An Illustrated Guide
eat · drink · sauna · wander
A short, hand-painted guide for travellers with one or two days in the Finnish capital — built from years of walking tours and the questions people actually ask.
The Chapters
Chapter 1
Six places worth your time
Helsinki begins, as most Finnish days do, with coffee. Finns drink more of it than anyone else on earth. Step into a wooden door, ask for a korvapuusti — the cardamom-scented cinnamon bun — and you are doing it right.
Merikannontie 8, Töölö · near Sibelius Monument
A tiny red log cottage by Taivallahti Bay that feels like the Finnish countryside dropped into the city. Fresh korvapuusti (cinnamon buns), blueberry pie, and an outdoor fire to grill your own sausage — open year-round, even in January snow. Check social media/Google for holiday exceptions.
Pohjoisesplanadi 33 · Kämp Galleria
Classic café on street level, with a second-floor Nordic restaurant and Library Bar upstairs. A more traditional sit-down option in central Helsinki.
Pohjoisesplanadi 19
Come for the architecture. Art Nouveau masterpiece by Lars Sonck — vaulted ceilings, stained glass, stone pillars, a grand piano. Handmade gelato and cinnamon rolls.
Kluuvikatu 3 · near Helsinki Cathedral
Karl Fazer's café opened on Kluuvikatu in 1891. Helsinki's most historic café, baking up to 2,000 pastries daily. Watch confectioners through the glass. Grand café atmosphere.
Töölöntorinkatu 7 · Töölö
Open since 1994 — café by day, bar by night, with a laundromat inside. All-day breakfast. Full alcohol licence. Beloved by students, artists and politicians.
Neitsytpolku 10 · Ullanlinna
Tiny family-run café near Kaivopuisto Park. Specialty coffee from top European roasters; everything baked in-house. Legendary cinnamon buns. Laptop-free zone.
Chapter 2
Go early — they mean it
There is a small queue, and then there is none, and then there are no croissants left. The window goes dark. You learn, as locals have, to come early.
Cygnaeuksenkatu 6 · Töölö
Arguably the best croissants in Finland. Run by Finnish-Spanish baker Daniel Tobal Autiokari — tiny shop, room for two, almost entirely takeaway. Light, buttery, crunchy outside and soft within. Small batch daily.
Chapter 3
Rooftops, cocktails & local favourites
Evenings here are slow and golden. Climb a spiral staircase for the view, ring a doorbell for the mezcal, or wander to Kallio where the bars feel like a friend's living room.
Hotel Torni · 12th & 13th floor · Yrjönkatu, Kamppi
Helsinki's first rooftop bar, 70 metres above the city atop Hotel Torni (1931). Elevator to the 12th floor, then a narrow cast-iron spiral staircase to the open terrace. Panoramic 360° views: city, harbour, Baltic Sea. Cocktails, champagne and the classic Finnish lonkero.
Erottajankatu 5 · Design District
One of Helsinki's best cocktail bars, in the heart of the Erottaja cluster — the city's densest concentration of cocktail spots. Inventive drinks, low lighting, knowledgeable bartenders. A perfect starting point for a cocktail crawl through the area.
Erottajankatu 9, 00130 Helsinki · Design District
A tiny speakeasy-style bar focused on agave spirits — tequila, mezcal and everything in between. Ring the doorbell to enter. Featured by 50 Best Discovery as one of the city's most distinctive bars. Intimate, expert and a little theatrical.
Ring the doorbell — that's how you get in.
Hämeentie 13 · Kallio
A relaxed neighbourhood bar in Kallio — Helsinki's most characterful district. Less polished than the central cocktail bars and all the better for it. Good for a real local feeling: mixed crowd, casual vibe, late nights, occasional DJs.
Vilhonkatu 4 · City Centre
A beloved Helsinki beer bar with one of the city's strongest tap selections — Finnish craft brews alongside Belgian and German classics. Unpretentious, warm, and a reliable choice any night of the week.
A Finnish craft brewery with a loyal following — easygoing, well-made beers and a casual atmosphere. Worth seeking out for anyone interested in the Finnish craft beer scene.
Chapter 4
Restaurants & market halls
Finnish food is the forest, the sea, and a long winter. A bowl of creamy salmon soup, a slice of dark rye, a few lingonberries on the side — supper as a quiet act of survival.
Must-try dishes: Lohikeitto (creamy salmon soup), Poronkäristys (sautéed reindeer with lingonberries), Mustikkapiirakka (wild blueberry pie).
Aleksanterinkatu 22 · Senate Square
Savotta means 'logging site'. Rustic interior with century-old floor planks, vintage Finnish artefacts, staff in traditional attire. The creamy salmon soup is the must-try. Also: reindeer roast, bear stew, Arctic char and Karelian pasties.
Hämeentie 1, Hakaniemi
Beautiful red-brick market hall built in 1914. Fresh fish, cured meats, cheeses, pickles, jams and pastries. Downstairs: produce. Upstairs: specialty stalls and small lunch spots. A true taste of everyday Helsinki. Second-floor and vendor-specific hours may vary.
Kanavaranta 7F · South Harbour
One of Helsinki's most respected Finnish restaurants, in a historic red-brick warehouse on the South Harbour. Seasonal Finnish ingredients — game, fish, forest mushrooms, root vegetables. A favourite of discerning locals.
Espoo · panoramic restaurant
A stunning panoramic restaurant perched above Espoo — spectacular views over the Finnish archipelago. Known for excellent salmon dishes. Worth the short trip from Helsinki.
Chapter 5
Helsinki's world food scene
For a small city, Helsinki eats well from far away — surprisingly good sushi, pho that warms a winter night, dim sum the local Chinese community swears by.
Helsinki punches above its weight in international cuisine — a genuinely excellent sushi scene, a strong Vietnamese tradition and quality Chinese spots.
A long-standing Helsinki favourite for quality Japanese sushi. Traditional preparation, fresh fish, calm atmosphere.
Relaxed neighbourhood sushi spot known for good value and consistently fresh fish. Great for casual lunch or dinner.
Japanese-run sushi restaurant with an authentic approach. Known among Helsinki's Japanese community for doing things properly.
Helsinki's go-to for Vietnamese pho and street food. Generous portions, rich broths, bright fresh flavours.
A well-regarded Chinese restaurant — reliable, tasty and popular with the Chinese community, always a good sign.
Finland's own burger chain — quick, familiar, and everywhere. Think of it as the Finnish McDonald's, with a famously creamy signature sauce.
Chapter 6
Finland's long drink
It is sky-blue and white-striped, it is fizzy, it tastes of grapefruit and summer. Born in 1952 to feed thirsty Olympic visitors, lonkero became Finland forever — and the iconic Hartwall Original can, with its little mountain emblem, is the one you'll see in every kiosk fridge.
Finland's most iconic drink — gin mixed with grapefruit soda — was invented for the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics. The city needed a fast, easy drink to serve thousands of international visitors, and lonkero was born overnight. Light, refreshing, unmistakably Finnish. On tap at most bars and in cans at every supermarket and kiosk (Alepa, K-Market, S-Market). Try one at Ateljee Bar with a view, or grab a can for a fraction of bar price.
Chapter 7
Quintessential Helsinki — please go
There are more saunas in Finland than cars. You undress, you sit, you sweat, you swim in cold water, you sit again. By the third round you understand the country better than any museum could teach you.
A sauna is not a luxury in Finland. It is a way of life. Three very different ways to try it.
Hernesaarenranta 4 · Hernesaari
Helsinki's most celebrated public sauna and waterfront restaurant. Stunning wood-clad architecture on the Baltic shore. Swim directly from the saunas — yes, even in winter. Full restaurant serves Finnish food morning to midnight. Named one of TIME's 100 Greatest Places in the World.
Katajanokanlaituri 2a · next to Market Square
An open-air pool complex right in the heart of Helsinki, on the South Harbour with the Cathedral and Ferris wheel as backdrop. Heated freshwater pool, a children's pool and a chilly Baltic seawater pool — plus five saunas. The most central sauna experience in the city.
Kansanpuistonpolku 5, 00570 Helsinki · Mustikkamaa
A free, volunteer-run, 24/7 public sauna on a rough bit of waterfront on Mustikkamaa island. No staff, no booking, no admission — bring your own firewood and swimwear (though many go without). Mixed, communal and gloriously unpolished. A genuine local experience and Helsinki at its most Finnish.
Bring a towel, water and firewood. Respect the etiquette — quiet, courteous, take turns.
Chapter 8
What to bring home from Helsinki
Finland punches far above its weight in design. A poppy print born in 1964, a glass bird blown by hand since the 1970s, a pair of orange scissors that has not changed in sixty years. Take a little of it home — or just a bar of blue chocolate from the airport.
All of these are easy to find in central Helsinki — Esplanadi, Stockmann department store, the Design District, and the airport for last-minute picks.
Flagship: Pohjoisesplanadi 33
Finland's most famous design house since 1951. The bold Unikko poppy print (1964) is on everything from tote bags and tea towels to dresses. The Esplanadi flagship is the place to start.
Lasipalatsi (Mannerheimintie 22–24) & Pohjoisesplanadi 39
Moomin mugs are beloved Finnish collectibles, and some rare editions are now sold at high prices. Visit Moomin Shop Lasipalatsi or Moomin Shop Esplanadi for official Moomin gifts, mugs, plush toys, books, and Finnish-designed souvenirs to take home.
Pohjoisesplanadi 23 · Esplanadi
Finnish glass and ceramics since 1881. Look for the Aalto Vase (Alvar Aalto, 1936), the colourful Kastehelmi glassware, and the hand-blown Birds by Toikka — small enough for a suitcase, beautiful enough to keep forever.
Finland's beloved ceramic brand, often sold side-by-side with Iittala. Moomin mugs are a national obsession — beloved Finnish collectibles, with rare and discontinued editions now changing hands for hundreds of euros. Also look for the classic Paratiisi pattern by Birger Kaipiainen and timeless white tableware.
Rare Moomin mugs (limited editions, seasonal releases) are serious collector's items — check the year stamp on the base.
The orange-handled scissors that live in every Finnish home — first made in 1967 in the village of Fiskars and now in MoMA's permanent collection. A small, useful, very Finnish gift.
The blue-wrapped Fazer Sininen milk chocolate is Finland's most loved sweet. Stock up at any supermarket (Alepa, K-Market, S-Market, Fazer Cafe). The Fazer Café on Kluuvikatu also sells gift boxes.
Finland's most polarising flavour — black liquorice with ammonium chloride, salty and intense. Try Pantteri, Tyrkisk Peber or Halva brands. Locals love it; visitors rarely do. A guaranteed conversation piece back home.
Wild Arctic berries you cannot easily get outside the Nordics. Cloudberry (lakka) is golden, tart and rare; lingonberry (puolukka) is the perfect partner to cheese or meat. Small jars at any supermarket or market hall.
From Porvoo since 1871 — foam kisses (suukko), salted liquorice and chocolate truffles. Sold widely in Helsinki supermarkets too if you don't make it to Porvoo.
Around Diana Park, Punavuori & Ullanlinna
200+ design shops, galleries, studios and museums packed into a walkable neighbourhood. Look for the black 'Design District' window stickers. Best for independent Finnish designers, jewellery, ceramics and fashion.
Relove · UFF · Fida · Kierrätyskeskus · Hietalahti flea market
In Helsinki, wander from Relove to UFF, Fida, Kierrätyskeskus, and the Hietalahti flea market, where Nordic design, forgotten treasures, and everyday Finnish stories wait softly on second-hand shelves.
Aleksanterinkatu 52
The Nordic equivalent of Harrods — eight floors, since 1862. The basement Herkku food hall is brilliant for edible souvenirs (chocolate, jam, salmiakki, smoked fish), and the homeware floors carry every Iittala, Arabia and Marimekko piece in one place.
Mannerheimintie 9 (Asema-aukio)
Right by the central railway station — a classic Finnish department store with fashion, beauty, homeware and a Herkku-style food hall in the basement. Handy for Finnish brands, Marimekko and last-minute gifts when Stockmann is busy.
Pasila — one train stop from Helsinki Central Railway Station
One of Helsinki's biggest shopping hubs, with almost 250 stores, restaurants and a supermarket all under one roof. About five minutes by train from Pasila to Helsinki city centre — hop on any commuter train and you're there. Great rainy-day backup.
An extra day?
An hour from Helsinki, a century back in time. About an hour east of Helsinki — cobblestones, red riverside warehouses, a hilltop cathedral.
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