Beautiful park in the city center of Helsinki. Great for people watching and also eating ice cream…read morefrom one of the many kiosks. Many benches but they are full at peak times.

Great park to walk thru to get to the center of the city…read more Barely a block wide but about five blocks long, I was dropped off at the west end and walked thru it to the central market area just across from the Havis Amanda fountain. The central walkway is wide and lined with beautiful mature trees. In the center of the park is a statue of Johan Ludwig Runeberg. On my return walk back to the ship there was a musician playing a violin for tips in front of the statue. A beautiful sound with a fabulous setting. Near the east end is the Kappeli restaurant, opened in 1867. Across from the restaurant is a large outdoor stage, disappointed neither was open at the early time I came thru the park. Both looked wonderful. Across from the park on the north side are several shops, cafes and hotels to wander about while near the park. A very clean area to spend the day in.

Nuuksio Reindeer Park is located in the middle of Nuuksio National Park about a 30-minute drive…read morefrom Helsinki and is Finland's Southernmost reindeer park. Here, my husband and I hand-fed lichen to about a dozen reindeer (We LOVED this activity and have so many great photos and videos of it!), sat around a fire inside a Lappish hut while drinking berry juice and tea and eating cinnamon buns, and purchased reindeer-antler souvenirs in a small shop. If you visit this park, you might want to consider also the on-site restaurant and overnight stay in a thatched cottage or reed hut.

Southernmost Finnish Reindeer Park…read more Located immediately adjacent to the Nuuksio National Park, the Reindeer Park offers guests the opportunity to see and feed reindeer in a 'up close and personal' way. There is also a charming wooden 'Tepee' with a fur covered seats and a blazing firepit in the center. Depending on the kind of experience you arrange you may just get juice, tea, and cookies (as we did) but there is also much larger Finnish/Lappish menu available which includes various grilled meats and sausages as well as stew, risotto, salads, etc. It was interesting and kind of fun to feed the reindeer but also a little sad. We went as part of a bus excursion from Helskini and the reindeer were a bit overwhelmed by the sheer number of people - if you arranged a more private experience I'm sure they (and you) would be much happier.

Great view over all the town. Terraces open in summer. Worth visiting for the view at sunset…read more Very touristic, so many times overcrowded. Overpriced. Finnish way of friendly service: correct, but nothing extra, not even a smile. Not the best place to have a good cocktail. Better to go down to the first floor bar of the hotel.

Hotel Fabian is an excellent boutique hotel, a short walk to the Harbor, Senate Square, all of the…read moremajor museums and cathedrals. The service was excellent as was the breakfast and our Luxury room was completely quiet, comfortable bed and furniture, and fully equipped with a kitchenette.

Tuo pahuksen lokki vei lihapiirakkani! - This translates to "That damned seagull took my meat pie!"…read moreand it was just one of the many useful Finish phrases I learned over my breakfast at the Fabian Hotel. (If you want to find out how to say "Where can I get a fur hat?" in Finnish, you may just have found a reason to stay here yourself! After having stayed at various other hotels in Helsinki, (various Glos, Klaus K), Hotel Fabian is my favorite so far: it's cozy and I felt right at home. The room was relatively big and had everything I wanted (even the tea kettle that Mathias H referred to as missing in his previous review). I even appreciated the blackout curtains, as the sun does set quite late in the Helsinki summer month and rises again awfully early (they really should do something about this ;-) The breakfast is included in the rate and while it doesn't contain hot items such as scrambled eggs, it is perfectly tasty and there's plenty of other things that gave me energy for the day. The staff at the hotel was friendly, but contained in the (typical) Finnish way. + free wifi + free breakfast

Nuuksio National Park contains forests, lakes, wildlife (e.g., flying squirrels), camping areas,…read morerest areas, hiking trails, etcetera. My husband and I visited this park one time. We spent most of our time at the Nuuksio Reindeer Park. There, we hand-fed lichen to reindeer, sat around a fire inside a Lappish hut while drinking berry juice and tea and eating cinnamon buns, and shopping in a small souvenir shop. We really enjoyed the entire experience but particularly the feeding of the reindeer. In the souvenir shop, I purchased a few small souvenirs that were made from reindeer antlers, which fall off both male and female reindeer annually.

One of the newer National Parks in Finland. Wanted to go somewhere different as we were about to…read morestart a journey. A lovely escape for some time. A place for camping in the common areas. We didn't stay long but enjoyed our walk to the lake and time to talk. It was a worthwhile while stop.

U14 is a fun, trendy pick in downtown Helsinki. You're a block from the water and an easy walk to…read moreall the main city center sites. The room decor is unique and the staff are friendly. We had to leave early so couldn't sample the breakfast, but all the primary amenities are available. We'll return as able next time in Helsinki.

This hotel is located in the middle of downtown Helsinki, about a 15 minute cab drive from the…read moretrain station (after the 30 min train ride from the Vantaa airport). Clean minimalistic modern design that you would expect from Scandinavians. Service is very friendly. BTW, everyone speaks English in Finland. The room is on the cozy side but they provide everything a wary traveler could want, including a stocked fridge (not complimentary), and toiletries in the bathroom. They have a 24-hour room service menu, TV, and WiFi. The bed was large and comfortable. The bath was a little odd. It didn't have a shower curtain but rather a small glass screen that was about a foot long to prevent minor splashes from the spigot into the bathroom (which was completely tiled from floor to ceiling anyway). The downstairs restaurant offers a nice breakfast at an extra charge and are walking-distance to all the tourist locations in Helsinki. Very affordable (about $130 USD per night).

The newly opened Radisson Blu Aleksanteri Hotels is a good place to recharge when visiting…read moreHelsinki. While the hotel itself is part of an international chain it still includes many national themes. Furthermore I would characterize this as a boutique hotels as it really have some interesting design aspects. The rooms are pretty good. They still feels a bit old and worn, but they are comfortable - especially the bed. The areas around are really nice - e.g. the sauna. Divided into two sections - men and women - it includes a large locker room, many baths and a sauna. WiFi works on point too. Breakfast is served in their cozy public space on ground floor. This is really delicious. Not an average hotel breakfast buffet at all, and thank god - many hotels are changing this. A large variety of freshly baked bread, cold cuts, cheese and smoked salmon, yogurt with a large variety of seeds and nuts, eggs, bacon, sausage, porridge, smoothie, juices - yes basically everything. This isn't always good, but the quality here is still good. A lot of it is local produce which makes it even nicer to eat breakfast here. This new Radisson hotel is pretty great and I would happily stay here in the future. Room prices are not high either. Generally I find Helsinki very cheap regarding hotel prices (at least compared to my hometown of Copenhagen).

Nice train station at Helsinki airport. Easy to find your way to/from the terminal. From here you…read morecan take a train straight to the city center which is really convenient

Took the train out of Helsinki airport the other day and it was a quick and easy experience…read more Signage is clear from the terminal to get to the trains. There are a couple very deep escalators to go down into the train station. Payment is made via the app. There are also payment islands in the middle of the train station. Payment can also be made by tapping the card reader once on board after selecting the zones and the quantity of tickets. The train into the city is 4,3 Euros with no airport surcharge unlike other cities and takes 38 minutes to get into the city centre.