Vanhankaupunginlahti means the “old city bay”. Helsinki was originally founded here in 1550 by King Gustav Vasa I, just a 20-minute tram drive away from the current city centre. An equally easy and rewarding way to get here is by cycling. Nowadays, the mouth of the Vantaa River serves nature lovers, tech freaks and culinary […]

Helsinki’s location makes it a great starting point for anyone who wants to explore the nearby cities. From Helsinki, you can visit neighbouring St. Petersburg and it is possible to do so without a visa. Finland borders Russia on the eastern coast and Helsinki is just under 400 kilometres away from St. Petersburg.  Perfectly located […]

Statues and sculptures abound throughout Helsinki, and these statues tell interesting stories that are often lost on passersby. Now, Helsinki has developed an innovative way of telling you the stories behind each statue – by letting the statue do the talking! Currently there are fifteen statues which have this feature. When you visit the statue […]

Helsinki’s new central library Oodi opened on December 5, the eve of Finland’s 101st Independence Day, a fitting celebration for one of the most literate nations in the world. Located at Kansalaistori Square in the heart of the city, Oodi promises to be a transformative and multi-functional space, defying any notion of the library as a dated public […]

The Lapinlahti former psychiatric hospital stands poised on the edge of Lapinlahti Bay, a naturally beautiful site noted for its richness in biodiversity.  Much like the rare butterfly (Depressaria Chaerophylli) that can be found in the area, its future is uncertain, but its history certainly deserves preservation. The Lapinlahti estate is comprised of several structures, […]

Here are 10 must-see museums for you to visit in Helsinki that offer a wide variety of collections for every taste: AMOS REX The re-invented Amos Rex museum is a meeting place for art and urban culture, located in the centre of Helsinki. Mannerheimintie 22-24, 00100 Helsinki Tel. +358 (0)9 684 4460 E-mail: museum@amosrex.fi Open: Mon 11 […]

Profane art (or secular art) had its hesitant origin in Finland in the 18th century Isak Wacklin’s rococo portraits and in Nils Schillmark’s paintings, which employed the Neoclassical idiom. Elias Martin’s landscape paintings documenting the fortification of Viapori represent a unique curiosity from the same period. At the turn of the nineteenth century, Finnish artists absorbed influences from the […]

The influence of plein-air painting The adoption of the plein-air method drove Finnish artists out into the midst of the peasantry and into the natural landscape. Artists, who usually had an upper-class background, began to make excursions into the “original Finland” that was supposed to lie in the forest wilderness of Karelia. Romanticism Landscape painting […]

Getting from Helsinki to Espoo is even easier, now that the new West metro extension has openend. Exploring Helsinki’s neighbouring city makes for a great day out.