Some may say this is a ghost town, I'm not very sure you could call it that way but this is…read morecertainly a very interesting experience. After a small hike you will find within the woods, abandoned houses that look almost intact. Some of them can be as old as the late 1800's but they are now part of this "ghost town" with chaos, old furniture and a lot of graffiti. Walk around, get into some houses and check the inside (be careful when going up the stairs). The view is stunning, from both the houses and the bay area. Perhaps if you live in Helsinki this can be the place to have a barbecue, it's quite interesting.

I love exploring nature reserves in urban environments and Kruunuvuori fits that bill perfectly…read more It's a forest area in East Helsinki which in the old days was used for the Helsinki population as a weekend retreat. In fact, you can still see various country houses, most of which are in a derelict state and it seems it will only take only one more winter storm for them to fold into pieces like a house built from cards. Nevertheless, Kruunuvuori, which translates as Crown Hill, is well worth a visit if you want to escape from the hectic city life and go for a stroll in the woods. The trails will lead you around in a circle and so you cannot really get lost and it all takes only 30-45 minutes to do one round. While you're walking, you will be able to enjoy nice views over Helsinki Bay and you will spot Helsinki Downtown somewhere in the distance. Now, how to get there: take the metro to "Herttoniemi" and from there catch the bus #88 and get off at the last stop. From there, I suggest you use the map of your smartphone to locate the entrance, which is marked by a barrier...beyond which is all fair game!

Very easy to get to from the City Center. You take #16 bus from central station and the last stop…read morebefore it heads back is the zoo. You can pay on the bus and it does not take very long. In the summer, you can take a boat but this was not an option in April when I visited. The main gate has a little cafeteria and bathroom. The zoo is located on an island and you walk across a bridge to get to the zoo. It is not a large zoo. It has a good number of animals to see. I really enjoyed the seeing the lions. I spent about 2 hours here and pretty much saw everything. It was not very crowded at all. Check what time of the year you are visiting. The weather was still chilly in April and only 1 restaurant was open. The gift shop was open but did not offer to much. The only item I found that said Helsinki Zoo was a postcard. Most of the items on sale are pretty generic non-branded animal related items. Overall, it was a nice visit.

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my…read more As far as zoos go, this one is pretty good. While parking is not precisely convenient, you do get a nice little walk through the woods to arrive there a gigantic bear statue greets you. Unlike say, Berlin, you get the sense that these animals have plenty of space and are generally weather appropriate. I really enjoyed the information (in three languages, Finnish, Swedish, and English) about what level of threatened / endangered a particular animal is in the wild and what efforts this zoo is taking to help the natural environment. The cafes are well located throughout the zoo and the organization makes sense as well. Some odd (to me) bits. The jungle house (tropical house) has a weird insect area that looks like it was built a very long time ago and the insects have just been left to themselves. Creepy crawly indeed. The other odd bit if there are at least a dozen peacocks roaming free around the zoo. I don't know why. They are loud and not afraid of people and sometimes block entire paths with strutting. It's just weird to have so many peacocks in a relatively small space. As an added bonus we visited during hatching season so if you happened across a goose who was still sitting on her nest then her mate would hiss at you and sometimes try to chase you off the path. A bit silly but you know, nice that they all have somewhere to nest (I guess?!?) Definitely a nice half day for families with small children.

A new experience as an American. A lovely location, everyone friendly. Nice sauna. Pool a bit…read morechilly but an enjoyable experience. Beautiful, historic hall.

I've rarely seen a place with such an unfriendly staff! That being said, the place looks nice with…read morea typically Art Deco architecture, so I guess that one had rather go there for the sake of its architecture than for swimming.

Suvilahti is perfect for summer festivals !…read more Not too big but not small. I have been there at Tuska, and it was great because things were close to each other !

Nice place for coffee and a festival.. This isn't as good as Kaisaneimi but it will do and it is…read morebetter than not having Tuska!!

This park has a bad past but you can meet the most interesting people in Kallio. Go there. Don't…read moreworry about the rumors. They have good bars around there. People speak good English. This is one of the only places in Finland where strangers will walk right up to you and start talking. Kallio people are really open and artistic. Visit the bar nearby called Roskapankki, they have th cheapest beer in town.