September 2026

I flew from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Helsinki, Finland, and stayed for three days. However, I took a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia, so I technically only had two “full” days in Helsinki.

I flew with Finnair, and they were decent. It was only a two-hour flight, so there was no inflight entertainment, but they did provide beverages. I asked for orange juice, but they gave me berry juice instead, which was fine haha. The seats were thin, but there was plenty of space underneath to store a backpack. I think they have that extra space because people in Denmark, Sweden, and Finland are super tall, so even standard seats need extra legroom.

Here are two photos from the flight

I have listed the things to see, do, and places to eat in alphabetical order below, along with some photos and details about my experience.

How to Get Around Helsinki?
Lots of walking and taking the tram! From the Helsinki airport, I bought a 90-minute pass, took the train to Helsinki Central Station, and then transferred to the tram to get to my hotel. Finding the tram was a bit confusing since the central station is huge! I even asked an employee and a local, but neither of them knew where it was… haha. Eventually, I stumbled upon it while wandering around.

After that… I hate to admit it, but I didn’t buy any other tram tickets because they didn’t check them at all! Please don’t be like me—be a good traveler/guest and buy your transit tickets haha. Aside from the tram rides, I walked around a lot!

Where Did I Stay?
I stayed at the Clarion Hotel Helsinki. It was a bit farther out from downtown, but still manageable to reach by tram. When I booked the hotel, I had to create an account with “Strawberry,” which I thought was a bit unusual. So, I checked TikTok to see if other people had booked this hotel through Strawberry, and thankfully, one person had! Most people booked through Booking.com or another third-party site.

The hotel itself was nice. They even greeted me with some chocolates since this trip was for my birthday! The hotel features a small rooftop pool, a sauna, and a small gym. They also have a bar on the top floor—the 16th floor—which offered a really great view!

Here are some photos of the hotel.

How Was the Weather?
I was very happy to get sun for the two days I was in Helsinki!! I wore a long-sleeve shirt and pants, and had a light jacket with me in my tote bag.

What Is the Currency?
Helsinki, Finland uses the Euro. They take cards everywhere, so I did not need to exchange currency or get cash.

Things to Do / See
Allas Pool
Esplanadi Park
Helsinki Central Library Oodi
Helsinki Market Square
National Library of Finland
Old Market Hall
Senate Square / Helsinki Cathedral
Sibelius Monument
Suomenlinna

Places to Eat / Drink
To be honest… I didn’t eat that much in Helsinki LOL. That’s so bad. I had:
Jumbowl Noodle Restaurant
Hanoi Quan
McDonald’s
Salmon Soup + Reindeer Hot Dog at Helsinki Market Square
Skyroom Bar at Clarion Hotel Helsinki

Things to Do / See
Allas Pool
I unfortunately did not go into Allas Pool, but I saw it from afar. I saw Allas Pool on my first day and planned to go to Löyly Helsinki Sauna instead. When I was exploring, I didn’t have my swimsuit on me. Fast forward to my second and last day in Helsinki: I didn’t end up going to Löyly either… LOL. I met a solo female traveler and hung out with her for a few hours, time flew by, and then I got too lazy to go to Löyly. Anyway, back to Allas Pool—it wasn’t crowded at all (which was great). They had a few pools, saunas, tons of seating, etc. Plus, it’s right next to Helsinki Market Square. Now that I am typing this out and blogging… I wish I had gone to Allas Pool LOL.

Esplanadi Park
This park looked super nice, but when I got there, it was under construction, which was a bummer!! So I can’t speak much on it!

Helsinki Central Library Oodi
This was such a pretty library! They have a large green space outside with the “Helsinki” sign. When you enter, the first floor has a small café, and the 2nd and 3rd floors make up the main library. The 3rd floor is really pretty and has a mini rooftop area to sit outside and enjoy the view.

Helsinki Market Square
Helsinki Market Square is literally the ‘heart’ of Helsinki in my opinion. It’s near the cruise docks, the waterfront, city hall, and the library. There were a ton of tents filled with vendors selling souvenirs and food! All the vendors I checked out took cards, which was great! Also, I tried the reindeer hot dog and salmon soup here. The reindeer hot dog just tasted like a normal hot dog, but the salmon soup was really good!

National Library of Finland
This place was pretty! When you first enter, on the right side, you need to store your backpack and jacket in a free locker. You keep the key until you leave. On the left side are the restrooms. The main hallway was super photogenic, and beyond that was a spiral staircase where I took the stairs all the way up to the top. There were two girls having a mini photoshoot at the library (I don’t blame them, it was nice). I wished I had someone to take a photo of me from the top of the spiral while standing one floor below looking up… if that makes sense! Hopefully you understand my vision 😉 haha, if not, all good! Besides that, it was a beautiful library, though it felt a bit stuffy inside due to limited air circulation.

Old Market Hall
The Old Market Hall is right next to Helsinki Market Square. It’s a charming hall packed with small food stalls and restaurants. In hindsight, I should have tried the reindeer meat here! I didn’t end up eating anything inside, but it was nice to browse through.

Senate Square / Helsinki Cathedral
Wow, this church was beautiful! The green/mint dome color made it look so vibrant and clean. There is a fee to go inside, which I skipped, but the exterior alone was stunning. There were a lot of people chilling on the steps, and the square itself is huge. On my first day, they had blocked off parts of it for an event. On the day the event actually happened, I was on my day trip to Tallinn, Estonia, so I couldn’t check it out.

Sibelius Monument
This monument was a little farther out, so I took the metro and bus to get here. Once I got off the bus, I walked through the park to reach it. It was created by Eila Hiltunen and has over 600 hollow steel pipes welded into a wave pattern that resembles giant organ pipes. If you have extra time, I’d recommend exploring the surrounding park. Unfortunately, about 15 minutes after I arrived, it started pouring, so I rushed back to the bus stop!

Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a massive 18th-century sea fortress. I took the 15-minute ferry ride from Helsinki Market Square, which was super chill. They didn’t even check tickets… LOL. You can sit indoors or outdoors. Once you arrive on Suomenlinna Island, you just explore! I’d say you need at least 2–3+ hours here depending on how long you want to stay, as there is a lot of walking in nature. There are restrooms scattered around the island, but the cleanest one is at the Visitor Center. Around the island, you can see massive historic cannons, mini tunnels, fortress walls, a church, a museum, and the King’s Gate at the far end of the island. I thought the tunnels and the King’s Gate were especially cool. I even met another solo female traveler at the King’s Gate, and we ended up walking back and taking the ferry to Helsinki Market Square together!

Places to Eat / Drink
Jumbowl Noodle Restaurant
By this point in my trip, I had been in Europe for about a week and was craving Asian food. I found Jumbowl Noodle Restaurant, which had over 1,600 Google reviews, so I figured it had to be good—and it was! You can grab any open table and then order at the front counter. I got the Minced Pork Noodle with Sesame Sauce, and it came out super fast. Utensils, extra condiments, and water are all self-serve.

Hanoi Quan
Of course, I was craving Vietnamese food too… especially hot soup! This restaurant was small and cute. I got the Phở Bò Tái Chín and it was decent. The garlic vinegar on the side was really good! It wasn’t the absolute best Phở ever, but it hit the spot because I craving it! Haha!

McDonald’s
Nothing too out of the ordinary! The chicken nuggets and dipping sauces tasted slightly different, but still good. It was fun hearing them call out order numbers in Finnish. The McDonald’s location I went to was SUPER CLEAN and quiet—I loved it!

Salmon Soup + Reindeer Hot Dog at Helsinki Market Square
I mentioned this above in the Market Square section… if you missed it, scroll back up and read!

Skyroom Bar at Clarion Hotel Helsinki
This was inside my hotel on the 16th floor. It opens mid-afternoon around 3 PM and closes around midnight. It’s a gorgeous bar with a 360-degree view of Helsinki! I went before sunset, enjoyed my drink (which had me feeling a little buzzed already haha), and soaked in the view. At night, it looks like it could turn into a club setup because they have a DJ booth set up on the side.

Overall, Helsinki was super chill! If I had more time and energy, I would have loved to check out Kiasma (the Museum of Contemporary Art), Löyly Helsinki Sauna, and Temppeliaukio Rock Church. Going to Ateljee Bar for another rooftop view would have been awesome too, but I was exhausted.

As always, thank you for visiting Vivian’s Ventures! Have you been to Helsinki? If so, tell me about your experience in the comments. What should I check out if I go back? If you haven’t been yet, let me know what’s on your itinerary! Any questions or thoughts, let’s chat below! #viviansventures