Stories / Cultural tourism / Finland
“Helsinki:
the Other Side of the Capital”. This chapter of the journey will
be dedicated to the western part of Helsinki, including some rare or unexplored
by regular tourists places. Previously, we have discovered the eastern part of
the city with its beauty and charm, now it is time to get familiar with the
city’s other side, i.e. the western part. Obviously, we are going to visit the
most interesting places only.
And it has finally happened! Helsinki
officially has its first university station now, i.e. formerly named “Kaisaniemi/Kajsaniemi” metro station is
now “Helsingin Yliopisto/Helsingfors Universitet/University
of Helsinki”. It is a gift to the
university’s 375th anniversary. Speaking of events, there are going to be
plenty of them this year in the city of Helsinki, which will also hold the
world junior hockey championship in the end of December 2015.
In the previous chapter we returned
to the railroad square, so we will continue from that place. Look around and
find Original Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, which was built to host guests during the Olympic Games in Helsinki in 1952.
The hotel is right in front of the railroad station. On the 10th floor, there
is an observation deck with a picturesque view to the city center and Kamppi. So, take your time to enjoy the
place.
 |
| Helsinki Central Railway Station |
Let us continue straight to Kamppi, which
is right across Mannerheimintie (one
of the major streets in Helsinki). You will see a square and perhaps some
events taking place there. Walk around, take a look at buildings around you,
you can clearly see a mix of styles, which makes Helsinki so unusual. You will
see Original Sokos Hotel Presidentti
next to Kamppi station. Speaking of Kamppi, it is also a metro and a coach
station. That is the place where buses to various destinations and also Lux Express buses
depart from and arrive to.
 |
| Kamppi
(Kampen) |
After a good walk around Kamppi we will
continue to the Rock Church, which is not far. You just need to find Fredrikinkatu
and go to the northern end of it. It is quite a nice and peaceful place, and it
is also famous among tourists. Next, walk a bit to the west and find Runeberginkatu, a wide street with
trams. Take your time to wander around, or take a tram trip, it is truly
enjoyable in Helsinki.
Then, let us get back to Mannerheimintie and follow to the north. On your right
side you will see Music Hall (Helsinki
Music Centre), which looks a bit weird, though quite useful for people. Also
you have a park next to the railroad station, where you can walk and enjoy the
atmosphere.
 |
| Rock Church |
 |
| Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma |
On your left side a bit behind, you will
see a small park with a small fountain, a really nice place to walk, read, or
simply sit. Moving on, you will see the Parliament House on your left. A bit ahead you can find the National Museum of Finland.
 |
| The
Parliament |
 |
| National
Museum of Finland |
The western part of Helsinki is as
picturesque as the eastern part, so there is a lot to see, for instance, a
small park by a bay, which will be on your right side if you keep going
forward. On the left, there will be Scandic Park Helsinki Hotel, and right next to it Crowne Plaza Helsinki Hotel. It is a good location in front of the Olympic
Stadium, build to host the Olympics 1952.
 |
| The Olympic Stadium 1952 |
 |
| View near the Olympic Stadium |
There will be a huge sports hall with a
big swimming pool, but if you turn right to Helsinginkatu
and walk a bit, you will find a beautiful park and so-called winter garden.
Plan the winter garden as one of the places to visit, you will truly enjoy it;
it is especially beautiful in summer.
 |
| Winter Garden |
 |
| Opera building |
Take a walk around, if you find it
interesting to you. I would say there is a lot to explore in the city of
Helsinki, though it depends on personal preferences. Anyways, let us continue
and walk through the park to the north of it, there we basically get to another
park in Pasila. Speaking of the
western part of Pasila, which we have not covered previously, there is a good choice
of accommodation as well, i.e. Original Sokos Hotel Pasila.
Once you visited Pasila, you can continue
your way to Haaga, however you might
find it less attractive. In any case, keep going to the place called “Seurasaari” (“Fölisön” in Swedish).
Meanwhile, you will walk through some nice and quiet districts nearby. Seurasaari
is an island with a museum. It reminded me the Pioneer Black Creek Village in Toronto. It is a truly lovely place, a nice park with old small
houses, a church, and other buildings typical for that period. Of course, if
you go a bit farther, you will see other parks and other exciting locations.
Just find your own places of interest. Anyways, being on Seurasaari island you
will be able to enjoy some food at a local restaurant and café. Take your time
to get distracted from a daily routine.
 |
| Seurasaari (Fölisön) |
What comes to transportation, you can take
a bus, directly from that place is number 24 to the city center. However, the
best option would be a walk along the shore. If you do that, you will see the Sibelius Monument on your way, one of
the small symbols of Helsinki. There is also a nice park around it and a very
attractive in summer café “Regatta”. You can enjoy the view and have some traditional Finnish lunch break food.
 |
| Café “Regatta” |
 |
| Sibelius Monument |
If you keep going along the shore, you
will see a big beach and a big park with an old cemetery and a church. Keep
going to the south of Helsinki and you will get pretty close to the western
ferry terminal. If you turn a bit to the right, you fill find another small
business district of Helsinki (besides Pasila), which is Ruoholahti (“Gräsviken”
in Swedish). There is also a terminus, at this moment, metro station with the
same name. As for accommodation, you can choose Holiday Inn Helsinki West Ruoholahti Hotel.
 |
| Töölö (Tölö) |
 |
| Sightseeing bus at the West Harbor terminal in Ruoholahti (Gräsviken) |
Once you go to the other side of a small
bay, you will get straight to the western ferry terminal, called the West Harbor (Länsisatama/ Västra Hamnen). Usually, Eckerö Line, St.Peter Line, and Tallink ferries depart from there. Right in front of
it you can find a shopping mall, Verkkokauppa,
on the 7th floor of which there is an observation deck. The view is not that
beautiful as from other mentioned in this chapter observation decks, though it
would be nice to visit another one as well.
 |
| Ruoholahti (Gräsviken)
metro station |
Speaking of transport, you can get there
easily; there is a tram 9 which goes to Kamppi station, or you can simply walk
there. However, we are continuing our way to the south of the city center of
Helsinki. Walk on Telakkakatu till
the very end of it and you will see a nice park by the sea. There are many not
big but nice parks in that area; some of them are hidden inside of the small
districts. Take a walk around and discover it all.
 |
| Kaivopuisto (Brunnsparken) |
Here, we are going to continue our way
along the shore, so we need to take Merisatamaranta
street, which later becomes Ehrenströmintie.
There are two options: first, you can turn on Puistonkatu and walk till its end, so that you see most of the
embassies in that area, some of them are on other streets around it. There are
lots of beautiful buildings, take your time to see them all.
 |
| Russian
embassy and consulate |
Option two would be the shore way. Climb
on top of the hill in this park, which is called “Kaivopuisto”, enjoy the fantastic scenery of the sea and departing
ferries. It is truly magnificent! After that keep walking till you see a small
wharf next to the café “Ursula”.
 |
| Café “Ursula” |
By the end of the day, you probably want
to walk back to the city center and seize the dawn from the Market square, to
get there you just need to keep walking on the same road mentioned above, i.e. Ehrenströmintie.
You are going to pass by the Olympia Terminal (Olympiaterminaali/Olympiaterminalen), it is the third ferry terminal in Helsinki. There are 3 different trams going
there: 1A, 2, and 3; though, the city center is really near. On your way to the
market square you will pass by one park with a church on your left. It would be
a good idea to visit it while walking.
 |
| Silja Line (The Olympia
terminal) |
And you’re almost there! But before that
we make a short stop at the Covered Market,
which reminds me the Forks Market in Winnipeg, Granville
Island Market in Vancouver, or the Old Town St. Lawrence Market in Toronto (of course, there are other markets of the same kind in Canada and the United
States). It is a nice place with lots of traditional food shops and some
cafés.
So, we arrived to the Market square, but let us go on Pohjoisesplanadi
(the street with a park inside) to Vanhakirkko
puisto (a little park around the church), and then move to the Solo Sokos Hotel Torni,
which is located on Yrjönkatu (the
same street from that park to the north).
 |
| Stockmann |
On the other side of Mannerheimintie there
is a huge shopping mall Stockmann, the original
building of the store. From that street you can get back to the Central Railway Station through a
shopping mall, or walking on the street till the next turn right (to Kaivokatu). This chapter of the journey
continued in the western part of Helsinki, revealed some rare places, and
became the complete guide in the capital of Finland.
 |
| The city
center view |
The following chapter in Helsinki will
take place before the end of our journey in Finland with a closer look to Vantaa (including the airport), Espoo, the zoo, and Suomenlinna
fortress. Therefore, be patient, get ready, and enjoy the ride!
Kirill “Traveler” Malyutin
About Travel Smart series:
“Travel Smart” is a section,
narrating about different countries and good travel tips, advised by the
author, Kirill Malyutin. The series contains recommendations, including selected
places to visit, character accommodation, and reasonable
shopping. Simply get inspiration!
All stories of the series →
О серии «Travel Smart»:
«Travel Smart»
– раздел, в котором автор Кирилл Малютин рассказывает о разных странах и дает
необходимые в путешествии советы. Серия включает в себя рекомендации по
посещенным автором местам, характерным средствам размещения, а также разумному шопингу.
Вдохновитесь приключением!
Все выпуски серии →
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