Helsinki and around

HELSINKI

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. Helsinki has a population of 630 000, an urban population of 12 150 00, and a metropolitan population of over 1.4 million.

Helsinki is a lively seaside city of peaceful green parks and beautiful islands. The capital of Finland is a compact city easily explored on foot. Helsinki is famous for design, buildings, coffee culture, boutiques, museums, great night life, bright summer nights and great atmosphere.

Read more about Helsinki:

Helsinki by Lonely Planet
Visit Helsinki
Helsinki by Visit Finland
Young Adventuress -blog: 10 things that surprised me in Helsinki

Where to go?

Suomenlinna
Ravintola Löyly (public sauna and restaurant)
Kauppatori, Market Square
Allas Sea Pool
Kiasma, museum of modern art
Rock Church
Seurasaari
Kaivopuisto
– Café Ursula
– Mattolaituri (you’ll find it on Facebook)
Hernesaarenranta restaurants

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TALLINN

tallinna
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, 80 km (50 mi) south of Helsinki, east of Stockholm, north of Riga and west of Saint Petersburg. Tallinn has a population of 449,160.

Tallinn’s Old Town is one of the best preserved medieval cities in Europe and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Tallinn is the major political, financial, cultural and educational center of Estonia. Tallinn has the highest number of startups per person in Europe and is a birthplace of many international companies, including Skype.

Tallinn is a great city to have a day trip. The city offers excellent restaurants for fine dining and great shopping opportunities!

A cruise from Helsinki to Tallinn with Viking Line just takes 2.5 hours!

Bookings:

Viking Line

TallinkSilja Line

(Photo of Tallinn: Rob Oo, Flickr)

PIETARI – SAINT PETERSBURG

talvipalatsiSaint Petersburg is Russia’s second-largest city after Moscow, with more than five million inhabitants.  Saint Petersburg is situated on the Neva River, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea.

It was founded by Tsar Peter the Great on 27 May 1703. On 01 September 1914. The name was changed from Saint Petersburg to Petrograd, on 26 January 1924 to Leningrad, and on 07 September 1991 back to Saint Petersburg. Between 1713 and 1728 and in 1732–1918, Saint Petersburg was the capital of Imperial Russia. In 1918, the central government bodies moved to Moscow.

Saint Petersburg is one of the modern cities of Russia, as well as its cultural capital. The Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments constitute a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Saint Petersburg is home to the Hermitage, one of the largest art museums in the world. Many foreign consulates, international corporations, banks and businesses have offices in Saint Petersburg.

It takes only 3,5 hours to travel from Helsinki to st. Petersburg by train!

Bookings from VR

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PORVOO

Porvoo is a city and a municipality situated on the southern coast of Finland approximately 50 kilometres (30 mi) east of Helsinki. It is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from 14th century.

The Old Town one of the most beautiful cities in Finland. It provides one of Finlands most colourful sights and tourist attractions. Old Porvoo is famous for its narrow lanes and brick-coloured riverside warehouses.

In the Empire-style part of the town, the low wooden houses belong to the classical town plan where the streets form squares. It is here that the home of Finland’s greatest poet, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, provides one of Porvoo’s most popular tourist attractions.

Visit Porvoo

By bus

By ship