36 Hours in Helsinki (2024)

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• Luovuus Kukkii Kaaoksesta, which translates to “creativity blooms from chaos,” is a playful restaurant with eclectic décor and inventive small plates.
• Vallisaari, a small island in Helsinki’s archipelago, is home to nature trails, mossy woodlands, grazing sheep and military fortifications with spectacular views.
• The Old Man & the Sí!, the city’s quintessential summer bar, is a seasonal pop-up on an old three-masted wooden schooner docked in the eastern harbor.
• The Aalto House is a modest, two-story home designed by Alvar Aalto and his first wife, Aino, in the mid-1930s that is now a museum open to the public on small guided tours.

• Oodi, the new central library, is a monumental, three-story structure with a striking, curved-wood facade.
• Kansalaistori Square is surrounded by contemporary architectural landmarks, including the curvilinear Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma and the boxy glass Musiikkitalo concert hall.
• Amos Rex is an art museum on Lasipalatsi Square, where a temporary exhibition of enormous elfin sculptures is set amid futuristic, undulating domes.
• HAM Helsinki Art Museum has a permanent collection of murals by Tove Jansson, the Finnish author and illustrator who created the Moomins — the whimsical hippo-like trolls that are today an adorable and indelible part of the country’s modern culture.
• Sompasauna is a popular, no-frills locale in an industrial zone north of the city center with three mixed-gender, clothing-optional saunas steps from the Baltic Sea.
• Uusi Sauna is a modern complex in Jätkäsaari, a new residential neighborhood along the western harbor, with single-gender saunas and an on-site bar.
• Galerie Forsblom is a contemporary art gallery showcasing both established international artists and emerging Nordic talents.
• Studio Aalto, in the suburban Munkkiniemi neighborhood, is a striking building designed by Alvar Aalto in the mid-1950s as an office for his architecture firm.

• Way Bakery, a neighborhood cafe and artisan bakery, has minimalist design and sunny sidewalk tables where locals linger over brunch.
• BasBas Kulma, the sibling restaurant of a beloved neighborhood bistro, serves small plates from a charcoal grill in a sprawling space with brick walls and a laid-back atmosphere.
• Bob’s Laundry, a kitschy laundromat-themed co*cktail bar, serves drinks like the Rum’N’Soap, a tiki-inspired highball with rum, pineapple, lychee, orange and coconut.
• SalamaNation is a beer bar in the downtown Kamppi neighborhood with 20 taps, most dedicated to Finnish craft breweries.
• Rams Roasters, in the southern Ullanlinna neighborhood, is a bustling coffee shop with excellent espresso and buttery, Finnish-style cinnamon buns.

• Hakaniemen Kauppahalli, the Hakaniemi Market Hall, recently reopened after a five-year restoration, with vendors selling fresh fish and meats, seasonal vegetables and edible souvenirs.
• Liike, a Design District boutique, is stocked with unique fashions from up-and-coming Finnish designers.
• Fasaani Antiikki is a maze-like second-hand emporium with antique Finnish ceramics and glassware.
• Salakauppa is a tiny shop filled with fanciful, handcrafted treasures such as Russian matryoshka figurines shaped like root vegetables instead of dolls.

• The Hotel Maria opened in December in the harborside Kruununhaka neighborhood, steps from Senate Square and the neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral, with 117 luxurious, cream-colored rooms and suites along with an on-site restaurant, spa and chandelier-lit bar. Rooms start at around €425, or $464.
• The Hobo Helsinki, which opened this year near the central Esplanade Park, has 183 cozy, colorful rooms and a daily breakfast buffet, fitness center and a popular terrace bar. Rooms start at around €180.
• Scandic Helsinki Hub is an excellent option in the city center that opened in 2022 with more than 350 modern, spacious guest rooms and amenities that include an ample breakfast buffet (included), a gym, sauna and a large coworking lounge. Rooms start at around €150.
• Look for a short-term rental in Punavuori, a cool neighborhood in the southwestern part of central Helsinki with many great restaurants, bars, cafes, parks and coffee shops.

• Public transportation in Helsinki is excellent, with buses, trams and metro lines (single ride, €2.95; day ticket, €9). There are also commuter trains, that connect to the airport, as well as ferry lines. Download the HSL app to purchase tickets, or buy from ticket machines or sales kiosks. Bike-share docks are also stationed throughout the city (day pass, €5). Taxi and ride-hailing services include Taksi Helsinki and Bolt.

4 p.m. See some contemporary sites

Many arrive in Helsinki via the central railway station, which is also an ideal spot to begin a tour of the city’s contemporary architecture. But first, stop to admire the station’s Jugendstil, or Art Nouveau, facade, clad in Finnish granite and designed by Eliel Saarinen with a tall clock tower and stern statues flanking the main entrance. From there, it’s mere steps to Oodi, the new central library in a monumental, three-story, curved-wood building. Head to the top floor — an open-plan, glass-enclosed reading space nicknamed “book heaven.” There, a wide balcony overlooks Kansalaistori Square, a grassy plaza surrounded by other architectural landmarks: the curvilinear Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, the boxy glass Musiikkitalo concert hall and, farther away, the Alvar Aalto-designed Finlandia Hall (currently under renovation).

5 p.m. Combine architecture with art

Continue the tour at Amos Rex, a new museum (known as the Amos Anderson Art Museum before it moved to its current location) that opened in a functionalist building from the 1930s on Lasipalatsi Square. Today the square is dominated by futuristic, undulating domes — each with a spherical skylight for the museum’s subterranean galleries below — and a free temporary exhibition of giant, moss-green elfin figures by the Finnish sculptor Kim Simonsson (through Oct. 20). Inside the museum (admission €20, or about $22), current exhibitions include post-Impressionist paintings by the Finnish artist Magnus Enckell and an experiential installation with beds and silicone “wombs” by the European artist collective Keiken. Visitors this fall should also stop at the nearby HAM Helsinki Art Museum to see “Paradise,” an unprecedented exhibition of Tove Jansson’s large-scale public paintings, which is part of the 80th anniversary celebration of the Moomins, the whimsical, hippo-like trolls that Jansson created (Oct. 25 through April 6, 2025; €18). The museum also holds a small permanent collection of her murals.

7:30 p.m. Submit to creative chaos

Fun might not be listed on the menu, but it’s always included with dinner at Luovuus Kukkii Kaaoksesta, which translates to “creativity blooms from chaos.” This downtown restaurant opened in 2022 with eclectic décor foraged from second-hand shops, a colorful mural of sea creatures and a menu of inventive small plates that changes with the seasons. Ask for a table in the main dining room, where the owner Samu Räsänen charms diners with his delightful banter and fantastic wine pairings. A recent meal also included fresh scallop sashimi with pink sesame seeds and nectarine slivers, white asparagus beneath a frothy tomato-spiked Béarnaise sauce (both €13), and a hibiscus-flavored “tuttifrutti parfait” (€10).

10 p.m. Sweat it out in the sauna

After dinner, socialize as Finns do, in the sauna. Sompasauna is a popular, no-frills option in an industrial zone north of the city center with three mixed-gender, clothing-optional saunas steps from the Baltic Sea. There’s no admission fee (or staff) at this community-run locale, so users are expected to pitch in, either by donation or by helping with chores, like chopping firewood. Bring your own towel and a lock to secure your belongings. For a late-night sweat session with more amenities, try Uusi Sauna, which recently opened in Jätkäsaari, a new residential neighborhood along the western harbor that had been a cargo port until 2008. At this modern complex, the saunas are single-gender (admission, €18; towel rental, €5), and there’s an on-site bar serving Nordic craft beers beside an outdoor courtyard where sauna-goers cool off between rounds.

10 a.m. Shop for edible souvenirs

Vanha Kauppahalli, the 19th-century Old Market Hall, is a natural first stop for many visitors disembarking from the hulking cruise ships that dock along the bustling harborfront. But for a less touristy atmosphere, hop on a tram to Kallio, a residential neighborhood just to the north, where Hakaniemen Kauppahalli, the Hakaniemi Market Hall, reopened last year after a long restoration. Inside the two-story, red-brick building, which first opened in 1914, stroll the airy aisles where vendors sell fresh fish and meats, seasonal vegetables, delectable cakes and pastries, hearty rye loaves and edible souvenirs like smoked reindeer, salty licorice candies and bags of locally roasted coffee beans.

11:30 a.m. Brunch with locals

It’s a short walk from the market to Way Bakery, an all-day cafe and artisan bakery with minimalist design and sunny sidewalk tables where locals linger over granola bowls (€7) and thick focaccia squares topped with burrata (€11.50). For brunch, consider the ever-changing selection of special pastries displayed atop the stainless-steel counter, which recently included frosted rhubarb-strawberry financiers and raspberry-and-mascarpone-filled maritozzi buns (from €6.50). Or order my go-to: the bread plate with chewy sourdough, thinly sliced cheese, a generous schmear of salted butter and a jammy soft-boiled egg (€11).

1 p.m. Sail into the archipelago

On a sunny summer afternoon, you won’t be the only one lining up on the harborfront to board a boat headed to one of the more than 300 islands that make up Helsinki’s archipelago. One of the most popular islands, Suomenlinna, is a former sea fortress (and UNESCO World Heritage Site) to which crowded ferries depart as often as every 15 minutes. For a more tranquil island escape, instead hop on a boat to Vallisaari, a small island that opened to the public in 2016 after serving as a military area since the 18th century (€13.90 round-trip). It’s a breezy, 20-minute ride to this idyllic island, where an easy, two-mile nature trail loops past mossy woodlands, a glittering lake, grazing sheep and military fortifications with spectacular views across the archipelago.

4 p.m. Discover the Design District and beyond

Back on the mainland, meander through the Design District, which has grown to encompass not only shops and galleries but also design-minded hotels, restaurants and museums. Find up-and-coming Finnish fashion designs at Liike, a boutique stocked with shimmering flower-print coats from the Turku-based designer Miia Halmesmaa and hand-crocheted hair clips from a local brand called the Finnish National Romance Museum. In the white-walled galleries of Galerie Forsblom, view a series of color-splashed, politically charged paintings by the Finnish artist Riiko Sakkinen (until Aug. 18, free). Several blocks south, scoop up Finnish antiques, including ceramic plates by Arabia and glassware by Iittala, at Fasaani Antiikki, a maze-like second-hand emporium. Then peek inside nearby Salakauppa, a tiny shop filled with fanciful, hand-crafted treasures such as Russian matryoshka figurines shaped like root vegetables, and hand-painted Japanese kokeshi dolls.

7:30 p.m. Share some small plates

Southwest of the city center, BasBas Kulma is the new sibling restaurant of Baskeri and Basso — a beloved bistro locals call “BasBas” — that opened in a sprawling space with brick walls, exposed pipes and a laid-back vibe. Reserve a table in advance to join the jolly crowd feasting on charcoal-grilled skewers of octopus with spicy ’nduja sausage (€14) and charred spring cabbage smothered in peanut-chile sauce (€12). Other standouts from the menu of shareable small plates might include a crisp kohlrabi-and-pear salad with crumbled goat cheese and rhubarb vinaigrette (€11); a delicious pile of tiny Baltic shrimp, tender potatoes and foamy horseradish cream (€11); and for dessert, a warm Belgian waffle with apricot jam and white-chocolate mousse (€9).

10 p.m. Toast on a boat

After dinner, you could walk two blocks to Bob’s Laundry, a kitschy laundromat-themed co*cktail bar serving drinks like the Rum’N’Soap, a tiki-inspired highball with rum, pineapple, lychee, orange and coconut (€14). Or hop on a tram to SalamaNation, a beer bar in the downtown Kamppi neighborhood, to sample Finnish craft brews like the Neo-Elektro, a hazy I.P.A. from Salama Brewing. Or head across town to the city’s quintessential summer bar: The Old Man & the Sí!, a seasonal pop-up on an old three-masted wooden schooner docked in the harbor beside the northeastern Kruununhaka district, where you can lounge on the poop deck with a Bitter Paloma (tequila, pink grapefruit, hibiscus, lime and tonic; €15) as the sky dims but never fully darkens.

10 a.m. Steep yourself in design

Could coffee be the key to happiness? Finns are among the world’s top consumers of coffee per capita, so it’s certainly part of the equation. To test this theory, step inside Rams Roasters, a busy little coffee shop on a quiet street in the southern Ullanlinna neighborhood. Order a shot of espresso (€4.50) or a light-roast coffee made with beans from Sweden’s Koppi Roasters (€3.50), and don’t sleep on the outstanding baked goods, particularly the buttery cinnamon buns in the Finnish style: oversize and topped with pearl sugar (€5.20).

12 p.m. Admire all things Aalto

The Aalto House is a modest, two-story home that the world-renowned architect and designer Alvar Aalto and his first wife, Aino, also an architect, built for themselves in the mid-1930s. Today the well-preserved building in the suburban Munkkiniemi neighborhood, a half-hour north of the city center by tram, is a museum open to the public on engaging, small guided tours (tickets, €30). The timeless home was a family residence and an office, with a sliding partition separating the wings, both furnished in the midcentury modern style that the Aaltos pioneered. If you’re left wanting more after the hour-long tour, it’s only a seven-minute walk to Studio Aalto, a separate office that Alvar Aalto designed to accommodate the growing architecture firm in the 1950s (guided tour, €20).