Here’s a movie about Helsinki. This movie will give you a quick impression of the destination. The movie is not made by our own IFLY crew members. A special IFLYtheworld movie is in production and will be online soon.
IFLY tips
Sightseeing tram (1 hr - 1 day)
The tram sightseeing has live commentaries in English, Swedish and Finnish. Maps with information in other languages are also available in the tram. The guide comments on all the major attractions along the tram route.
The sightseeing tour takes circa one hour and the ticket is valid for the whole day during the tram's operating time. The sightseeing route passes by all major Helsinki sights attractions like: Linnanmäki Amusement Park, Sea Life Helsinki, Natural History Museum, the popular market places, Temppeliaukio Church, Senate Square, Olympic Stadium and Stadium Tower. Also the Sibelius Monument is within walking distance from the tram route.
Tickets can be bought from tram stops at: Mikonkatu and Market Square and from Helsinki Expert Sales Points, Pohjoisesplanadi 19 at Helsinki City Tourist and Convention Bureau and the Main Railway Station. Tickets cannot be bought from the guide or driver. A ticket will cost €17 for an adult.
Visit Unique Lapland (1½ hr)
You don’t need to travel all the way to the north anymore. If you like to visit Lapland, you can just stay in Helsinki and experience this wonderful but very cold place.
You can visit Unique Lapland in approximately 1,5 hours. You will get thermal clothing, open the door and you are in Winter Wonderland. Visit the igloos of the snow hotel, see the snow and ice decorations, try tobogganing, kick sledging and snow shoeing, meet the friendly arctic animals – reindeer and husky dogs, have a break in a Lappish “kota”. The weather forecast of the day is always: -5 degrees Celsius, no wind, steady weather conditions.
Open every day from 8.00 am until 8 pm (closed on 25th and 26th of June) Price: 18 € / adult
You can even stay overnight at the Igloo Hotel. For more information on that, click here. The place is located 15 minutes away from Helsinki city and is built indoors in Ylläs-Halli (Savikiekontie 4, 00940 Helsinki).
Design District (1 - 2 hrs)
Design is a factor deep-rooted in the urban lifestyle of Helsinki. Design is manifest in the everyday lives of Helsinki citizens in many ways, ranging from home furniture and items that represent old Finnish design traditions to modern urban solutions in the city and contemporary interior design. Helsinki has been chosen as the World Design Capital 2012 among 48 competitors.
Located in the centre of Helsinki, the Design District Helsinki is an area full of design and antique shops, fashion stores, museums, art galleries, restaurants and showrooms. It offers an ideal place to get to know Finnish design and to buy top-class Finnish design products.
Design District Helsinki is a neighborhood and a state of mind. It is 25 streets and 190 spots on a map from shops to galleries and from design studios to design hotels. It is creativity, uniqueness, experiences, design and Finnish city culture. At this website you can download a map of the district to your phone.
Have a look at this movie about Finnish design.
Helsinki by boat (1½ hr - ½ day)
Sun Lines has a beautiful canal route that takes you on a memorable sightseeing trip during which you will be able to hear the history of Finlands capitol and learn more about present day Helsinki during a trip of an hour and-a-half.
Only Sun Lines ships run this route and offer you sights of Suomenlinna sea fortress, beautiful archipelago summer cottages and saunas, the fantastic Degerö Canal, Korkeasaari Zoo, and assorted ice breakers and harbours.
For details about the trips, prices, schedules check the website of the operators.
Kiasma museum (2 hrs)
The museum is closed on Mondays. The rest of the week the opening hours are: Tue 10 am-5 pm, Wed-Fri 10 am-8.30 pm and on Sat-Sun 10 am-6 pm. The admission fee is €8. On the first Wednesday of each month from 5 pm to 8 pm the entry is free for the whole museum. The museum is located at Mannerheiminaukio 2.
Kayaking in Helsinki (½ day)
In summer it’s also wonderful to explore the surroundings of Helsinki by kayak. You can join an unforgettable kayaking trip in the beautiful archipelago with experienced guides.
This full service guided paddling tour operates at Vuosaari Paddling Center and other locations. The paddling tour, which is also suitable for beginners, take place daily between 10 am and 1 pm.
A tour will cost you €59 per person. This includes return transfers, all paddling equipment, an English-speaking guide, sandwich and beverages. Tickets can be bought from Helsinki Expert Sales Points at Pohjoisesplanadi 19 at Helsinki City Tourist and Convention Bureau and the Main Railway Station. Bookings should be made before 6pm the night before at latest.
Finnish sauna (2 hrs)
The Finns invented the sauna and feel quite comfortable being naked. Visitors to Finland in search of a true cultural experience should go to the Urjönkadun Uimahalli, an art-deco bathhouse with three types of saunas and a swimming pool.
There are separate days for women and men, but once you get inside there is little privacy from your fellow bathers. Bathing suits are not banned, but almost everyone goes without one.
The Urjönkadun Uimahalli is located at Yrjönkatu 21b. A single ticket is €4.20 for the first floor pool and electric saunas, €11 for the access to the second floor saunas and the pool. The men’s days are Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday and the women’s days are Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday. The complex is open until 9 pm on most days.
Helsinki Zoo (3 hrs)
As large predators have all but disappeared from most of Europe, in Finland fortunately they have four great predators still roaming the Finnish wilderness. And in the Helsinki Zoo you can see them as well. But in this zoo, which is beautifully located at an island, is much more to see. You can see the whole world on one island.
The Korkeasaari island lies close to the city centre north of Kruunuvuorenselkä. You can easily go there by bus number 11, the Zoo Bus, which runs from the Central Railway Station to the Helsinki Zoo all year round every day, except on Christmas Eve. The platform at the Railway Station is no. 8. Estimated travel time is 20 minutes.
The zoo is open every day, all year long. It opens at 10 am. In winter it closes at 4 pm in summer at 8 pm. A normal ticket costs €10. In summer you can go to the island by boat as well from the Market Square and Hakaniemi. A ticket for the zoo including boat is €16. Tickets can be bought onboard the ferry.
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Language of the world
Of course you like to speak a few words of the local language onboard the plane or at your destination. Here you find some simple basics of the main language spoken in Helsinki.