BTSB offers you a guide to its home town.
Welcome to Helsinki. You’ve heard good things about this town and most of what you’ve heard is true. Just like most of what you’ve about the Finns being shy and quiet is true. But it’s all a crock if you don’t know where to go and who to meet.
So, welcome to the only guide to Helsinki you will ever need. The following is written by a foreigner who has been living in Finland for four years. These are the places that he keeps going back to:
Kallio – Are you a “somebody”? Want to impress people? Then don’t come here, because they don’t care. Lying just north of the central train station, Kallio was once considered the bad part of town. It still is. But everybody knows it and everybody goes there. Basically, it’s a great place to have a great time. The prices are at least half of what they are anywhere else and there’s something for everybody – shopping, cafes, theatres, restaurants, parks, bars, and an amusement park. It’s hard to say what makes this place so special, but Kallio is one of those rare places that defy the impersonality common to most cities.
Tennispalatsi Art Mueseum – This art museum is not the Modern Art Museum (Kiasma), nor is it the Finnish National Gallery (Ateneum). This museum is smaller and better. It sits right downtown next to the new shopping mall and bus station in Kamppi. The variety of exhibits is as vast as the variety of movies in the fourteen-screen theatre downstairs. But the quality of the exhibits does not mimic the movies. Everything from famous photographers to unknown wax sculptures to classic Finnish films have been on display here. And it’s free on Fridays.
Suomenlinna – An island off the coast of Helsinki, this is the epitome of Finnish foreign relations. It’s a military base that was never used. It simply never needed to be. So, out of commission before they were made, the guns and forts are just part of the scenery. The rest of the island contains cafes, restaurants, beaches, schools, churches, a brewery, and the Finnish Naval Academy Officer School. The other guides will tell you the amazingly boring history of this island. What they won’t tell you is that, when you go, you should take a blanket, food, and some refreshing drinks. Have yourself a picnic. If it’s winter time, take a sled.
Asematunneli – If you’re in Helsinki, and especially if it’s winter time, you will go through Asematunneli. It’s the area under the central train station. It allows you to travel underground, where it’s warm in the winter, through a big area in downtown Helsinki. You’ll find things you like (grocery stores, film shops, musicians) and things you don’t like (bums, teenagers, musicians). But every place, and everyone, caters to foreigners in there. And so it’s the easiest place to go when you need something.
Food – Finland is still trying to make a name for itself in the culinary world. So, stay away from the downtown places labeled with nationalities such as “Mexican” or “Italian”. The food at these places, while edible, is a far cry from what they claim it to be. Enough said. Here are two places you can treat yourself to: the first is Kosmos (Kalevankatu 3). It’s a bit pricey but it is worth it. Most of the dishes are Finnish or Russian and some are even named after famous Finnish movie stars and directors, as Kosmos was their hangout. The second place is more for those in the mood for something light. Bar Tapasta (Uudenmaankatu 13) is a tapas restaurant with great food and a great atmosphere for a group.
Helsinki is a great city and now you’re ready to get a small taste of why the Finns love their capital so much.
I agree with your characterization of Kallio. I think it’s very much its own village within the city. Even though it’s not quite the working-class neighborhood it originally was, it’s definitely retained its own atmosphere. Kallio’s rough edges are part of what makes it work.
Hi Joe! I enjoyed your little article about places to go in Helsinki. And if you are interested (and if it’s still there), the restaurant called Knossos, I think, in the old market hall (now an antiques hall) in the Hietalahdentori also serves up excellent food at a decent price & the atmosphere is good, too.
Yes, Knossos is still in Hietalahdentori, simply find the door next to the dude selling vintage Victrolas and modern second hand turntables. For dining in Kallio, Cella locates on Fleminginkatu off of Helsinginkatu, always serving up hearty Finnish home cooking with an atmosphere of, well, Kallio.
your description of the island fortress, now named suomenlinna (the fort of finland) is a bit off, like the name.
it was originally built during the time finland was a part of sweden. the construction was financed by france as a deterrent to russia.
after the incompetent swedish generals and especially one admiral, lost finland after a siege of sveaborg (the originala name of the fortress, translate into the fortress of sweden, in finnish original name viapori, a soundlike translation), the russian took over the fortress.
the english fleet bombarded the fortress in the crimean war.
in the first world war the fortress was manned, but the guns were incapacitetaded by russian officers and finnish w”whites” during the civil war between the legal government of finland and the reds the communist rebels who tried to take over the country.
“newer used” what a load of…
You’re right me, I was bit mistaken about Suomenlinna. From the Suomenlinna.fi pages:
1808 The Finnish war begins. Viapori surrenders to the Russian army with almost no resistance.
1809 Treaty of Hamina. Sweden cedes Finland to Russia.
1855 Crimean War and bombardment of Viapori. Anglo-French fleet bombards the fortress, which is badly damaged.
1917 Russian revolution. Finland declares independence on 6 December 1917.
1918 Fortress is given the name Suomenlinna (Finland’s Fortress) and after the civil war is a prison camp.
1919 Suomenlinna becomes a Finnish garrison.
1973 Military period of the fortress ends.
So we see, in 1808, the flagpole was used to raise the white flag and, in 1855, the whole island was used by the French as target practice. Maybe that’s why they had it made. I think “was never used” is much more preferable than “is one of the only places to be bombed by the French,” don’t you?
…thanks “me” for the educational info. i struggled through its boredom only to remember what joe already said in the article: all you need is a blanket and some drinks and you’ll be happy :)
anyway, you put together a good guide, joe. and yes, kallio is the place to be on a hot summer day, or any day when you’re feeling thirsty. downtown just can’t beat those 2-euros-a-pint prices.