: Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. Helsinki has close historical connections with these three cities. Helsinki Metropolitan Area includes the city of Helsinki and three other municipalities, Espoo and Vantaa, which immediately border Helsinki to the west and north, respectively, and Kauniainen, which is an enclave within the city of Espoo. The nearby city of Vantaa in the Helsinki metropolitan area is the location of Helsinki Vantaa Airport, with frequent service to various destinations in Europe and Asia. Since early 2009, Helsinki has been exploring a merger with Vantaa. On 30 March 2009, the city council of Vantaa agreed to review Helsinki's proposal of a possible merger, while emphasizing that the review is not about the possibility of terminating the existence of the city of Vantaa. On 31 January 2011, the city council of Vantaa turned down Helsinki's proposal of a possible merger, with 45 votes against the proposal compared to 22 in favour of it.

Climate

Summer 21.5 °C (70.7 °F), Winter (−6.5) °C (20.3 °F)

Tourist Season

May to September is the best for visiting Helsinki.

Accommodation

Hotels and Apartments.

General Information Of Helsinki

• Land Area: 276.25 sq mi (715.49 km2)
• Population: 5 Lakh.
• Capital City: Helsinki.
• Language: English, Swedish and Yoruba.

Tourist Attraction in or Near by Helsinki

Helsinki Senate Square

The Senate Square presents Carl Ludvig Engel's architecture as a unique allegory of political, religious, scientific and commercial powers in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. A statue of Emperor Alexander II is located in the center of the square. The statue, erected in 1894, was built to commemorate his re-establishment the Diet of Finland in 1863, as well as his initiation of several reforms that increased Finland's autonomy from Russia. The statue comprises Alexander on a pedestal surrounded by figures representing the law, culture and the peasants. During the Russification of Finland from 1899 onwards, the statue became a symbol of quiet resistance, with people of Helsinki protesting to the decrees of Nicholas II leaving flowers at the foot of the statue of his grandfather, then known in Finland as the good czar.

Aleksanterinkatu Street

Aleksanterinkatu is a street in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. In the city plan by Carl Ludvig Engel, it was the Decumanus Maximus, the main east west street in the city, crossing the Cardo, Union Street at the corner of the Senate Square. The street begins near the Presidential Palace and continues to meet with Mannerheimintie, the longest street in Helsinki. It runs past several famous buildings, such as Ritarihuone, the Helsinki Cathedral and the Stockmann department store. The street, colloquially known in Helsinki as "Aleksi", was named for Tsar Alexander I of Russia in 1833. It was originally named Suurkatu, meaning "Grand Street", but was renamed after the Emperor's death in his honour. The streets crossing Aleksanterinkatu are named after the Emperor's mother, his brothers, and his sisters.Christmas lights on Aleksanterinkatu. At Christmas time, Aleksanterinkatu is traditionally decorated with elaborate Christmas lights.

National Museum of Finland

The National Museum of Finland presents Finnish history from the Stone Age to the present day, through objects and cultural history. The Finnish National Romantic style building is located in central Helsinki and operates in collaboration with the National Board of Antiquities, an association related to the government's Ministry of Education. Prehistory of Finland is the largest permanent archeological exhibition in Finland. The Realm presents of the development of Finnish society and culture from the Middle Ages 12th century to the early 20th century, through the Swedish Kingdom Period to the Russian Empire Era.

Helsinki Market Square

The Market Square is a central square in Helsinki, Finland, and one of the most famous market places and tourist attractions in the city. The Market Square is located near the centre of Helsinki, at the eastern end of Esplanadi and bordering the Baltic Sea to the south and Katajanokka to the east. The Helsinki City Transport maintains an all year round ferry link from the Market Square to Suomenlinna, and in the summer there are also private companies providing ferry cruises, both to Suomenlinna and other nearby islands. From spring to autumn, the Market Square is bustling with activity with vendors selling fresh Finnish food and souvenirs. There are also many outdoor cafés at the square. Some cafés also provide meat pastries, and one advertises their pastries as being the best in the Market Square in Helsinki in Finland. The height of the square's popularity is in early October when the annual Helsinki herring market begins.

Suomenlinna Island & Fortress

Suomenlinna, until 1918 Viapori, or Sveaborg is an inhabited sea fortress built on six islands and which now forms part of the city of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Originally named Sveaborg, or Viapori as called by Finns, it was renamed Suomenlinna in 1918 for patriotic and nationalistic reasons, though it is still also sometimes known by its original name. In Swedish speaking contexts, the name Sveaborg is always used. The Swedish crown commenced the construction of the fortress in 1748 as protection against Russian expansionism. The general responsibility for the fortification work was given to Augustin Ehrensvärd. The original plan of the bastion fortress was strongly influenced by the ideas of Vauban, the foremost military engineer of the time, and the principles of Star Fort style of fortification, albeit adapted to a group of rocky islands.

Helsinki Cathedral

Helsinki Cathedral is the Finnish Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The church was originally built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. It was also known as St Nicholas' Church until the independence of Finland in 1917. The church's plan is a Greek cross symmetrical in each of the four cardinal directions, with each arm's façade featuring a colonnade and pediment. Engel originally intended to place a further row of columns on the western end to mark the main entrance opposite the eastern altar, but this was never built.

Temppeliaukio Church

Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Toolo neighborhood of Helsinki. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. The Temppeliaukio was selected as a location for a church in the 1930s, but the plan by J. S. Siren, the winner of the second competition to design the architecture of the church, was interrupted in its early stages when World War II began in 1939. After the war, there was another architectural competition, which was won by Timo Suomalainen and Tuomo Suomalainen in 1961. For economic reasons, the suggested plan was scaled back and the interior space of the church reduced by about one quarter from the original plan.

Uspenski Orthodox Church

Uspenski Cathedral is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. Its name comes from the Old Church Slavonic word uspenie, which denotes the Dormition. Designed by the Russian architect Alexey Gornostaev, the cathedral was built after his death in 1862–1868.The crypt chapel of the cathedral is named after the holy Alexander Hotovitzky. The Cathedral is set upon a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula overlooking the city. On the back of the cathedral, there is a plaque commemorating Russian Emperor Alexander II, who was the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Finland during the cathedral's construction. Main cathedral of the Finnish Orthodox Church in the diocese of Helsinki, Uspenski Cathedral is claimed to be the largest orthodox church in Western Europe.

Esplanadi Boulevard

Esplanade Park was a really nice park, located between two main streets and surrounded by beautiful Neo Renaissance buildings, which replaced the old wooden houses in the latter half of the 19th century. One of the best, is the Kamp Hotel on the corner of Kluuvikatu. We walked the whole length of the street, and saw many statues of Finnish Poets. There were plenty of Cafes and shops, and when we were there, they were setting up for a concert. The park has plenty of lawn and benches to sit on, plus ice cream kiosks.

Olympic stadium

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium, located in the Toolo district about 2 km from the center of the Finnish capital Helsinki, is the largest stadium in the country, nowadays mainly used for hosting sports events and big concerts. The stadium is best known for being the center of activities in the 1952 Summer Olympics. During those games, it hosted athletics, equestrian show jumping, and the football finals. It was built however to host the 1940 Summer Olympics, which were moved from Tokyo to Helsinki before being cancelled due to World War II. The stadium was also the venue for the first World Athletics Championships in 1983 as well as for the 2005 World Championships in Athletics. It hosted both the 1971 European Athletics Championships and the European Athletics Championships in 1994. It will once again be the venue for the championships in 2012. It is also the home stadium of the Finland national football team.

Accessibility

Bus Terminal in or Near by

Oy Matkahuolto Ab

Narinkka 1
Helsinki, Finland

Helsingin yliopisto

Alppikatu 2
Helsinki, Finland

Domus Academica

Hietaniemenkatu 14
Helsinki, Finland

Porvoon Linja-autoasema Oy

Lundinkatu
Porvoo, Finland

Airport

Helsinki Airport: For International and Domestic flights.

Malmi Airport: Mainly used for General and Private Aviation.

Railway Stations

Helsinki Station

Kaisaniemenkatu 7
Helsinki, Finland