There are plenty of things to do in Helsinki for every budget. If you don’t feel like spending much but still want to fully take advantage of your trip, check out these options. We hope that you will enjoy your stay and our city as much as we do.
Just wander around
The city centre in Helsinki is relatively small, so most of the sights are easily accessible on foot. Due to the weather in March probably being quite cold, we don’t recommend spending the whole day outside (at least without proper gear), but you could easily take some 15 minutes here and there to target one or two locations at a time during your visit. Most of them also offer an option to get inside and warm up a bit.
Helsinki Central Railway Station
Depending on your way of travelling, you will probably pass through the Helsinki Central Railway Station when you arrive. Instead of just hurrying forward to your accommodation, we recommend you take a moment to admire the building itself with its iconic stone men guarding the main entrance.
Senate Square
The Senate Square is a good starting point to get to know Helsinki. The Square itself is a little quieter during winter months, but it hosts many impressive buildings worth taking a look at.
The Square’s main attraction, Helsinki Cathedral, is probably the most well known and also the most photographed of all landmarks in Helsinki. It was designed by a famous Finnish architect, Carl Ludvig Engel and it is just as stunning on the outside as it is on the inside. Entry is free anytime except when there is an ongoing church ceremony.
In addition to the Cathedral, the Finnish Presidential Palace is also located around the Square, as is the National Library of Finland. If your hands get cold, feel free to go in and wander among the bookshelves.
Quite close to the Senate Square you can also find the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, which is actually the largest orthodox church in Western Europe.
Oodi library
If you like books, architecture, and even technology you should really visit Oodi, the new public library in Helsinki. It represents a modern urban place that the citizens can gather in together to not only read but to for example try out 3D printing, hold meetings, be creative in many ways, or just hang out. Of course, as the library has just been finished, it is quite a vision also in an architectural sense.
The Kamppi Chapel of Silence
In the middle of one of the busiest business and shopping areas in Helsinki you can take a moment to enjoy complete silence in Kamppi Chapel. You don’t have to be religious to spend a moment with just your own thoughts, the place is calming in itself.
The Finnish Parliament
One of the other notable buildings in the city centre is of course the Finnish Parliament with its classical style. If you are interested in not only seeing the facade but also learning how the Parliament works, you can go to the Visitor’s Centre.
Design District
The Design District covers most of central Helsinki and includes most of the creative businesses of the city. They are conveniently located close to each other, which makes it an ideal spot for window shopping. At the same time you will be able to admire some of the beautiful neighbourhoods of Helsinki like Punavuori and Ullanlinna. And if you are willing to wander a little “off the beaten path”, the neighbourhood of Eira is also worth a visit.
Take in the culture
Helsinki has quite a notable culture scene and you don’t necessarily need big bucks to be part of it. Many museums offer free entrance at least once in a while, and if you have some luck, there might be also free concerts and other cultural events at the time of your visit. Here are some of our recommendations.
The Museum of Contemporary Art, Kiasma, offers free entry on the first Friday of every month and is one of the leading museums of contemporary art in the Nordics.
The National Museum of Finland can be visited for free every Friday from 4pm until 6pm. This is a great place to get to know more about the history of Finland.
Design Museum Arabia offers free entry at all times. The Museum presents the history of ceramic and glass design in Finland via Arabia’s and Iittala’s (famous Finnish brands) products.
Helsinki City Museum is another place with a completely free entry with interesting exhibitions about the city of Helsinki.
The Helsinki Music Centre offers free concerts from time to time. Check the current schedule and cross your fingers for great finds!
Just eat
Everybody has to eat, and it can almost be counted on our list of free activities. Especially if you combine it with a visit to some of Helsinki’s traditional market halls. The halls and their offerings are attractions in themselves but you can also find some affordable lunches or other snacks there, and don’t forget to check out the souvenirs!
Hakaniemi Market Hall can be found near the Hakaniemi metro station. Even though the original building is being renovated at the moment, the temporary building houses all the same shops and restaurants as before.
The Old Market Hall is located close to the Senate Square and it is a good lunch option if you are in the area. It is the most traditional of all the market halls in Helsinki: it has served its customers since 1888.
In addition to Market Halls, there are of course a lot of nice restaurants and coffee shops that we recommend you try. We’ll cover these in a separate blog post later on.
Get to know the Moomins
If you happen to be a Moomin fan, you are lucky: there are three Moomin shops (stores dedicated to these characters) around Helsinki. Two of them are in the city centre and one of them is at the airport. Even if you don’t want to buy anything, you can always just spend a while looking at the items. Tip: if you would like to read more about them, you can find Moomin books from basically any public library.
Take in the view of Helsinki
Hotel Torni offers one of the best views of Helsinki from its bar (Ateljée bar Torni) located in the top floor. Of course, this activity is not entirely free due to the assumption that when you are at a bar, you buy something – but, if you are considering going somewhere for a drink, this could be a good place.
Take a day trip
We strongly encourage you to also look a little bit further than just Helsinki if you have the time. For the small cost of bus tickets you will be able to enjoy either the Finnish nature or get to know one of Finland’s oldest towns.
Nuuksio National Park
To those who want to experience both city and nature on the same trip we suggest you visit Nuuksio, a national park easily reachable from Helsinki. The trails there are very well-marked, so you can perfectly well explore the park on your own. Just note that in the Nordic countries the sun goes down quite early during winter time (in March around 6 pm), so head to the park early to get the most out of it.
Porvoo
Porvoo is the second oldest town in Finland and it is located only around 1h bus ride away from Helsinki. You will get a real small town feeling there, which is quite a change of pace compared to busy Helsinki. One of the main attractions there is old town with its postcardlike views.