Your ultimate guide to exploring Helsinki
Get up early or stay out late, here are some places that you need to visit in the city
If the Danes gave us LEGO and the Swedes gave us IKEA, the Finns gave us Artek and Marimekko, two brands that introduced the world to modern design. Jewellery designer Suhani Parekh of Misho offers a day-to-night guide to Helsinki, the city of makeshift galleries, vinyl markets and Insta-worthy architecture.
Misho’s Suhani Parekh attended Helsinki Design Week, Image: Suhani Parekh
Day
8am: Grab a coffee and blueberry muffin to go, at the bakery at Hotel St George (Stgeorgehelsinki.com). Then cut across Esplanadi Park to explore cobbled streets lined with picture-perfect pastel homes before you arrive at the neoclassical Helsinki Cathedral.
9.30am: Follow the wind towards the harbour, to the market square, where you’ll find the Old Market Hall (Vanhakauppahalli.fi). Finland’s oldest indoor market, it serves incredible traditional treats like Finnish Easter eggs, fried muikku (a freshwater whitefish), and pulla (a delicious cardamom-scented bread filled with loganberries).
10.30am: Helsinki Central Library Oodi (Oodihelsinki.fi), with its undulating roof punctuated by circular skylights, is a sight to behold. Inside, a cooking studio, a PlayStation room, a 3D printing facility and recording studio unfold a library from the future.
12pm: Stroll on Aleksanterinkatu, a street filled with design stores, galleries and art nouveau structures.
1pm: A long lunch at Ultima (Restaurant-ultima.fi), a chic concept restaurant that experiments with sustainable food, is highly recommended. Watch your greens grow in a vertical system built along the walls, where aeroponic potatoes rest in columns and mushrooms wait in glass balls before they hit the pan.
3pm: Ullanlinna, one of Helsinki’s design districts, is the perfect place to check out galleries, vintage markets and picture-perfect architecture. Don’t miss Huvilakatu, a long street lined with a row of art nouveau buildings in pastel shades.
Aleksanterinkatu is a street lined with fashion and design stores, Image credit: Shutterstock
Night
5pm: Löyly (Loylyhelsinki.fi), a modern sauna, is not only an architectural gem offering uninterrupted views of the Baltic, but also a great space to mix with locals as you enjoy a sunset sauna with a side of lingonberry G&Ts.
8pm: Summer dinners at the Savoy (Savoyhelsinki.fi) afford a stunning view, courtesy the late-setting sun. Try the pike perch, steamed and served with almond potato from Lapland, Carelian caviar and hollandaise sauce.
10pm: Designed like a greenhouse, Kappeli (Raflaamo.fi) serves unmissable crème brûlée and chocolate ganache.
11pm: Hit one of Helsinki’s speakeasies. Ring the doorbell to enter Chihuahua Julep (Chihuahuajulep.fi), which offers seasonal cocktails, a tech detox (smartphones are forbidden), and a complete glam retro feel with vintage sofas.—As told to Akanksha Kamath
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