smart traveller helsinki

Search Smartraveller

Latest update

Exercise normal safety precautions in Finland.

Finland (PDF 410.18 KB)

Europe (PDF 2.62 MB)

Local emergency contacts

Fire and rescue services, medical emergencies.

Call 112 or go to a hospital.

Call 112 or go to the local police station.

Advice levels

• Finland's terrorism threat level is 'elevated' (level 2 of 4). ​​Be alert to possible threats, especially in public places.
• Protests or demonstrations could take place. They can turn violent. Monitor the media and avoid affected areas.
• Pickpocketing and purse snatching is common. Credit card theft and skimming also happens. Check for card-skimming devices before using ATMs. Monitor the media for news on crime.
• Winters are extremely cold, and there's heavy snowfall, including in metropolitan areas. Finland also experiences severe storms, rockslides, floods and strong winds. Monitor the media and follow the advice of local authorities.

Full travel advice: Safety

• Finland has a reciprocal healthcare agreement with Australia that allows Australians who visit for fewer than 90 days free access to emergency medical services. This doesn't replace the need for travel insurance.
• The standard of medical facilities is similar to Australia. The main hospitals are in the Helsinki, Tampere and Turku areas.

Full travel advice: Health

Penalties for drug offences, even for possession of small amounts, include heavy fines and jail.

• Dual nationals who are registered residents of Finland may need to do national service. Check with the Finnish Defence Forces .

Full travel advice: Local laws

• Entry and exit conditions can change at short notice. You should contact the nearest embassy or consulate of Finland for the latest details.

Finland is part of the  Schengen area . In some situations, this lets you enter Finland without a visa.

• Finland has closed land border crossings with  Russia indefinitely. From 15 April , maritime crossing points in the Eastern Gulf of Finland will also close. The train service between St Petersburg and Helsinki is suspended. This situation may change at short notice. 

Full travel advice: Travel

Local contacts

• The  Consular Services Charter  tells you what the Australian government can and can't do to help when you're overseas.
• The Australian Consulate in Finland provides limited consular and passport assistance.
• For consular help, contact the  Australian Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden .
• Follow the embassy's social media accounts to stay up-to-date with local information.

Full travel advice: Local contacts

Full advice

Recent attacks in European cities have targeted places popular with travellers, including:

• public transport
• places of worship
• sporting venues
• public places

The Finnish Security Intelligence Service assesses Finland's terrorist threat level as 'elevated', the equivalent of level 2 on a 4-point scale.

In August 2017, there was a fatal stabbing attack in central Turku.

Finnish authorities say the attack was terror-related.

To protect yourself from terrorism:

• ​​be alert to possible threats, especially in public places
• be careful around locations that could be terrorist targets
• report any suspicious activity or items to the police
• monitor the news
• take official warnings seriously
• follow instructions from local authorities

If there's an attack, leave the area as soon as it's safe. Avoid the affected area in case of secondary attacks.

Terrorism is a threat worldwide.

More information:

Civil unrest and political tension

You might encounter protests or demonstrations.

Public protests and events that draw large groups of people can turn violent.

During periods of unrest:

• monitor the media and other sources about possible unrest
• avoid the affected area
• follow the advice of local authorities

Demonstrations and civil unrest

Serious crime isn't common.

Pickpocketing and bag-snatching is common.

Credit card theft and skimming also happens.

To protect yourself from crime:

• check for card-skimming devices before using ATMs
• monitor local media for the latest crime trends

Cyber security 

You may be at risk of cyber-based threats during overseas travel to any country. Digital identity theft is a growing concern. Your devices and personal data can be compromised, especially if you’re connecting to Wi-Fi, using or connecting to shared or public computers, or to Bluetooth. 

Social media can also be risky in destinations where there are social or political tensions, or laws that may seem unreasonable by Australian standards. Travellers have been arrested for things they have said on social media. Don't comment on local or political events on your social media. 

More information:  

• Cyber security when travelling overseas  

Climate and natural disasters

Winters are extremely cold, and there's heavy snowfall, including in metropolitan areas.

This may delay transport and temporarily shut down infrastructure.

Finland experiences  severe weather , such as severe storms, rockslides, floods and strong winds.

If there's a  natural disaster :

• keep your passport in a safe, waterproof place
• contact friends and family with regular updates about your welfare
• monitor the media, other local information and the  Global Disaster Alert and Coordination System
• Travel insurance

Get comprehensive travel insurance before you leave. 

Your policy needs to cover all overseas medical costs, including medical evacuation. The Australian Government won't pay for these costs.

If you can't afford travel insurance, you can't afford to travel. This applies to everyone, no matter how healthy and fit you are.

If you're not insured, you may have to pay thousands of dollars up-front for medical care.

• what activities and care your policy covers
• that your insurance covers you for the whole time you'll be away

Physical and mental health

Consider your physical and mental health before you travel, especially if you have an existing medical condition. 

See your doctor or travel clinic to:

• have a basic health check-up
• ask if your travel plans may affect your health
• plan any vaccinations you need

Do this at least 8 weeks before you leave.

If you have immediate concerns for your welfare or the welfare of another Australian, call the 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on +61 2 6261 3305 or contact your  nearest Australian Embassy, High Commission or Consulate  to discuss counselling hotlines and services available in your location .

• General health advice
• Healthy holiday tips  (Healthdirect Australia)

Medications

Not all medications available over the counter or by prescription in Australia are available in other countries. Some may even be considered illegal or a controlled substance, even if prescribed by an Australian doctor.

If you plan to bring medication, check if it's legal in Finland. Take enough legal medicine for your trip. Your personal supply can include:

• prescription medications
• homoeopathic products 

Carry a copy of your prescription and a dated letter from your doctor stating:

• what the medication is
• your required dosage
• that it's for personal use

If you plan to stay longer than 3 months, find a doctor and pharmacy early in your stay who can re-supply your prescription medicines.

Prescribed narcotics are restricted. Check with the Finnish Customs Authority.

Health risks

Tick-borne encephalitis is a risk if you travel in forest areas or to the Aland Islands.

Ticks are common in rural areas and are active from March to November.

To protect yourself from illness:

• use insect repellent
• wear long, loose, light-coloured clothing

After visiting forested areas:

• check yourself for ticks
• remove any ticks as soon as possible
• keep checking the tick site for infection
• Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare

Medical care

The standard of medical facilities is similar to Australia.

Emergency services are limited in remote areas.

Major hospitals are located in the Helsinki, Tampere and Turku areas.

English is widely spoken.

A reciprocal health care agreement (RHCA) allows Australians who visit for fewer than 90 days to access emergency medical services for free.

It doesn't provide the same amount of cover as Medicare in Australia. It doesn't cover:

• ongoing treatment of pre-existing health conditions
• medical evacuation
• prescription medicines
• elective surgery

You must present an Australian passport and a valid Medicare card to get emergency treatment. You may also need to mention the RHCA.

If you can't show your passport and Medicare card, you may need to pay the same costs that apply to non-residents.

This arrangement doesn't replace the need for private travel insurance with medical cover.

• Medicare - Reciprocal health care agreements

You're subject to all local laws and penalties, including those that may appear harsh by Australian standards. Research local laws before travelling.

If you're arrested or jailed, the Australian Government will do what it can to help you under our Consular Services Charter . But we can't get you out of trouble or out of jail.

• Carrying or using drugs
• Partying safely

Australian laws

Some Australian criminal laws still apply when you're overseas. If you break these laws, you may face prosecution in Australia.

Staying within the law and respecting customs

Dual citizenship

Finland recognises dual nationality.

Dual nationals who are registered residents of Finland may need to do national service.

Check with the Finnish Defence Forces .

Dual nationals

Visas and border measures

Every country or territory decides who can enter or leave through its borders. For specific information about the evidence you'll need to enter a foreign destination, check with the nearest embassy, consulate or immigration department of the destination you're entering. 

For more information about visa requirements, refer to the  Finnish Immigration Service .

Entry and exit conditions can change at short notice. Contact the nearest  embassy or consulate of Finland  for details about visas, currency, customs and quarantine rules.

Entry into Finland

If you're arriving from non-EU and non-Schengen countries, you must have regular travel documents:

• a passport and, if necessary, 

Some countries will only let you enter if your passport is valid for 6 months after you plan to leave that country. This can apply even if you're only transiting or stopping over.

Some foreign governments and airlines apply the rule inconsistently. Travellers can receive conflicting advice from different sources.

You can end up stranded if your passport isn't valid for more than 6 months.

The Australian Government doesn't set these rules. Check your passport's expiry date before you travel. If you're not sure it'll be valid long enough, consider getting a  new passport .

Lost or stolen passport

Your passport is a valuable document. It's attractive to people who may try to use your identity to commit crimes.

Some people may try to trick you into giving them your passport. Always keep it in a safe place.

If your passport is lost or stolen, tell the Australian Government as soon as possible:

• In Australia, contact the  Australian Passport Information Service .
• If you're overseas, contact the nearest  Australian embassy or consulate .

Passport with X gender identifier 

Although Australian passports comply with international standards for sex and gender, we can’t guarantee that a passport showing 'X' in the sex field will be accepted for entry or transit by another country. Contact the nearest  embassy, high commission or consulate of your destination  before you arrive at the border to confirm if authorities will accept passports with 'X' gender markers. 

• LGBTI travellers  

Schengen area

When you first enter the Schengen area, get an entry stamp in your passport from border control.

Always carry your passport.

If you have one, always carry your Finnish residency permit. You may be asked to verify your identity.

Always carry a valid passport even if travelling from another Schengen country.

The currency of Finland is the euro.

Declare amounts over 10,000 euros or equivalent currency if you're travelling between Finland and any non-European Union (EU) country. This covers all forms of currency, not only cash.

You don't need to declare cash if travelling to or from another EU country.

Local travel

Travel from russia.

Finland has closed land border crossings with  Russia indefinitely. From 15 April , maritime crossing points in the Eastern Gulf of Finland will also close. The train service between St Petersburg and Helsinki is suspended.

This situation may change at short notice. 

More information

• Finnish Border Guard website  
• Travel advice for Russia

Road Travel

Roads are in good condition. They can be dangerous in winter when it gets icy.

Long, dark nights during winter can reduce visibility.

Check the  Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency  for updates on road conditions.

Get to know the local road rules.

​​Headlights must always be on, even during daylight hours.

Winter tyres must be fitted:

• from 1 December or when it first snows (whichever is earlier)
• until 31 March or later if roads are still icy

The blood alcohol limit is 0.05%. Authorities may arrest you if you're caught driving over the limit.

• Driving or riding

Public transport

Public transport, including buses and trains, is reliable and safe.

• Transport and getting around safely

Use officially marked taxis.

DFAT doesn't provide information on the safety of individual commercial airlines or flight paths.

Check  Finland's air safety profile  with the Aviation Safety Network.

Emergencies

Depending on what you need, contact your:

• family and friends
• travel agent
• insurance provider

Always get a police report when you report a crime.

Your insurer should have a 24-hour emergency number.

Consular contacts

Read the Consular Services Charter for what the Australian Government can and can't do to help you overseas.

Australia has a consulate in Finland, headed by an Honorary Consul.

It provides limited consular assistance. The consulate can't provide visa or immigration services or issue passports.

You can get full consular assistance from the Australian Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden.

Australian Consulate, Helsinki

Museokatu 25 B 23 00100 Helsinki Finland Phone: (+358) 10 420 4492 Email: [email protected]

Australian Embassy, Stockholm

Klarabergsviadukten 63, 8th Floor 111 64 Stockholm, Sweden Phone: +46 8 613 2900 Email: [email protected] Web: sweden.embassy.gov.au Facebook: Sweden Embassy Face​book X: AusAmbSe

Check the Embassy website or Facebook page for details about opening hours and any temporary closures.

24-hour Consular Emergency Centre

In a consular emergency, if you can't contact an embassy, call the 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on:

• +61 2 6261 3305 from overseas
• 1300 555 135 in Australia

Travelling to Finland?

Sign up to get the latest travel advice updates..

Be the first to know official government advice when travelling.

Helsinki the World’s Happiest Smart City

Explore the link between happiness and smartness, citizen-centric development, and the trust and transparency that contribute to a thriving environment. Learn why Helsinki is the perfect testbed for smart solutions and high quality of life.

Listen to the HEL of a business! podcast

Helsinki is the happiest city and smartest testbed for sustainability and a good life

Helsinki, the capital of Finland, has earned a reputation as the happiest city in the world. Year after year, it ranks high in happiness, smartness, and innovativeness. But how is this possible in a region known for its challenging weather conditions? The answer lies in Helsinki’s unique blend of happiness, smartness, and sustainability.

The link between happiness and innovation in Helsinki

The world happiness report.

“Kel onni on, se onnen kätkeköön,” wrote Eino Leino, a Finnish poet in 1900. Loosely translated it means that if you are happy, you shouldn’t let it show. And that’s been a successful strategy for the Finns for many years.

Then in 2018, the World Happiness Report declared Finland as the happiest country in the world, and Helsinki has consistently topped the report since then. The region’s residents may not always show it on the outside, but there is an inner happiness that stems from the city’s ability to make everything work seamlessly.

In Finland, everything just works. Even if you are not smiling on the outside you’re smiling on the inside. Sami Kazi Senior Principal Scientist and Research Team Lead, VTT

Smart City Rankings

Helsinki excels not only in happiness but also in other rankings. The Helsinki-Uusimaa region has been recognized as the most innovative region in Europe. According to the Smart City Index , Helsinki is the eighth smartest city in the world. This index considers not only economic and technological data but also the residents’ perceptions of their city’s smartness.

The index defines a smart city as “an urban setting that applies technology to enhance the benefits and diminish the shortcomings of urbanisation for its citizens.” What differentiates this index from many others, is that it considers also the residents’ perceptions of the smartness of their city, as well as economic and technological data.

Helsinki’s sustainable and citizen-centric approach

Enabling innovation and creativity.

Helsinki serves as a real-life living lab, where people and companies can test new solutions. Participatory design and citizen-centric decision-making are deeply ingrained in the city’s DNA. The city’s strategy focuses on making life more comfortable and effortless for its residents, attracting companies to pilot their innovative solutions. This approach empowers citizens to actively shape their environment.

Passion for a better city

Helsinki residents are passionate about improving their city. Movements like Cleaning Day originated in Helsinki, and districts like Kalasatama are co-developed by residents, companies, and the city. The Agile Piloting Program , born in Kalasatama, engages citizens in pilot projects and has become a model adopted by other cities in Finland and beyond.

Helsinki is a city full of people waiting for the revolution. They really want to make the world a better place, and they’re trying to lead by example.   Bruce Oreck Former Ambassador of the United States to Finland

The forerunner smart city

Helsinki’s ecosystem is extremely well-connected, with different innovation hubs collaborating instead of competing. In an article from the New York Times, former Ambassador of the United States to Finland,  Bruce Oreck explains, “Helsinki is a city full of people waiting for the revolution. They really want to make the world a better place, and they’re trying to lead by example. Which is a paradox, because Finns are decidedly not showy people.”

Business thrives in Greater Helsinki, offering superb access to talent and a strong emphasis on quality of life. Startup Genome recognizes the ease of doing business in the region, given its pioneering network technology, and global leadership in 5G and 6G development.

Trust, transparency, and happiness

The importance of trust.

When Reader’s Digest carried out their famous  wallet experiment , in Helsinki the wallet was returned, with all contents intact, 11 times out of 12. Honesty truly is the best policy, especially in Helsinki.

Trust, transparency, and safety are fundamental pillars of Finnish society. Helsinki boasts high levels of trust, both between people and in the government. This trust contributes significantly to happiness and creates a safe and predictable business environment.

“I would say [trust] contributes significantly to happiness. If you know you are in a safe, trusted environment I don’t see why you would not be happy”, says Kazi.

Transparency and open data

Transparency is a core principle in Helsinki. Rules, regulations, and decision-making processes are openly shared, and data is made readily available for public use. Open data fosters trust and allows individuals and businesses to build innovative solutions that enhance the lives of citizens and the city itself.

When you bring people together and give them an environment in which to be creative, the magic starts to happen. Cities become functional; society becomes happy. Sami Kazi Senior Principal Scientist and Research Team Lead, VTT

It also means that you should expect very few surprises, for example as a business owner. The same rules and regulations apply to everyone and the business environment is predictable and transparent.

Transparency also means that as much information as possible is openly shared with everyone. You have open access to the aforementioned rules and regulations, the city’s decision-making processes and decisions are publicly shared, and best of all, data is openly and freely available.

“The moment a city opens data for the public it’s immediately saying, “I’m offering you the opportunity to trust me”. So open data by anybody leads to trust from the other party”, explained Sami Kazi.

In Helsinki, things just work. The city’s focus on happiness, smartness, sustainability, and transparency creates an environment where people can live their best lives and businesses can thrive.

Apply to become one of the Founders to Finland!

Establish your business in Helsinki to access the EU market, join an innovative tech ecosystem in a value-driven society, and enjoy a famously excellent work-life balance. Experience business and life in the capital of the world’s happiest country.

Related articles

Founders to Finland Participants 2024

Learn more about this year’s Founders to Finland participants and their ambitions to grow and connect in Helsinki, a leading innovation hub.

Helsinki conference attendee satisfaction score 95%

Explore Helsinki’s top foodtech innovations—from cellular agriculture to vertical farming—and how they’re benefiting the global food industry.

Happiness in Helsinki: Social safety, nature & trust

In Helsinki, we’re not saying we’ve figured it all out, but if happiness were a contest, we’d be the reigning champs. Seven times over, in fact. It’s not just us bragging – the World Happiness Survey says so. But what’s our secret sauce? Simple things, really: fairness in our paychecks, a buddy system that’s ironclad,…

Contact Helsinki Partners

If you are interested in learning more about Helsinki and its possibilities – please contact us via the form here. We’ll make sure to get back to you within a few working days.

National Geographic content straight to your inbox—sign up for our popular newsletters here

• SMART CITIES

Smart Cities: Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki isn't just a smart city—it's artsy, cool, and edgy. Understated swank make this European city a must-visit.

Finland is celebrating a century of independence. Some credit kalsarikännit, the Finnish concept of drinking at home alone in your underwear, for this milestone, but the World Economic Forum has another notion. The 2017 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report names Finland as the world’s safest destination. The Nordic nation is also the world’s fifth happiest country, according to the World Happiness Report . Helsinki, the coastal capital, seems to have turned native son Eero Saarinen’s futuristic outlook into a blueprint for urban innovation that benefits locals and visitors alike. The city is collaborating with think tanks and philanthropies to plan for the rollout of self-driving vehicles. Kalasatama , the old harbor area, is now a revitalized district brought back to life through public-private partnerships. There and throughout the city, creative incubators are at work, growing global acclaim for sustainable cuisine, environmental preservation, and Scandinavian style, making for a walkable city well worth exploring now.

Eat Food Halls and Dining Feasts

Finnish photographer Katja Hagelstam created Lokal in 2012 with the aim to combine a shopping and gallery experience. Visitors can catch revolving exhibitions like the recent “Black Lake,” which features custom furniture by Nikari , and “Bloom,” a collection of art by designers under 30. Visit CraftCorner to stock up on goods made by local artisans, or stop at Artek Helsinki to get a classic custom-made Alvar Aalto stool that you can ship back home.

FREE BONUS ISSUE

Related topics.

• TRAVEL AND ADVENTURE
• CULTURAL TOURISM
• FOOD TOURISM
• RESTAURANTS

You May Also Like

Where to stay in Helsinki, Finland's design-conscious capital

How to plan a weekend in Stavanger, where Norway's fjords collide with urban charm

A food guide to Barcelona, from historic markets to atmospheric vermouth bars

How to plan a weekend in South Moravia, Czech wine country

A guide to Kilkenny, the modern Irish city in a medieval skin

• Perpetual Planet
• Environment
• History & Culture
• Paid Content

History & Culture

• Mind, Body, Wonder
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Your US State Privacy Rights
• Children's Online Privacy Policy
• Interest-Based Ads
• About Nielsen Measurement
• Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
• Nat Geo Home
• Attend a Live Event
• Book a Trip
• Inspire Your Kids
• Shop Nat Geo
• Visit the D.C. Museum
• Learn About Our Impact
• Support Our Mission
• Advertise With Us
• Customer Service
• Renew Subscription
• Manage Your Subscription
• Work at Nat Geo
• Sign Up for Our Newsletters
• Contribute to Protect the Planet

Copyright © 1996-2015 National Geographic Society Copyright © 2015-2024 National Geographic Partners, LLC. All rights reserved

Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

UK Edition Change

• UK Politics
• News Videos
• Paris 2024 Olympics
• Rugby Union
• Sport Videos
• John Rentoul
• Mary Dejevsky
• Andrew Grice
• Sean O’Grady
• Photography
• Theatre & Dance
• Culture Videos
• Food & Drink
• Health & Families
• Royal Family
• Electric Vehicles
• Car Insurance deals
• Lifestyle Videos
• UK Hotel Reviews
• News & Advice
• Simon Calder
• Australia & New Zealand
• South America
• C. America & Caribbean
• Middle East
• Politics Explained
• News Analysis
• Today’s Edition
• Home & Garden
• Broadband deals
• Fashion & Beauty
• Travel & Outdoors
• Sports & Fitness
• Sustainable Living
• Climate Videos
• Solar Panels
• Behind The Headlines
• On The Ground
• Decomplicated
• You Ask The Questions
• Binge Watch
• Travel Smart
• Watch on your TV
• Crosswords & Puzzles
• Most Commented
• Newsletters
• Ask Me Anything
• Virtual Events
• Betting Sites
• Online Casinos
• Wine Offers

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in

The Independent's journalism is supported by our readers. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn commission.

Apps, VR and utopian neighbourhoods: Why Helsinki is Europe’s smartest city

It's easy to see why the finnish capital has been named a european smart tourism capital, says  karyn noble, article bookmarked.

Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile

Sign up to Simon Calder’s free travel email for expert advice and money-saving discounts

Get simon calder’s travel email, thanks for signing up to the simon calder’s travel email.

“What would be better than owning a car? If I could go anywhere, anytime on a whim. Finns will do approximately five car trips a year to their summer house; the rest of the time the SUV sits outside the house. When you build one app like this that puts everything together in one place, it makes people want to get rid of their cars. If a pizza comes to you in 15 minutes, why couldn’t a car?”

I’m in a restaurant in Helsinki called Yes Yes Yes, listening to Sampo Hietanen, the CEO and founder of Finnish start-up MaaS Global, who invented the Whim transportation app, one of a new breed of smart apps in the city.

Helsinki (along with France’s Lyon) is one of the first cities to be selected from 38 contenders as a European Smart Tourism Capital, part of a new EU-wide annual competition. In order for a city to be considered, it needs to demonstrate outstanding achievements in four categories: accessibility, sustainability, digitalisation and cultural heritage and creativity.

I’m already marvelling at their creativity in this restaurant for managing to make turnips exciting (served with garum mayo and Jerusalem artichoke vinaigrette). It’s my first time in Finland, having visited all the Nordic countries previously, and I’m trying to put my finger on what makes Helsinki different. While the Finns are very proud of having one of the world’s first smart capitals, it seems to be less of a let’s-blow-our-own-trumpet-about-new-technology attitude and more of a natural recognition of how life is made easier through listening to people’s needs.

This, combined with a natural offbeat quirkiness, leads to some fabulous results. My favourite personal example of this can be seen in the giant SkyWheel on the waterfront, which one would assume is like any other capital city’s ferris wheel. But why is one of the gondolas brown? Oh, that’d be the SkySauna. Elsewhere, happy pictures of women can be found all over the Market Square: they’re the “Marthas”. Essentially grandmothers for everybody, they’re available to give free advice on matters spanning home economics to Finnish family and society.

Plans for sustainable floating cities

Being a traveller in Helsinki is also overwhelmingly easy, with everything within walking distance or a few reliable tram stops away. But they’re determined to make it even easier with the Whim app (nicknamed “the Netflix of transport”), which offers a subscription service to all transport (bike rental, taxi, car hire, trains, trams). I’d already been impressed by the app’s ability earlier that morning to assume that I wanted to cheat my way around Helsinki’s public transport. Initially I couldn’t finish installing the app because, on arrival in Finland, I’d manually adjusted the settings on my phone to ensure the clock display was on Helsinki time. The Whim app needs your phone’s time settings to “automatically update”, presumably because most people who use it here are locals, not those with a UK network. This ensures that when I buy a ticket that’s valid for 80 minutes, I don’t get to tinker around with the time to make it last all day on my phone.

When I decided to take a screenshot of my ticket in case I lost access to wifi, the Whim app wouldn’t let me do that either. The ticket needs to be “active”, with its little swirl rotating. Fortunately, free wifi access is pretty solid across Helsinki’s public transport network, which is another boon. Helsinki: 2, Me: 0 (even though I wasn’t deliberately trying to outsmart their app). Having just one device that covers absolutely all transport options seems like something incredibly tricky to organise, yet somehow the Finns have managed it.

Things trip up a bit on the summer island of Lonna, where I was introduced to the Virtual Helsinki headset, built using 3D modelling by the City of Helsinki in partnership with VR studio Zoan. I’d like to think that the headset being glitchy was related to the circumstances (I’d recommend the Lonna craft beer), but the technology didn’t seem to want to play that day. The idea is to present a complete digital experience of Helsinki for visitors, with realistic water and wooden surfaces captured in high resolution to sense the city in a new way, complete with changing seasons. I can attest to a traditional sauna and dip in the Baltic at Lonna being your next best realistic water and wooden surface experience, however.

• How to get the best Black Friday deals this year

Becoming an EU Smart Tourism city involves not just meeting existing criteria but having clear plans in place to continue to develop initiatives. Helsinki is aiming to be carbon neutral by 2030, and my head spins a bit when I visit the new neighbourhood of Kalasatama where this utopian future is being built. Wandering about this kind of manufactured, very neat, artfully designed suburb (the film The Truman Show crossed my mind), felt a little surreal. Currently home to 3,000 residents (25,000 projected by 2035), this Smart City pilot project, has an “urban lab”, designing ways for its people to not just live sustainably but to gain an extra hour of free time a day by doing away with the frustrating aspects of life, such as queueing, commuting and grocery shopping. One tangible example of this pleasantness at work is that no one will ever be woken up by a rubbish collection truck: everyone in this community has access to an underground air-tube system that sucks everything away at 70kmph to a central processing facility. Residents still need to sort the rubbish into five various streams and take it to the above-ground portal on each block where it’s recycled or converted to biogas, but there’s a definite virtuous efficiency aspect to the whole scenario.

Returning to the airport using the Whim app involves an easy tram ride to the Central Station, where I once again admire the world’s most beautiful Burger King in its Art Nouveau building, followed by a sparkling clean train, full of ridiculously happy children dancing their way to a field excursion. Much as a rebellious part of me wants to roughen up the pristine, somewhat manufactured atmosphere of the do-good Kalasatama neighbourhood, there’s also a grudging respect for everything they’re trying to achieve. While the rest of the world burns, Helsinki may be blissfully saunaing in its carbon neutrality by 2030.

Travel essentials

Getting there.

Finnair flies direct from London Heathrow to Helsinki from £99 return.

Staying there

Marski by Scandi has recently had a refurbishment and is renowned for its cocktail bar. From €218, room only.

If you have your heart set on a sauna in your room, then Lapland Hotels Boulevard is for you. From €259, room only.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Helsinki - Winner of 2019 European Capitals of Smart Tourism

Boasting 460 years of history, Helsinki is also a modern city with a burgeoning smart tourism industry. Powered by its open approach to public data – available free for all since 2009 – Helsinki has become a hotbed of software innovation. 

Helsinki boasting 460 years of history

Helsinki is a modern city with a burgeoning smart tourism industry. In 2017, visitors to Finland’s capital reached record numbers, with in excess of 4.5 million people taking advantage of a destination that mixes high-tech and sustainable design with stunning arts and culture all in one compact and vibrant city.

Smart ways to get around the city

The city’s smart public transport system enjoyed a rise in user satisfaction over the last two years and Helsinki isn’t standing still. An ‘Uber boat’ system is under consideration and driverless buses are being trialled on open streets.

Helsinki has been ranked second at the Accessible City Awards in 2015. And, if you do need any extra help, multilingual ‘Helsinki Helpers’ are stationed at main attractions to offer assistance.

Visitors will see first-hand some of the 143 measures in place to help Helsinki become carbon neutral by 2035. The Helsinki Road Map prevents overcrowding and supports local business as it guides tourists around the city, while 75% of hotel rooms are certified environmentally friendly. Helsinki is also increasing the share of cycling, walking, and electric cars and trains.

An innovative approach to cultural tourism

Powered by its open approach to public data – available free for all since 2009 – Helsinki has become a hotbed of software innovation. One of the major successes is the MyHelsinki.fi website, an ad-free service platform featuring recommendations from the people who know the city best – the locals.

If you’ve come to Helsinki for its famous spa life, you won’t be disappointed. Saunas form an important part of Finnish culture and national identity, and there are plenty to choose from. Helsinki features a wide array of environmental friendly saunas that are made from sustainable wood and powered by water, solar heating and wind.

For more details, visit  myhelsinki.fi

Find out more about Helsinki´s activities

The European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative presented at the Haaga-Helia University

The European Capital of Smart Tourism initiative and the benefits that the title of the 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism has brought to Helsinki were presented on 29 January 2020 to the students of the Haaga – Helia University. Jukka Punamäki, Senior Advisor at the City of Helsinki, shared with the students the initiatives and measures that transformed Helsinki into a smart tourism destination.

Digital Tourism think-thank global convenes in Helsinki 

Helsinki, the 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism, hosted the Digital Tourism Think Tank (DTTT) Global on 4 & 5 December 2019, with their main topic being Sustainability. The DTTT Global is an annual event that hosts high-ranking speakers, discussions and workshops, all with the aim of shaping a sustainable future for tourism and the overall travel industry. Lyon attended the event and talked about their significant win and becoming the 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism. Helsinki too shared their best practices as tourism destination in Sustainability, Digitalisation, Accessibility and Cultural Heritage & Creativity. Find out more about the DTTT Global  here .

Smart Tourism workshop in Helsinki 

2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism Helsinki hosted a workshop for the cities that were shortlisted in both the 2019 and 2020 competitions. Representatives from the cities and the European Commission took the opportunity to share best practices and explore opportunities to tackle common challenges together.

See a range of examples of smart tourism measures in the  Compendium of Best Practices .

European Tourism Forum

The European Tourism Forum is an annual event where travel industry representatives and associations, as well as other stakeholders have the chance to discuss policy with public authorities at EU, national and regional level. The future of the industry and of course smart tourism topics formed an essential component of this year’s forum. It was therefore fitting that the event took place in 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism, Helsinki.

Find out more about the European Tourism Forum  here .

Media visit to Helsinki 

A group of European journalists were in Helsinki last weekend (13-15 September) to experience the smart tourism initiatives that helped the Finnish capital to become the 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism.

The journalists met with Jenny Tiapale, Helsinki Marketing’s Head of Partnerships and Networks to discuss how the city is paving the way as an innovative destination.

The group ate at zero-waste restaurants, tried out the city’s interconnected transport system, took a boat trip to the Suomenlinna fortress – a UNESCO world heritage site and even had a go at 3D printing in the brand new Oodi Library.

See some pictures from the visit  here .

2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism Helsinki presented at World Tourism Conference 2019

The 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism Helsinki was represented at the World Tourism Conference 2019 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ! Jukka Punamäki, Senior Advisor at the City of Helsinki, gave a speech at the conference’s session ‘Unique Tourism – Success Stories’ and shared with the audience the best practices that transformed Helsinki into a smart tourism destination.

The conference’s theme was  ‘Beyond Tourism – Beyond Expectation’ . The event served as a platform to explore new possibilities and potentials within the discovery of new frontiers in the tourism sector. Find out more about 5th edition of the World Tourism Conference  here.

Think sustainably digital service

What if making sustainable choices was as easy as using your favourite app? This week, Helsinki has released a service that enables users – locals and visitors alike – to find the city’s most sustainable restaurants, experiences, shops and accommodation. The app also features a route planner which displays CO2 emissions per trip, to encourage users to switch to emission-free transport options.

This new digital service is based on sustainability criteria that have been tailor-made for Helsinki and comes as a result of a public survey, in which Helsinki residents expressed a desire to be supported in making more sustainable choices.

Find out more about Helsinki’s “Think Sustainably initiative”  here .

Visit Finland annual meeting 

The Visit Finland annual meeting is the most important gathering of tourism stakeholders in Finland. At the 2019 annual meeting, Helsinki’s achievement as European Smart Tourism Capital were presented to around 100 destinations and stakeholders in Finland, from all areas of the industry. Representatives of Helsinki highlighted the best practices for which the city was recognised.

Find out more about Visit Finland  here .

Helsinki at IMEX 2019

Helsinki took part in the  IMEX  tourism fair in Frankfurt, Germany. Together with Lyon, the two European Capitals of Smart Tourism presented themselves as smart tourism destinations and also as leading locations to host congresses, corporate meetings, events and seminars.

Helsinki specifically focused on marketing itself as a smart and compact city, with the ambitions aim to become the world’s most functional city in the near future.

Find out more  here .

Helsinki Tourism Seminar 

In April, myHelsinki is holding a seminar  for representatives of the tourism industry. City marketing employees, as well as local stakeholders, will take attendees through the many smart tourism initiatives in place in the Finnish capital, European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019.

For more details, see Helsinki’s “ Roadmap for Tourism “.

Arrival of Helsinki´s hashtag sculpture

On 12 March, Helsinki, one of the two cities to hold the title of European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019, put up its hashtag sculpture in Rautatientori Square, right outside the city’s Central Train Station.

The sculpture was awarded by the EU to celebrate the city’s success and to stand as a landmark to the four categories of the initiative.

Matka Travel Fair

The MATKA Travel Fair is the largest travel fair in northern Europe. At the fair, Jukka Punamäki from Helsinki marketing, presented the Finnish capital’s success as the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019.  He outlined Helsinki’s achievements in all four categories of the competition, in addition to the benefits the city is receiving, as 2019 capital.

Find out more about the fair  here .

Launch of Helsinki´s new Sustainable Tourism Study

In January 2019, Helsinki launched a study to assess how sustainable tourism is being implemented in the city. The study will be followed up by a new sustainable tourism programme, to be launched later in 2019.

Find out more about the study (in Finnish)  here  and see more about how Helsinki is thinking sustainably  here .

Get the latest smart tourism news from the initiative right in your inbox

Share this page

• Inspiration
• Destinations
• Places To Stay
• Style & Culture
• Food & Drink
• Wellness & Spas
• News & Advice
• Partnerships
• Traveller's Directory
• Travel Tips
• Competitions

All products are independently selected by our editors. If you buy something, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Travel Guide To Helsinki

The capital of Finland is also the country's cultural, financial and economic centre. On the one hand, the city exudes an atmosphere that is tranquil, reserved and nostalgic. The streets are clean and safe and trams weave across cobblestoned avenues. Street musicians play Bach. On the other hand, Helsinki is sleek, efficient and modern, with trendy nightclubs and the highest rate of Internet perpetration in the world. Finnish design has been leading the way for decades; and now the capital's stylish new bars and cutting-edge restaurants make it a hot weekend destination.

Where to stay in Helsinki

BEST WESTERN PREMIER HOTEL KATAJANOKKA

Vyökatu 1, Helsinki (00 358 9 686 450; www.bwkatajanokka.fi ). Look beyond the Best Western branding and this revamped 19th-century prison in Helsinki is a sleek property. It opened as a hotel in 2007. Most of the rooms have been created from two or three cells; three junior suites have private saunas. ££

HILTON HELSINKI STRAND

John Stenbergin ranta 4, Helsinki (00 358 9 39351; www.hilton.com ). This seafront hotel has a pool, gym and saunas (synonymous with Finland) on its top floor. Rooms have wireless internet access and sea views. ££

Kluuvikatu 4, Helsinki (00 358 10 344 4400; www.palacekamp.fi ). The signature material of the Hotel Glo is chocolate-brown leather of the same shade and finish as a piece of Louis Vuitton luggage. This 144-room property just off Helsinki's poshest shopping street clearly knows its target clientele. Located on the same block as its sister property, Palacel Kämp, it appeals to well-heeled visitors who want convenience and comfort without the Kämp's opulence. The bedrooms feel spacious and smart. There's a recurring Spanish theme, from the lobby's tapas bar to the restaurant, La Cocina, and the black-and-white photographs that line the corridors, although the eighth-floor Palace Kämp Day Spa is more typically Finnish - just the place for a traditional sauna or peat-and-honey body treatment. Hotel Glo featured in our Hot List 2008. ££

Pohjoisesplanadi 29, Helsinki (00 358 9 576 111; www.hotelkamp.fi ). In business since 1887, Helsinki's grandest historic hotel is replete with chintz, chandeliers, fruit and flowers. The service is faultlessly professional, impeccable at every turn. You can choose a suitable restaurant from Hotel Kämp's venues. The restaurant, which was established in 1887, has a warm and inviting setting and is perfect for both exquisite dinners and private get-togethers. The more casual atmosphere of Kämp Brasserie & Wine Bar is ideal for informal dining. If timeless elegance grows tiresome, a small lobby connects to a shopping mall and bargain clothes from H&M. £££

Bulevardi 2-4, Helsinki (00 358 2 0770 4700; www.klausk.com ). Considering how proud the Nordic region is of its sense of style, it is sorely lacking in hotels with any real flair. Which is what makes the Klaus K such a triumph. Helsinki’s first design hotel opened in November 2005 with 137 bedrooms categorised by 'emotion': depending on how you feel, choose between Passion, Desire, Envy or Mystical. Downstairs there's a nightclub and bar that's open until 3am at the weekend, as well as three restaurants, each an asset to the city. ££

RADISSON BLUE ROYAL HOTEL

Mikonkatu 23, Helsinki (00 358 20 123 4701; www.radissonblu.com/royalhotel-helsinki ). The lively decor, thriving bar scene and loyalty scheme attract business travellers mid-week and Finns at the weekend. It has two restaurants, one serving steak and the other Scandinavian cuisine. ££

SCANDIC HOTEL SIMONKENTTA

Simonkatu 9, Helsinki (00 358 968 380; www.scandic-hotels.com ). Large, sleek, glass-and-steel business hotel with colourful decor that broadens its appeal beyond the conference crowd. There are 360 rooms, including three suites. The ultra-modern Simonkatu serves international cuisine. On warm days, dine alfresco on the terrace. The service can seem brisk, but the notorious Scandinavian cool soon thaws. The hotel is proud of its green credentials, which include recycling bins in the rooms. ££

SOKOS HOTEL TORNI

Yrjonkatu 26, Helsinki (00 358 20 123 4604; www.sokoshotels.fi ). Tailor-made for a good spy novel, with perfect 1930s architecture, cosy rooms and lots of quiet corners. The hotel was Finland's first skyscraper; it is only 14-floors high but many rooms have splendid views. Don't miss the Ateljee Bar for cocktails - a national treasure.

Where to eat out in Helsinki

Uudenmaankatu 9, Helsinki (00 358 9 621 4059). A trendy hangout on Helsinki's hottest street, popular with artists and students.

CHEZ DOMINIQUE

Ludviginkatu 3-5, Helsinki (00 358 9 612 7393; www.chezdominique.fi ). This holds two Michelin stars for its French-Finnish cuisine: try chef Hans Valimaki's excellent pigeon with duck foie gras or fried halibut with snail porridge.

Kalevankatu 3, Helsinki (00 358 9 647 255; www.ravintolakosmos.fi ). One of the city's most renowned restaurants, a favourite with the intelligentsia and power brokers.

SUNDMANS KROG

Etelaranta 16, Helsinki (00 358 9 6128 5450; www.royalravintolat.com/sundmansKrog ). This atmospheric restaurant is across from the old market hall and serves fine Finnish food. The vaulted wine cellar hosts wine tasting and other events.

The best nightlife in Helsinki

Korkeavuorenkatu 34, Helsinki (00 358 9 1345 6200; www.mecca.fi ). Mecca specialises in idiosyncratic cocktails (it's the only bar in town where you can order a 'Jake's Racoon'), DJs and superb food, the latter courtesy of Hans Valimaki.

What to see in Helsinki

Mannerheimintie 2, Helsinki (00 358 9 1733 6501; www.kiasma.fi ). The new Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by US architect Steven Holl, is still the talk of the Baltic. Cheek by jowl with the famed equestrian statue of Gustav Mannerheim, father of modern Finland, this addition to the Helsinki cultural scene is worth seeing more for the building than for the art, which leans heavily towards video. Open Tues, 9am-5pm; Wed-Sun, 10am-10pm; closed Monday. Under-18s free.

LUTHERAN CHURCH

Senate Square, Helsinki. Carl Engel's architectural masterpiece is still a sight to behold and the view from the top of the steps is unforgettable. You can almost see the Cossack troops who once put down the insurgent Finns when the country was a Russian Grand Duchy.

SUOMENLINNA-SVEABORG FORTRESS

Iso Mustasaari 9, Helsinki (00 358 9 684 7471; www.suomenlinna.fi ). The sea fortress, built in 1748 by the then Swedish owners of Finland and once the largest such installation in Scandinavia, is a must-see. Located in the middle of Helsinki harbour, it is now the site of numerous museums and a bona fide arts colony. Ferries to the island sail frequently from Market Square.

Where to shop in Helsinki

IVANAHelsinki

Lily Bonesso

Mary Lussiana

Sophie Heawood

Monica Mendal

Uudenmaankatu 15, Helsinki (00 358 9 622 4422; www.ivanahelsinki.com ). Here you'll find an eclectic range of clothes and bags in arresting prints that pay homage to the Finnish design scene of the 1950s.

NINA'S

Uudenmaankatu 14, Erottaja, Helsinki (00 358 9 622 1002; www.ninas.fi). This road is lined with independent boutiques. The traffic-stoppingly beautiful model Nina Kurkinen stocks Marc Jacob shoes at her clothes and accessories store, Nina's.

Aleksanterinkatu 52 B, Helsinki (00 358 9 1211; www.stockmann.fi ). This is Helsinki's answer to Harrods. Located smack bang in the centre of town, the store is jammed in winter with shoppers and browsers patrolling eight floors of plenty. Although 'Finnish fashion' is something of an oxymoron, Stockmann offers everything under the moon. It is a store of last resort: if you can't find it at Stockmann, you can't find it in Finland.

How to get to Helsinki

Helsinki's airport, Vantaa, is 20km to the north of the city.

AIRLINES FROM THE UK

Blue 1 ( www.blue1.com ), British Airways ( www.ba.com ), EasyJet ( www.easyjet.com ), Finnair ( www.finnair.co.uk ) and SAS ( www.flysas.com ) all fly to Helsinki.

Tourist information for Helsinki

The City Tourist Office is at Pohjoisesplanadi 19 (00 358 9 3101 3300; www.visithelsinki.fi).

Environment

SUSTAIN EUROPE

Smart Helsinki

October 25, 2019

IMAGE: Helsinki Marketing

Sweden’s King Gustavus Vasa founded Helsinki on the mouth of Vantaanjoki River in 1550 to compete with Tallinn for Baltic Sea trade, but the town grew slowly and only flourished when construction of the Suomenlinna Maritime Fortress began in 1748, bringing in more residents and with them, more trade and wealth.

Today, however, compact and vibrant Helsinki is one of Europe’s fastest-growing cities, offering an intriguing mix of history and high-tech. When it hosted the Summer Olympics in 1952, Helsinki gained a reputation as an efficient and friendly city, and it still has that vibe today; in 2017, it had a record 4.5 million visitors. It also has a growing reputation for sustainable excellence, attracting eco-friendly tourism and organisers of green events and meetings. That excellence has led to Helsinki winning one of the first European Capital of Smart Tourism titles.

European Capital of Smart Tourism Award

The European Commission launched the European Capital of Smart Tourism competition to reward European cities and enable them to share their exemplary smart tourism practices.

The tourism sector is EU’s third largest socio-economic activity, contributing crucial growth and jobs, but still has immense potential for growth. The European Commission want to encourage innovative and inclusive solutions in sustainable, accessible tourism and hope this competition will raise Europe’s tourism profile as and create a platform for sharing best tourism practices among European cities.

They look for a European capital of smart tourism to be:

• Sustainable: working to preserve and enhance the natural environment and resources while maintaining economic and socio-cultural development in a balanced way.
• Digital: offering innovative tourism and hospitality information, products, services, spaces and experiences adapted to the needs of the consumers through ICT and digital tools.
• Cultural and creative: by making resourceful use of its cultural heritage and creative industries for an enriched tourism experience.
• Accessible: easily reachable and physically accessible to travellers with diverse needs and backgrounds through different means of transport.

Two cities showing the most innovative and inclusive solutions in all four areas are awarded the title of ‘European Capital of Smart Tourism’, and this year, these cities were Helsinki and Lyon.

A Smart, Sustainable City by the Sea

Helsinki claims it is “the most functional and sustainable city in the world, built on social cohesion, famous for its design and high-tech, committed to bringing people together through authentic experiences, interesting spaces and nature explorations.”

It’s a bold claim, but you’d be hard pushed to find evidence to the contrary. Helsinki is in the top 5 in the GDS-Index and in 2018 alone, it claimed 9 top positions in smart city surveys, including Best in Smart Tourism and Best Digital Mobility Services, plus second places in a European smart city survey and a home base for start-ups list. The Financial Times named the Helsinki-Uusimaa region the best place for foreign direct investment among mid-sized European regions.

Helsinki has been focused on accessibility and sustainability for a long time and aims to be carbon neutral by 2035. Significant progress has already been made; in 2017, Helsinki’s emissions were 24% lower than in 1990, even though there were 150,000 more residents. It’s also Helsinki one of three Lighthouse cities in the EU-financed mySMARTLife project, developing smart solutions to cut urban energy use by 10–20% and increase renewable energy use.

Helsinki knows that becoming carbon-neutral requires residents, the City, businesses and organisations to work together; its public-private-people-partnerships approach generates new solutions and new business while helping to solve global challenges.

Hundreds of experts, residents and corporate representatives participated via workshops and the Stadinilmasto.fi website to formulate the city’s action plan, Carbon Neutral Helsinki 2035—and here is how Helsinki is bringing about the changes needed.

Testing and developing sustainable solutions

Key players in Helsinki smart city development include Forum Virium Helsinki, an urban innovations unit; investment promotion agency Helsinki Business Hub; the Smart & Clean Foundation; the City of Helsinki Economic Development division and its innovation unit; and the Helsinki-Uusimaa Regional Council. Helsinki Marketing promotes City of Helsinki expertise internationally. Helsinki also attracts private businesses wanting to test solutions and Google has chosen it for its drone transport experiments.

The Helsinki region is home to 70 platforms where change can be managed in a controlled environment. Some are digital, like the Helsinki Region Infoshare databank, and others are physical, like Jätkäsaari Mobility Lab, Stormwater Quality Management and demand response systems for district heating in homes developed within the mySMARTLife project and Kalasatama. Kalasatama is a smart city district with 3,000 residents which acts as a showroom for Helsinki’s smart urban solutions, including a smart waste collection system, extensive electric car capabilities, flexible shared spaces with smart locks, and on-site renewable energy production.

Smart city development is people-oriented rather than technology-driven here: nearly one-third of Kalasatama’s residents have participated in co-creating solutions and the benchmark for success here is for new digital services to give residents one extra hour a day freed from everyday chores.

Helsinki is a world leader in smart mobility and aims to reduce traffic emissions by 69% from 2005 levels by 2035 (Finland’s national goal is 50%). Many emission-reducing measures have been implemented or planned: the city bus fleet will be electric by 2021, the Metro and charging network will be expanded and new micro-mobility options like electric scooters and electric bikes will be provided. The Helsinki-based start-up BOUT is also about to launch an Uber-style platform for on-demand boat rides designed with Forum Virium Helsinki, while various MaaS (Mobility-as-a-Service), platforms are enabling citizens to buy mobility services as digital services, removing the need for urban car ownership.

Clean energy and energy-efficient buildings

Heating accounts for over half of Helsinki’s emissions. The greatest potential reduction lies in implementing energy-efficiency measures during renovations, which could reduce emissions from buildings by 80%. Helsinki has produced a semantic 3D city model and used this as a basis for a 3D map application called the Helsinki Energy and Climate Atlas, which holds real and calculated energy-related data on city building stock. This enables specific building assessments, citywide energy analyses and simulations, and identification of potential energy efficiency improvements. Only a small percentage of Helsinki’s buildings are owned by the City, representing just 11% of the emission reduction potential in Helsinki’s building stock, so residents are encouraged to renovate themselves, and advised on energy renovations and renewable energy. The Smart & Clean Foundation’s RenoLeap project focuses on renovating old Helsinki building stock using prefabricated elements, modular components and smart solutions.

The City is increasingly steering district planning towards carbon neutrality, energy efficiency and renewable energy use in the City’s buildings, replacing outdoor lights with more energy-efficient alternatives, using thermal and wind energy, and promoting wooden construction. For instance, LED lighting controlled by area occupancy and environmental conditions has been installed at Helsinki Zoo and the Paloheinä recreational area.

The City’s energy company, Helen Oy, is working to reduce district heating emissions by 74% by 2035 by utilising waste heat, implementing heat pumps, utilising the demand response for heat and electricity, switching from fossil fuel to renewable electricity production and using electricity storage facilities. The goal is to stop using coal entirely by the 2030s.

Kalasatama’s smart grid is producing Innovative demand response solutions including a V2G (vehicle-to-grid) electric vehicle charging station, which not only charges electric vehicles but also allows them to feed electricity to the grid to ease peak demand.

A clean, circular economy

Helsinki’s goal is to reduce emissions from its own procurements by using environmental criteria to govern its purchases and encouraging operators to improve their sustainability. The City creates platforms and opportunities for developing Smart & Clean business activities and promotes a sharing and circular economy; for instance, residents can borrow clothes from several fashion libraries.

Clothing stores in Helsinki are increasingly selling more clothes and accessories made from recycled materials together with second hand items. Helsinki-based Recci collects textiles, selling some in their stores and ensuring the rest becomes raw material for industry, while at Pure Waste, all clothing is made from 100% recycled material and orders are delivered by bike.

Food waste is also reduced by initiatives like ResQ Club, a mobile app that makes it possible for users to pick up leftover food from restaurants.

Powering change: open data and IoT

IT is big in Helsinki. The University of Helsinki and Aalto University produce top-class data experts and the City of Helsinki employs diverse data professionals to fulfil the aims of its digitalisation strategy, completed in spring 2019.

In 2009, Helsinki was among the first capital cities to start publishing its data as open data. It’s now standard practice here, with all City decisions and documents freely available to all. City interfaces are increasingly open too, allowing developers outside City operations to use them to produce apps that benefit residents and generate new business. The Chinese conglomerate Tencent collaborated with the City and Helsinki mobile operator MaaS Global to develop the WeChat mobile app, which allows Chinese tourists to find their way around Helsinki and make payments.

5G data networks are expanding in Finland and Helsinki, offering new opportunities with the Internet of Things and smart mobility, e.g. navigation of self-driving buses and networking sensors throughout the city, including state-of-the-art air quality sensors used by the Helsinki Air Quality Testbed.

Helsinki collaborates closely with 5G development companies, including Nokia, Elisa and Telia, and together they’ve produced the world’s first liquid-cooled base station, which produces considerably fewer emissions than conventional cooling. The waste heat generated is recovered and used to heat the residential building that houses the base station.

Hosting your Green Event in Helsinki

Helsinki is the 14th most popular congress city in the world (UIA Union of International Associations) and it’s easy to get to: Helsinki airport has direct flights from over 140 destinations and is just 19 kilometres from the city centre (that’s 27 minutes away via a direct train every 10 minutes, and slightly longer by airport shuttle bus, every 20 minutes). Of course, you can also arrive by ferry from Estonia, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Russia, or by train from many cities, including St. Petersburg, Russia.

Once you’re here, getting around green-style is easy too. The rail system criss-crosses the whole city and there are more than 300 daily bus routes. There’s also the metro or environmentally-friendly trams, plus 3,450 City bikes at 238 bike stations, just waiting to be hired and cycled along bike routes through amazing forests and parks. However, nearly everything in Helsinki is in walking distance! It’s no wonder that private cars only account for around 1 in 5 trips here.

The city is welcoming. It’s ranked highly for accessibility and multilingual ‘Helsinki Helpers’ are stationed at main attractions to offer assistance. The Helsinki Convention Bureau is on hand to help event organisers through every part of the event-organising process, from the bidding process through to selecting the best facilities, partners and service providers and promoting the event.

Incentive breaks, breakout activities and evenings out can all be enjoyed sustainably. Want to dine out? The criteria for more sustainable choices state that restaurants should have at least one well-balanced vegan meal (preferably several) on the menu, plus an emphasis on organic, fair-trade and locally produced food.

If you want to sample Helsinki’s famous urban sauna culture, there’s a huge choice, ranging from the traditional to the ultra-modern, and many are environmentally-friendly, made from sustainable wood and powered by water, solar heating and wind. But if you want something more energetic, there’s canoeing, stand-up paddling, or, for the more adrenaline-driven, snow-mobile and RIB boat safaris. In winter, you can try a traditional kicksled or a snowshoe hike.

What about a guided tour of Helsinki’s design landmarks or a private tour of Helsinki Distilling Company’s production facilities (with a taste of their hand-crafted whiskey or gin?). Or a cruise around some of the city’s 300 islands by traditional wooden sailing ship? You can take a ferry to the sea fortress too, now a UNESCO World Heritage site, and there’s more history to be found at Helsinki’s cathedral, museums and Observatory. There are also plenty of green spaces including the Pukkisaari Iron-Age Trading Post and the Old Church Park, Töölönlahti with its charming Linnunlaulu “Birdsong” district and Kaisaniemi with its Botanic Garden.

Helsinki’s Sustainable Meeting Model

The Sustainable Meeting operating model is a new and sustainable way to plan and implement B2B events, based on sustainability work carried out by Helsinki Marketing together with Woltti Group. The aim of the pilot was to develop a sustainable event organisation tool for international meetings and congresses, in turn helping Helsinki to achieve the sustainable development targets set out in the UN’s 2030 Agenda and its own Carbon Neutral 2035 plan.

Working with Finlandia Hall as a test venue, Helsinki Marketing looked at factors such as event venue size, energy consumption, water consumption during the event, waste sorting, and sustainability indicators for food and drinks, such as the amount of organic ingredients, responsibly sourced fish, vegetarian food, water and disposable tableware. The pilot event held there provided useful information in these areas, together with factors such as the sustainability of the transport method participants had used to reach the venue. Participants were urged to travel to the venue as sustainably as possible and to notify the organisers if they were unable to attend, specifically to reduce food waste. Finlandia Hall even collected and weighed all leftover food from this specific event and where possible, it was then used in meals for guests and staff the next day.

The carbon footprint for the entire event was 294.75 kg or 2.89 kg/person, compared to the 6-8 kg/person average carbon footprint for comparable events. This was s achieved in part by serving only vegetarian food, which has around a 50% smaller carbon footprint compared to red meat. Food and drinks accounted for around 60% of the event’s total carbon footprint, demonstrating the importance of sustainable catering. The data from this pilot event has been used to further develop the Sustainable Meeting model, which will be used in all future events organised by Helsinki Marketing, as well as other B2B events not operating under their banner.

This model reinforces the strong sustainability commitment that already exists in Helsinki’s meetings and events industry. All major conference venues in Helsinki have an environmental certificate and a strong commitment to a sustainable society. In the city centre, green venues include Finlandia Hall, Helsinki Congress Paasitorni, Scandic Marina Congress Center, and Messukeskus Helsinki Expo and Convention Center, which can all be reached by foot or by public transport from all hotels in the city centre.

There’s plenty of green accommodation here too: 75% of Helsinki’s hotel rooms are certified environmentally friendly via a variety of labels such as the Nordic Swan Eco label, the Green Key label and the Eco Compass certification.

With so much to offer, aren’t you tempted to visit—and see for yourself if Helsinki is not just “the most functional and sustainable city in the world” but a green and beautiful city, too?

To book your next meeting, event, conference or team building activity in accordance with the highest standards of sustainability then please visit:

www.myhelsinki.fi/en/meetings-and-events/helsinki-convention-bureau-services

SUSTAINABILITY

Terms and Conditions    |   About Sustain Europe    |   Privacy Policy    |   GDPR    |   Advertising    |   Contact Sustain Europe

© Sustain Europe 2023. All rights reserved. Powered by 100% Green Energy. Our pledge to the Environment.

Follow Sustain Europe

• BEST PRACTICES

2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism

Boasting 460 years of history, Helsinki is also a modern city with a burgeoning smart tourism industry. In 2017, visitors to Finland’s capital reached record numbers, with in excess of 4.5 million people taking advantage of a destination that mixes high-tech and sustainable design with stunning arts and culture all in one compact and vibrant city.

Smart ways to get around the city

The city’s smart public transport system enjoyed a rise in user satisfaction over the last two years and Helsinki isn’t standing still. An ‘Uber boat’ system is under consideration and driverless buses are being trialled on open streets.

Helsinki has been ranked second at the Accessible City Awards in 2015. And, if you do need any extra help, multilingual ‘Helsinki Helpers’ are stationed at main attractions to offer assistance.

Visitors will see first-hand some of the 143 measures in place to help Helsinki become carbon neutral by 2035. The Helsinki Road Map prevents overcrowding and supports local business as it guides tourists around the city, while 75% of hotel rooms are certified environmentally friendly. Helsinki is also increasing the share of cycling, walking, and electric cars and trains.

An innovative approach to cultural tourism

Powered by its open approach to public data – available free for all since 2009 – Helsinki has become a hotbed of software innovation. One of the major successes is the MyHelsinki.fi website, an ad-free service platform featuring recommendations from the people who know the city best – the locals.

If you’ve come to Helsinki for its famous spa life, you won’t be disappointed. Saunas form an important part of Finnish culture and national identity, and there are plenty to choose from. Helsinki features a wide array of environmental friendly saunas that are made from sustainable wood and powered by water, solar heating and wind.

Helsinki’s Preliminary Programme of Activities as 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism

For more details, visit myhelsinki.fi

Media Visit to Helsinki

17.09.2019 – a group of European journalists were in Helsinki last weekend (13-15 September) to experience the smart tourism initiatives that helped the Finnish capital to become the 2019 European Capital of Smart Tourism.

The journalists met with Jenny Tiapale, Helsinki Marketing’s Head of Partnerships and Networks to discuss how the city is paving the way as an innovative destination.

The group ate at zero-waste restaurants, tried out the city’s interconnected transport system, took a boat trip to the Suomenlinna fortress – a UNESCO world heritage site and even had a go at 3D printing in the brand new Oodi Library.

See some pictures from the visit here .

Think Sustainably Digital Service

14.08.2019 – What if making sustainable choices was as easy as using your favourite app? This week, Helsinki has released a service that enables users – locals and visitors alike – to find the city’s most sustainable restaurants, experiences, shops and accommodation. The app also features a route planner which displays CO2 emissions per trip, to encourage users to switch to emission-free transport options.

This new digital service is based on sustainability criteria that have been tailor-made for Helsinki and comes as a result of a public survey, in which Helsinki residents expressed a desire to be supported in making more sustainable choices.

Find out more about Helsinki’s “Think Sustainably initiative”  here .

Launch of Helsinki’s new Sustainable Tourism Study

01.2019 – In January 2019, Helsinki launched a study to assess how sustainable tourism is being implemented in the city. The study will be followed up by a new sustainable tourism programme, to be launched later in 2019.

Find out more about the study (in Finnish)  here and see more about how Helsinki is thinking sustainably here .

MATKA travel fair

18-20.01.2019 – the MATKA Travel Fair is the largest travel fair in northern Europe. At the fair, Jukka Punamäki from Helsinki marketing, presented the Finnish capital’s success as the European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019.  He outlined Helsinki’s achievements in all four categories of the competition, in addition to the benefits the city is receiving, as 2019 capital.

Find out more about the fair  here .

Arrival of Helsinki’s Hashtag Sculpture

12.03.2019 –  On 12 March, Helsinki, one of the two cities to hold the title of European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019, put up its hashtag sculpture in Rautatientori Square, right outside the city’s Central Train Station.

The sculpture was awarded by the EU to celebrate the city’s success and to stand as a landmark to the four categories of the initiative.

Helsinki Tourism Seminar

04.2019 – In April, myHelsinki is holding a seminar  for representatives of the tourism industry. City marketing employees, as well as local stakeholders, will take attendees through the many smart tourism initiatives in place in the Finnish capital, European Capital of Smart Tourism 2019.

For more details, see Helsinki’s “ Roadmap for Tourism “.

Visit Finland annual meeting

11.06.2019 – The Visit Finland annual meeting is the most important gathering of tourism stakeholders in Finland. At the 2019 annual meeting, Helsinki’s achievement as European Smart Tourism Capital were presented to around 100 destinations and stakeholders in Finland, from all areas of the industry. Representatives of Helsinki highlighted the best practices for which the city was recognised.

Find out more about Visit Finland here .

European Capital of Smart Tourism

• Smart gets you further
• Spotlight on the European capitals of Smart Tourism 2020
• About the Award
• Value of Smart Tourism
• Award Categories
• Evaluation Process
• Panel of experts
• Award Ceremony
• Factsheet download
• How to Apply in 3 Easy Steps
• Guide for Applicants
• Eligibility Criteria
• Guide for applicants
• Secretariat of the initiative
• European Commission

Don't miss tomorrow's smart cities industry news

Let Smart Cities Dive's free newsletter keep you informed, straight from your inbox.

The City Where 77% of Journeys Are By Sustainable Means

Walking, cycling and public transport now account for 77 per cent of all journeys in Helsinki, with two thirds of Helsinki residents preferring to walk or use public transport on a weekday according to a new survey. This is an increase on the last survey in 2010.

Photo by Katri Niemi/Flickr. 

The survey of 3,000 people found that on a weekday 34% of citizens walk and 32% use public transport; only 22% people travel by car, down from 27% in 2010.

Helsinkians overall average three trips per day, but females between the ages of 7-17 travel the most often, with an average of four trips a day. Over 65s were found to make more than two trips.

More middle-aged women prefer to use public transport compared to men, who are twice as likely to use a car to travel into the city.

Helsinki is known as one of the 'greenest' of cities, with its efforts, along with 14 other cities, giving rise to the creation of the annual European Green Capital Award , which rewards environmentally friendly urban living.

Helsinki's aim is to increase sustainable mobility, but it faces a challenge in the suburbs where passenger cars are used for travel much more than in the city centre. Last year it  announced ambitious plans to eliminate the need for cars by 2025 , making it an ideal site to explore the range of possibilities for the future of sustainable urban mobility.

The data was collected in September and October using telephone interviews by Helsinki City Planning Department. The margin of error of up to ± 1.8 percentage points. It is the fourth such study.

Helsinki has been supported by EMBARQ , together with IDEO, who are working also with Mexico City. In both cases their strategy is to convene a group of transport experts, philanthropists, venture capitalists, bankers, technology gurus, telecommunications providers, marketers, and automakers to explore 'what's next' for urban mobility. They then hope to build out, replicate, and scale the most transformative ideas that emerge.  - See more at: 

Last year the European Commission earmarked more than EUR 500 000 over three years for practical support to active campaigners promoting sustainable urban mobility in European cities, under its Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign.  The European Commission's Sustainable Urban Mobility campaign is linked to the European Mobility Week , which runs from 16 to 22 September every year and culminates in the 'In Town Without My Car!' day. 

Last year over 2000 cities and towns across Europe participated in the 13th such week, t he theme being 'our streets, our choice', which called on people to re-evaluate the way they view the urban space they inhabit, and encouraged them to reclaim it for the use of people, instead of cars.

The website DoTheRightMix records measures taken on sustainable mobility in European cities under the European Commission's Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan (SUMP) Award . Currently they number over 2100.  The award concept is in line with the  Eltis SUMP guidelines  which define a Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan as a 'strategic plan designed to satisfy the mobility needs of people and businesses in cities and their surroundings for a better quality of life'. 

Sustainable mobility has many advantages. Image:  Forum for the Future

How Helsinki fared in the 2022 Smart City comparison

Finland is the world’s happiest and Europe’s second most innovative country.

Helsinki and Finland did quite well in international smart city comparisons in 2022. We have put together a list of key comparison results.

1. The world’s happiest country – once again

Last year, Finland was named the world’s happiest country for the sixth time in a row. Second place was taken by Denmark and third by Iceland. All Nordic countries were in the top ten. The World Happiness Report compares aspects such as gross domestic product and life expectancy. In addition to those, interview surveys are conducted in 150 countries, in which the residents of each country self-evaluate aspects such as their quality of life, their freedom and the degree of corruption in their country. It is worth noting that the same countries that do well in innovation comparisons tend to have top rankings in happiness comparisons as well. Learn more about the comparison here

2. Finland is Europe’s second most innovative country

The European Innovation Scoreboard compares the innovation performance of EU countries. Finland did well in last year’s comparison, taking second place with a result nearly equal to that of the winner, Sweden. In Finland, innovation performance had increased considerably from two years ago. Learn more about the comparison here

“In Finland, innovation performance had increased.” European Innovation Scoreboard 2022

3. Third best balance between work and leisure time

Helsinki has the world’s third best balance between work and leisure time, a report by Kisi indicates. The comparison takes into account aspects such as holiday durations, workday durations, remote work opportunities and cities’ service and price level. The ranking is also affected by the quality of health care, the amount of green areas and air quality. The best balance was found in Oslo, Norway, while the second best was in Bern, Switzerland. Learn more about the comparison here

4. The eighth best smart city in the world

The Smart City Index of the Swiss research institute IMD is the number one smart city comparison in the world. A couple of years ago, Helsinki took second place in the comparison. Helsinki’s ranking has since dropped slightly, to eighth place, but remains in the top ten. The comparison delves into cities’ basic quality of life and degree of technological development. Learn more about the comparison here

5. The ninth most innovative country in the world

The Global Innovation Index compares countries’ level of innovation. Finland is in ninth place in the comparison. The top three consists of Switzerland, the USA and Sweden. Learn more about the comparison here

6. Helsinki, the world’s 11th best smart city

The Smart Cities Index, a joint research project by several universities (not to be confused with IMD’s Smart City Index), ranks Helsinki as the world’s 11th best smart city. The City is applauded for its innovation company Forum Virium Helsinki , the open data service Helsinki Region Infoshare and the Smart Kalasatama smart city area. Learn more about the comparison here

Additional information

More reading

Future blog | what does the future hold for electric cars, shape the future of your city: join the communicity open call, sharing and circular economy project circular green blocks proceeds to the finals in an international competition.

5 ways the Helsinki Smart Region is building citizen-centric and sustainable cities

By Woo Hoi Yuet

Ossi Savolainen, the Regional Mayor of the Helsinki-Uusimaa region, shares what it takes to build smart cities that are citizen-centric and sustainable.

1. Digital inclusion

2. smart mobility , 3. promoting ai , 4. climate-neutrality, 5. collaboration is key.

One Day in Helsinki: A Day Trip From Tallinn

Do you have one day in Helsinki and want to make it count? Here’s a simple and efficient guide to getting around the Finnish capital in one day.

Helsinki wasn’t on my plans at first. But after finding out it was so easy to go there on a day trip from Tallinn (where I was staying for two weeks), I didn’t hesitate.

In this article, I’m sharing my exact day plan in Helsinki which allowed me to cover most of the main highlights of the city. I also recommend alternatives in case you want to see or do different stuff. It’s all on this map .

One Day in Helsinki: Summary

How to get to helsinki from tallinn.

First things first. If you come from Tallinn, the best way to get to Helsinki is definitely by ferry.

The trip on the Tallink Silja ferries takes about 2 hours each way, so you can get on a ferry early in the morning and return in the evening, giving you anywhere between 8 and 14 hours to explore Helsinki. I honestly found it was enough and it saves you money on the hotel. Trust me: Finnish prices are ruthless.

Check my detailed trip review with Tallink Silja below .

What to do in Helsinki in one day

Kamppi chapel.

Kamppi Chapel was my first stop.

No, I’m not religious at all. Apart from its peculiar architecture, what drew me here was that contrarily to other churches these days who turned from temples helping those in need to money-making machines for tourists, this tiny chapel was built with a legitimate and beautiful purpose.

It is intended to be a “refuge” in the city and it provides support and help to anyone who needs it. You can go in for a meditative session, a break to organize your thoughts or even have an anonymous conversation with a staff member if you need to talk. All for free.

• Get there from the ferry terminal: Take Tram 7 or 9 at West Harbour (Tallink’s ferry terminal) and leave at the Simonsgatan station.
• Entrance fee: Free.
• Schedule :Open 9am to 6pm, everyday.

Kauppatori (Market Square)

Take the leafy Esplanadi boulevard to reach Kauppatori (the Market Square).

This area has some things to do, the first one being the market itself. It’s not huge, but the stalls have a wide variety of souvenirs, handicrafts typical to Finland, and my favorite: berries. There are also inexpensive places to eat all-things-fish like baked salmon, salmon soup, anchovies, and herring. Once you’re done with the outdoor market, head to indoor Old Market Hall (just a few steps away, in Eteläranta). Worth to go inside just for the cool building.

As far as I could grasp, locals come to neither of these sites as it’s targeting mostly tourists. If you want a more local market experience, head to the Hakaniemi Market Hall in the hip Kallio district (I did go, but only to find out it was closed for renovations in September 2019).

The epicenter of Helsinki has other reasons for interest. The views over the yachts, ferries, and nearby island are beautiful and better experienced from the top of Allas Sea Pool . This set of open-air pools at different temperatures sees locals bathe even during winter.

Just 2 minutes away located on a small hilltop, take a peek at the Uspenskin Katedraali , which will also double as a vantage point with a nice overview of Helsinki.

Finally, Kauppatori is also where ferries to Suomenlinna depart. Built as a sea fortress spread across seven different islands, it’s one of the most popular day trips from Helsinki. As it’s mostly outdoor and it was raining the entire day I was there, I had to skip it. Hope you get better luck!

Helsinki Cathedral

Dominating Helsinki’s landscape, the whitewashed neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral (locally called Helsingin tuomiokirkko) is perhaps the most recognizable landmark of the city. You can spot it from pretty much anywhere in the central area.

On the outside, it’s impressive and majestic. Taking the massive steps from the plaza to get up there is already quite a sign of the grandiosity of this place. On the inside, however, I found it to be a bit bland and underwhelming.

• Get there from Kauppatori: Just a few steps inwards from the sea, you’ll get to Helsinki Cathedral .

Sibelius Monument

I found this a bit over-the-top but unique and beautiful at the same time. This piece of art consists of 600+ steel pipes that form a wave-like shape, representing music.

At first, I was a bit disappointed, but the more I looked at it, from different perspectives, the more I liked it. The structure makes a sound whenever the wind blows or you talk or clap into it.

The surroundings are beautiful too, with a quiet park and a lake where you can rent kayaks at the nearby Regatta Café .

Everyone coming to Helsinki seemed to include this apparently normal café in their plans, so I had to check what the hype was all about. Guess what – this place is brilliant.

First of all, is not “just” a café. It’s a quaint cabin on the shore of a gorgeous lake, that also rents kayaks and boats. Unless it’s freezing outside, you can sit outside and take in the views.

Then, the food. A large variety of snacks is available, from tasty sandwiches to all sorts of cakes and desserts. I do have a motto: when in the Nordics, eat a cinnamon bun per day. And – just so that you know – it ended up being an outstanding cinnamon bun.

Finally, it has a bonfire outside where you can make yourself cozy as well as cook your own sausages. DIY hotdogs – how no one thought of this idea before is beyond me.

This place is cozy, charming, and unique enough for me to consider it – as weird as it may sound – a must thing to do in Helsinki.

Temppeliaukion

View this post on Instagram A post shared by BRUN🌎 (@bruno_mb) on Sep 9, 2019 at 10:12am PDT

Also known as the Rock Church, Temppeliaukion is a unique church entirely built into a huge solid rock surrounded by residential buildings in the district of Töölö.

This magnificent building was designed by brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Not only the light that comes from the circular dome skylight is beautiful, but the sound of the rain mining from the walls with the piano music playing on the background are delightfully wrapped by the amazing acoustics. What a place.

• Get there from Regatta: Walk to Tölö Torg for about 12 minutes and from there take either the tram 1 or 2 to Sampogatan .
• Entrance fee: 3 euros (2019)
• Schedule : Weird schedules. Officially from 10am to 5pm most days, but it can be randomly closed for private ceremonies any time of the day.

Löyly Helsinki

The last stop of the day is also a well-deserved rest. It’s sauna time! In case you didn’t know the sauna was created in Finland. Sauna is actually a Finnish word! Heck, going to the sauna is the most Finnish thing you can do.

There are over three million of private and public saunas in Finland, and there is no shortage of them in Helsinki too. Whether it’s winter or summer, is a cool thing to experience to have while in Helsinki. Try the new modern seaside Löyly Helsinki complex in southern Helsinki. This is actually a multi-purpose space where people also go to meditate, work on their laptops, read a book, or simply relax.

Remember that men and women are usually separate (although there are mixed-gender saunas too), silence is king, and that nudity is common. No one will care if you bring a towel though.

• Get there from Temppeliaukion: The best way is to take bus #14 from Kauppakorkeakoulut .
• Entrance fee: The admission fee for a two-hour sauna visit is 19 euros, which includes towel, shampoo, and shower gel (2019 prices).
• Schedule : Open from 11am to 11pm, an hour later during weekends.

Do I have time to do all this in Helsinki?

Provided that you use the public transportation to get around – buy the day pass ! – all the places mentioned above are doable in a day. I stayed for a total of 10 hours in Helsinki (9h30-19h30), but you can work the ferry schedules to stay a bit less or a bit more.

However, with only a day in the city, you’ll probably have to choose between Suomenlinna island and the sauna complex at Löyly Helsinki . If the weather is bad, I’d definitely recommend picking the sauna experience. If it’s not and you prefer to be outdoors, take the ferry out to Suomenlinna .

If none of these appeal to you and prefer to hang out at a museum, check Amos Rex right next to Kamppi Chapel or just go for a shopping spree at Stockmann .

How to get around Helsinki for a day

A day pass (8 euros) is more cost-effective than individual journeys (roughly 3 euros). I think I’ve done about 5-6 journeys in total, so it can quickly add up.

To buy your ticket, just head to any tram station or purchase the tickets online. I downloaded the HSL app on my phone and bought a full day pass there with a few taps. When I arrived at West Harbour, I simply walked to the Tram 7 station to catch the tram to the center.

Fun fact: you can also purchase monthly passes on a subscription basis via the app. Finland is already in 2030.

Where to eat in Helsinki?

Quite frankly, I can’t comment much on the food department because I didn’t have a sit-down meal in Helsinki. My super breakfast in Tallink’s Megastar ferry kept me full for (too) many hours and then I had a tasty meatball dinner back on the Star ferry. Here are my two cents anyway.

A sit-down meal in Helsinki is potentially time-consuming, affecting your day plan, and above all it won’t be exactly cheap. Single dishes hit frequently the 20 euro mark.

That said, I imagine ordering a salmon soup (saw it everywhere, must be a trend?) is both filling and recomforting under the chilly weather, for just about 8-9 euros. I also did get some recommendations of affordable and good value restaurants from people who knew I was going there, so feel free to check them out.

• Fafa’s (falafel)
• Friends & Brgrs (burger place)
• Hills Dumplings (Asian fusion dumplings)

My trip to Helsinki with Tallink Silja

I took the 7h30 Megastar ferry to Helsinki and came back to Tallinn at 19h30 on the Star ferry. Here’s a review of my trip with them.

Why choose Tallink Silja?

Tallink is the leader of sea transportation services in the Baltic Sea, carrying almost 10 million passengers/year across its fleet of 14 vessels.

The Tallinn-Helsinki route is operated by Megastar , Star , and Silja Europa . The ferries operated by Tallink Silja have the most frequent departures – up to 7 trips/day – connecting the two city centers throughout the entire year.

And when I say “ferries” I really meant HUGE vessels who are prepared to deal with any variant of the rough Nordic weather. This took away all of my insecurities of navigating in the open sea and assured me I was in for a great trip.

Also, I’m very aware of the impact of cruise ships in the environment so I confirmed their environmental practices were up to standard and they were. Low-sulphur fuel, check. No-spill policy, check. Sewage pollution prevention certificates, check. That’s already a huge improvement compared to most cruise ship companies .

The terminals

To go Helsinki, you need to go to Tallinn’s ferry D-Terminal , a short 15-min walk from the Old Town. On the way back, ferries depart from Helsinki’s West Harbour Terminal 2 , a modern and ample terminal a short 15-minute tram ride from the city center (trams 7 or 9).

Pretty much everything works just like a normal airport. I recommend checking in online the day before so all you need is to show the QR code on your ticket that goes directly to your email. No paper needed.

Make sure you arrive at the terminal at least 30 to 45 minutes in advance before departure.

The Megastar was built in 2017 so everything looks and feels brand new. Holding up to 2,800 passengers, the vessel has 10 (!) floors, and 3 of them are open for passengers on foot. It is equipped with a casino, supermarket, restaurants, a fully stocked Traveller Superstore (with spirits, souvenirs, clothes, and much more!), and even a Burget King and a Starbucks.

The Star is very similar to Megastar in terms of layout and infrastructure. Because it’s a 2007 boat, it’s slightly less modern design-wise but I found the main difference to be in the fewer amount of lounge areas and places to relax. I did find a quiet spot to lay down and close my eyes for a while though. It has a total capacity for 2,080 passengers.

The journey

The journey takes 2 hours each way. Apart from a slight oscillation on the way there for about 10 minutes, both journeys were super smooth.

To save some money (again, Finnish prices are ruthless!), I opted to eat in both boats. On the way to Helsinki, I purchased the breakfast menu ticket for 12 euros, which gives access to a full all-you-can-eat buffet with eggs, bacon, granola, yogurt, coffee, juices, etc.

On the way back to Tallinn, I had dinner at Star main restaurant, that serves daily specials. For 13,50 euros, I had the meatballs with potato purée with a gorgeous view over the Baltic Sea.

Apart from exploring the boat, my favorite memory of traveling in Tallink’s boats was when we were departing Helsinki’s port. I sat at the upper deck on the back and took in the sweeping views while the sun was setting and the boat navigated through the dozens of tiny islands nearby. Magical.

Tallink Silja Review

✅ The boats were MUCH bigger and better than I expected and have all kinds of amenities to keep you busy. ✅ The whole process of getting to the port, checking in, and traveling was much smoother than I had imagined on my mnd. ✅ Also, I was a bit uncertain about traveling in the open Baltic Sea, but both journeys was comfortable and relaxing. ✅ Overall, considering it’s a 2-hour ride, both boats deliver tremendous value-for-money and will give you an experience by itself other than Helsinki. Highly recommend it.

Quite frankly, there was nothing bad enough in any of the journeys to report.

Disclosure: I partnered up with Tallink Silja on this trip. Nevertheless, all opinions are, as usual, my own. What other recommendations you have to see Helsinki in one day? Did you go on a day trip from Tallinn as well? Share your experience below.

You might also like these articles 💬

Japan Two Week Itinerary: The Best of Japan!

Portugal Road Trip: Itinerary & Planning Tips for 2024

15 Barcelona Hidden Gems And Best-Kept Secrets

Share your thoughts 💬 cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

4 comments 💬

I just booked a trip for my son & I to Tallinn for spring break, and we definitely want to do a day in Helsinki. This page is by far the best I’ve come across for detailing the ferry info and things to do in the city. Thank you for sharing your experience & wishing you many more wonderful adventures!

Thank you Christy, glad it was helpful. Enjoy Finland!

We are a group of 12 seniors (70 years old) from the USA, speaking English and Cantonese. We plan to arrive Tallinn on April 1, 2022. Can you please set up a group tour for us for April 2 and April 3, 2022. April 2, 7 AM ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki with your 1 day group tour, one night hotel stay 6 rooms, 2 person per room in Helsinki, one day tour of Helsinki similar to your 11 hour one day tour. April 3 will be free day for us shopping, and will be using your bus pass to go to the terminal for the 4 or 5 pm ferry back to Tallinn. Or, you can pick us up after your finish the one day tour by joining your group.

Please give me a price for us 12 people: 1. Round Trip ferry ticket, 2. One night 3 star hotel in downtown Helsinki with breakfast… not too expensive (6 rooms), 3. Your standard one day tour 11 hour of Helsinki, 4. Bus or tram ticket from downtown to the ferry terminal (or be pick up with the other tour group). 5. Transfer from the Park Inn Hotel to the Ferry terminal on April 2 and from the ferry terminal back to Park Inn Hotel on April 3.

Is this trip do-able and not too expensive? Or we be better off just to take the 1 day tour? Actually, the simplest way is joining your April 2 one day tour from Tallinn but add 1 night hotel at Helsinki. Then everything will be really simple.

Thank you for your help.

I’m afraid I’m not a tour guide nor I do I offer professional services in that regard. My website is just a helping guide for anyone looking for independent travelers.

I suggest you contact Tallinn’s tourist information board – they will help you: [email protected] .

Destinations🌎

Smart mobility in Helsinki

Smart City + Smart Countryside = Smart Region

The Helsinki Smart Region showcases the smart expertise in Helsinki-Uusimaa. Our smart innovation strategy for the region brings together stakeholders from both urban and rural areas for impactful research and innovation activities, all under the overarching theme of Resource Wisdom.

Read more about our strategy

Check out the new Helsinki Smart Region map!

Citizens’ city

Smart traffic systems for the most functional city in the world.

Industrial modernisation

Shorter and safer immunotherapy will help people with pollen and food allergies.

Helsinki-Uusimaa Region provides healthcare companies testing environments and expert services

Read more cases

Finnish circular economy innovations compiled in a handbook

Declaration of european mayors signed by helsinki-uusimaa regional council , european commission awards the eu mission label to espoo’s climate work.

The citizens in Helsinki-Uusimaa are active, creating together with companies and cities agile, user-focused services and solutions. The region is a world leader in making data public and using it to create new businesses. Helsinki-Uusimaa is big enough for systematic development of significant technologies and social innovations, and small enough to make it feasible in practice, too. This theme covers areas such as transportation, housing, urban planning, and healthcare.

Read cases on the theme

Climate neutrality

The Helsinki-Uusimaa Region has set a goal to be carbon neutral by 2035. A transition to a low carbon society requires significant changes to our infrastructure, mobility, and built environment. The Helsinki Smart region is a major operator in developing the most ambitious clean technology in the world, and we have the proven capacity to develop new service models. Climate neutrality theme covers areas such as circular economy solutions, new forms of energy, bioeconomy innovations and new materials.

The Helsinki-Uusimaa Region produces various configurable products using for example industrial IoT and mobile technologies. We develop leading edge technologies for future industry and processes. In Helsinki-Uusimaa there is a broad innovation activity in different fields of strategic value chains such as self-driving vehicles, smart health, hydrogen technology, and cyber security. Areas covered by the theme include, for example, new industrial processes, health technologies, robotics, and travel.

Finland ranks 1st for the best business environment

Helsinki-uusimaa is second in the social progress index, helsinki is the happiest city in the world.

See more rankings

Powered by Juicer

Want to join smart cases, cookie settings.

This site uses cookies. Some cookies are necessary and others are used for analytics purposes. Read more on Cookie Policy -page.

This site uses cookies. Some cookies are necessary and others are used for analytics purposes. Choose here which cookies you allow.

These cookies are necessary for the technical functionality of the site.

Analytics cookies collect anonymised usage information, which is used to develop the site and its contents.