FINLAND: SUOMENLINNA IN HELSINKI

I arrived to Kauppatori half an hour before the departure of the boat to Suomenlinna, so I spent this time taking some pictures of this square and the buildings beside it:

• The City Hall
• The Prime Minister Palace
• The Orthodox Cathedral

After visiting the elegant Senate Square I went to Kauppatori, the market square, just a few meters away. This large square is bounded on the south by the Baltic Sea and, on the North, by several elegant buildings. Among them are the Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland and the City Hall. While I was waiting for the ferry departure to Suomenlinna I amused myself taking some pictures to these buildings and enjoying the nice afternoon.

Orthodox Cathedral in Helsinki from Kauppatori, the place from which the boats to Suomenlinna leave

On the right, the Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland beside Kauppatori

Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland beside Kauppatori in Helsinki

Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland in Helsinki

Kauppatori or Market Square in Helsinki. On the left of this picture the Esplanadi Park begins

City Hall of Helsinki

Selfie in Kauppatori, the Market Square in Helsinki

The last picture in Kauppatori before boarding the ferry to Suomenlinna

The ferry ride from Helsinki to Suomenlinna was very pleasant in spite of the cold air of the Baltic Sea. The views of Helsinki with its referent, the Lutheran Cathedral, from the ferry were nice. I got Suomenlinna a little before 6pm and I wanted to catch the ferry back leaving at 7pm because the next was at 7:45pm, too late. I only had about an hour, just to go to the Kingsgate (a kilometer and a half away) and back almost without stopping.

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

Pier of Suomenlinna from which you can see on the left the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki

Visitor Centre in Suomenlinna beside the main quay

I walked fast passing beside the church, next to a museum and next to the Great Courtyard. In this first stretch of path there were buildings and parks. After crossing a couple of bridges I only saw the walls with guns and a large green area. Almost nobody. I just saw 4 or 5 people in one hour.

Church in Suomennlina

Suomenlinna is a fortress on a set of islands linked by bridges like the one of this picture

Suomenlinna is like a huge park with paths and bridges perfect to walk or to spend a weekend morning with children

Another bridge connecting two islands of Suomenlinna Fortress

Going to King's Gate in Suomenlinna

Green area inside the Suomenlinna fortress in Finland

Due to lack of time and cold I just stopped briefly to do some pictures. I was walking through the Kingsgate area about 5 minutes without stopping and then I returned to the pier. Then I would realize that I did not see actually the door even though I was near, but I would not have had time to look. The ferry ride back was short and I enjoyed the views of Helsinki from the ferry at sunset.

Gun in Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki near the King's Gate. My walk of almost 2 km in this fortress ended here

I thought that beyond this wall of Suomenlinna was the King's Gate but I didn't time to get closer to it

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg in Swedish) in Helsinki before coming back to Helsinki

Sunset in Helsinki from the ferry coming back from Suomenlinna

I think that Suomenlinna is an ideal place to spend a sunny summer day. It is a huge green space, like a huge park. There is a kilometer and a half from the pier to Kingsgate. There is actually a pier next to the Kingsgate where the ferries stop only in summer.

This was our trip route in Finland and Estonia:

Day 1 - Helsinki

• Aleksanterinkatu Street
• Senaatintori
• Lutheran Cathedral
• Esplanadi Park
• Kappeli Cafe

Day 2 - Helsinki and Tampere

• Sibelius Monument
• Olympic Stadium

Day 3 - Lapland

• Ounasvaara Resort
• Santa Claus Village
• Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 4 - Lapland

• Country Cross Ski in Ounasvaara Ski resort

Day 5 - Lapland

• Snowshoes in Ounasvaara Ski Resort
• Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 6 - Lapland

• Rovaniemi
• Arkikum Museum

Day 7 - Rauma

• Yyteri Beach
• Rauma

Day 8 - Turku and Helsinki

• Castle and Cathedral of Turku
• Senaatintori and Kauppatori (Senate Square and Market Square) in Helsinki
• Suomenlinna (Sveavorg) in Helsinki

Day 9 - Tallinn in Estonia

• Saint Olav Church. Views from the bell-tower
• Pikk Street
• Tower's Square

• Town walls, Tower's Square and Viru Gate
• Aleksander Nevski Cathedral
• Saint Mary Cathedral
• Kohtu and Patkuli Platform
• Saint Nicholas Church
• Town Hall and Town Hall's Square

• Olde Hansa Restaurant
• Saint Catherine Passage

Day 10 - Helsinki

• Buying souvenirs near Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Finally, other countries and cities I have already visited are:

• Barcelona

• Berlin
• Saint Petersburg
• New York and Washington
• London
• Paris

• Dublin in Ireland

• Istanbul and Cappadocia

• Rome and The Vatican
• Florence in Tuscany
• Venice

• Lisboa in Portugal

• Dubrovnik, beaches and coast of Croatia
• Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

• The Greek Islands and Athens

• Madrid

• Gibraltar
• Andorra

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

FINLAND: SANTA CLAUS VILLAGE IN LAPLAND

The main reason for going to Lapland was to try to see an Aurora Borealis. But as we were in the country of Santa Claus, we wanted to visit his village located a few kilometers from Rovaniemi. From Rovaniemi the Santa Claus Village is easily reached by bus.

Santa Claus Village in Finland

From our hotel to the nearest bus stop to the village of Santa Claus in Rovaniemi there were about 3 kilometers. As the day was lovely, we decided to stroll along a parallel path to the road.

But before we walked among the red cottages of our hotel to the north end of the complex, located next to the wide river Kemijoki completely frozen. The view of the frozen river was very nice. This would be the point where that night we would do our first attempt to see an aurora borealis.

We began our walk towards Rovaniemi enjoying a beautiful landscape with red and yellow cottages covered with fresh snow. Once we leave the cottages, the trail progressed parallel to the river Kemijoki. Shortly before reaching the bus stop we crossed the spectacular bridge over the river, which at this point was 200 to 300 meters wide.

The Village of Santa Claus is quite small and actually you didn't much time to see it. One of the curious things you can do there is crossing the Arctic Circle, which passes right by the entrance to the village and to take a picture with one foot on each side. It was a fun experience to visit Santa Claus too. We originally had no intention, but we were curious when we arrived to the village. I'm happy of having visited Santa Claus because we had a fun time and we hardly had to queue. Even we bought the photo as a souvenir.

Arctic Circle beside Santa Claus Village in Lapland

The Arctic Circle passes beside Santa Claus Village and close to Rovaniemi, the capital of Lapland in Finland

Santa Claus Village is seven kilometers away from Rovaniemi, the largest city in Lapland

Signs with the distances from the village of Santa Claus in Lapland to many cities worldwide

In the village you can also enter the Post Office where letters from children all over the world come and sit down to write your own letter.

Near the village there is a farm with Huskies and you can see reindeers. Finally we ate in the restaurant one reindeer meat burger, raised by the restaurant owner who was also Sami as some of the photographs that adorned the walls showed.

Main Post Office in Santa Claus Village

Inside the Post Office of Santa Claus Village in Lapland

People in the Post Office writting letters for Santa Claus

Reindeer Sleigh in Santa Claus Village

Reindeer beside Santa Claus Village in Lapland

Husky Park beside Santa Claus Village in Finland

Husky in Santa Claus Village in Lapland

Husky puppy in Lapland

Another lovely Husky puppy in Lapland

The day we spent in the village of Santa Claus allowed us to see and enjoy many typical elements of Finland: crossing the Arctic Circle, a snowy environment, wooden houses and cottages, the Santa Claus Post Office, a reindeer sledding, Huskies with some puppies and reindeer meat in a restaurant of a Sami person. It was an amusing day. 

Finally this was our trip route in Finland and Estonia:

Day 1 - Helsinki

• Aleksanterinkatu Street
• Senaatintori
• Lutheran Cathedral
• Esplanadi Park
• Kappeli Cafe

Day 2 - Helsinki and Tampere

• Sibelius Monument
• Olympic Stadium

Day 3 - Lapland

• Ounasvaara Resort
• Santa Claus Village
• Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 4 - Lapland

• Country Cross Ski in Ounasvaara Ski resort

Day 5 - Lapland

• Snowshoes in Ounasvaara Ski Resort
• Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 6 - Lapland

• Rovaniemi
• Arkikum Museum

Day 7 - Rauma

• Yyteri Beach
• Rauma

Day 8 - Turku and Helsinki

• Castle and Cathedral of Turku
• Senaatintori and Kauppatori (Senate Square and Market Square) in Helsinki
• Suomenlinna (Sveavorg) in Helsinki

Day 9 - Tallinn in Estonia

• Saint Olav Church. Views from the bell-tower
• Pikk Street
• Tower's Square

• Town walls, Tower's Square and Viru Gate
• Aleksander Nevski Cathedral
• Saint Mary Cathedral
• Kohtu and Patkuli Platform
• Saint Nicholas Church
• Town Hall and Town Hall's Square

• Olde Hansa Restaurant
• Saint Catherine Passage

Day 10 - Helsinki

• Buying souvenirs near Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Finally, other countries and cities I have already visited are:

• Barcelona

• Berlin
• Saint Petersburg
• New York and Washington
• London
• Paris

• Dublin in Ireland

• Istanbul and Cappadocia

• Rome and The Vatican
• Florence in Tuscany
• Venice

• Lisboa in Portugal

• Dubrovnik, beaches and coast of Croatia
• Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

• The Greek Islands and Athens

• Madrid

• Gibraltar
• Andorra

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

FINLAND: HELSINKI

Helsinki is a rather small city. What is large is its metropolitan area. So the center of Helsinki can be seen quietly in a day, and even, in one morning. However I think that it's essential to visit the Suomenlinna Fortress on an island only a few kilometers from Helsinki and easily accessible by ferry. From the pier of Suomenlinna you can see actually the Lutheran cathedral of Helsinki. The ticket of the ferry is cheap because it cost the same than a bus ticket. It takes about half an hour and the ferrys depart quite often. Therefore, visiting Helsinki would take 1 or 2 days depending on the time available.

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki is a landmark of the city and the Senate Square the most elegant place

We were actually in Helsinki 4 half days. We did not wake up and go to bed in Helsinki the same day. We were the afternoon we arrived, the next morning, the afternoon before leaving and the morning we left. So we visited the city at times the first two days of our trip and the two last days.

Below you can see what we visited in Helsinki:

Day 1

• Aleksanterinkatu Street
• Senaatintori
• Lutheran Cathedral
• Esplanadi Park
• Kappeli Cafe

Day 2

• Sibelius Monument
• Olympic Stadium

Day 8 

• Senaatintori and Kauppatori (Senate Square and Market Square)
• Lutheran Cathedral
• Suomenlinna (Sveavorg)

Day 10

• Buying souvenirs near Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Day 1

Unfortunately, the first two days the weather was bad, rainy and cold, so we visited some places but we didn't enjoy them. I revisited the downtown places the last two days because they were close to our second hotel (near the Orthodox Cathedral).

Aleksanterinkatu Street

Aleksanterinkatu Street in Helsinki. Walking along this shopping street we reached the Senate Square

Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Neoclassical building beside Senaatintori in Helsinki

Senate Square in Helsinki from the top of the staircase to the Lutheran Cathedral

Esplanadi Park

Buildings beside Esplanadi Park in Helsinki

In the first two days in Helsinki, my best memory is the afternoon we spent at the beautifully decorated Cafe Kappeli in the Esplanadi Park near Kauppatori, with live music and a hot cappuchino coffee.

Kappeli Cafe

Cafe Kappeli in Helsinki

Day 2

The second day we walk through the park of the monument to Sibelius and around the Olympic Stadium, a remote area of the city. It was a weekday and it was raining so this area was quite lonely. We took this tour because it was not far from our first hotel in Helsinki, located near the Parliament.

Sibelius Monument

Sibelius Monument in Helsinki

Olympic Stadium

Olympic Stadium of Helsinki

Day 8

We returned to Helsinki after our Finland route the day before coming back to Barcelona. We left the rental car in the Europcar Office and the luggage in the Apartment. As the afternoon was lovely I went to revisit the places we visited under the rain some days ago. I began by Senate Square: large, stately, and limited by neoclassical buildings and the imposing Lutheran Cathedral.

Senaatintori (Senate Square)

The Government Palace in Helsinki is one of the buildings beside the Senate Square

Built in Neoclassical style, the Government Palace is the executive office building of the Government of Finland

Main building of the University of Helsinki beside the Senate Square

Baltic Sea behind the Senate Square from the Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

Lutheran Cathedral

Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

The Lutheran Cathedral is a landmark in Helsinki because it can be seen even from Suomenlinna

Staircase to the Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

This elegant square has a Soviet look of Tsarist times, similar to the buildings and places I saw in St. Petersburg a few years ago. Then I went to Kauppatori, the market square, just a few meters away. This large square is bounded on the south by the Baltic Sea and on the North by several elegant buildings. Among them is the Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland and the City Hall.

Kauppatori (Market Square)

Palace of the Prime Minister of Finland beside Kauppatori

Elegant buildings beside Kauppatori in Helsinki

City Hall of Helsinki beside Kauppatori (Market Square)

In addition, at one corner of the square, near the Presidential Palace is the Orthodox Cathedral, built in the same style like the ones of St. Petersburg and Moscow. Seeing these buildings I realized that Finland is a very young country (it became independent from Russia in 1918) and it has a very clear Russian past. Helsinki was founded actually by Russia to compete commercially with neighboring Tallinn, taking the capital that had historically held the city of Turku. While I was waiting for the ferry departure to Suomenlinna I amused myself taking some pictures to these buildings and enjoying the nice afternoon.

Orthodox Cathedral in Helsinki near Kauppatori

Selfie in Kauppatori, one of the places in Helsinki I liked more

From Kauppatori leave the ferrys to Suomenlinna

The ferry ride from Helsinki to Suomenlinna was very pleasant in spite of the cold air of the Baltic Sea. The views of Helsinki with its referent, the Lutheran Cathedral, from the ferry were nice. I got Suomenlinna a little before 6 pm and I wanted to catch the ferry back leaving at 7pm because the next was at 7:45 pm, too late.

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki from the ferry to Suomenlinna

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg)

So I only had about an hour, just to go to the Kingsgate (a kilometer and a half away) and back almost without stopping. I walked fast passing beside the church, next to a museum and next to the main square. In this first tranche there were buildings and parks. After crossing a couple of bridges I only saw the walls with guns and a large green area. Almost nobody. I just saw 4 or 5 people in one hour.

Pier of Suomenlinna from which you can see on the left the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg in Swedish) in Helsinki

Suomenlinna is a fortress on a set of islands linked by bridges like the one of this picture

Going to King's Gate in Suomenlinna

Due to lack of time and cold I just stopped briefly to do some pictures. I was walking through the Kingsgate area about 5 minutes without stopping and then I returned to the pier. Then I would realize that I did not see actually the door even though I was near, but I would not have had time to look. The ferry ride back was short and I enjoyed the views of Helsinki from the ferry at sunset.

Green area inside the Suomenlinna fortress in Finland

Gun in Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki

Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) in Helsinki near the King's Gate. My walk of almost 2 km in this fortress ended here

I think that Suomenlinna is an ideal place to spend a sunny summer day. It is a large green space, like a huge park. There is a kilometer and a half from the pier to Kingsgate. There is actually a pier next to the Kingsgate where the ferries stop only in summer.

Sunset in Helsinki from the ferry coming back from Suomenlinna

Day 10

During the last day in Helsinki barely we had time to buy some souvenirs in a shop we saw the day before near the Senate Square. It was a nice last-minute in Helsinki. The morning was lovely. We took the tram in a stop next to our apartment and in 15 minutes we were looking souvenirs. Before coming back, we took us the last pictures in the Senate Square with Lutheran Cathedral in the background.

Lutheran Cathedral beside the Senate Square in Helsinki

Lutheran Cathedral in Helsinki

Senate Square in Helsinki with the main building of the University of Helsinki behind

This was our trip route in Finland and Estonia:

Day 1 - Helsinki

• Aleksanterinkatu Street
• Senaatintori
• Lutheran Cathedral
• Esplanadi Park
• Kappeli Cafe

Day 2 - Helsinki and Tampere

• Sibelius Monument
• Olympic Stadium

Day 3 - Lapland

• Ounasvaara Resort
• Santa Claus Village
• Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 4 - Lapland

• Country Cross Ski in Ounasvaara Ski resort

Day 5 - Lapland

• Snowshoes in Ounasvaara Ski Resort
• Searching for Northern Ligths (Aurora Borealis)

Day 6 - Lapland

• Rovaniemi
• Arkikum Museum

Day 7 - Rauma

• Yyteri Beach
• Rauma

Day 8 - Turku and Helsinki

• Castle and Cathedral of Turku
• Senaatintori and Kauppatori (Senate Square and Market Square) in Helsinki
• Suomenlinna (Sveavorg) in Helsinki

Day 9 - Tallinn in Estonia

• Saint Olav Church. Views from the bell-tower
• Pikk Street
• Tower's Square

• Town walls, Tower's Square and Viru Gate
• Aleksander Nevski Cathedral
• Saint Mary Cathedral
• Kohtu and Patkuli Platform
• Saint Nicholas Church
• Town Hall and Town Hall's Square

• Olde Hansa Restaurant
• Saint Catherine Passage

Day 10 - Helsinki

• Buying souvenirs near Senaatintori (Senate Square)

Finally, other countries and cities I have already visited are:

• Barcelona

• Berlin
• Saint Petersburg
• New York and Washington
• London
• Paris

• Dublin in Ireland

• Istanbul and Cappadocia

• Rome and The Vatican
• Florence in Tuscany
• Venice

• Lisboa in Portugal

• Dubrovnik, beaches and coast of Croatia
• Neum, Pocitelj and Mostar in Bosnia Herzegovina

• The Greek Islands and Athens

• Bruges, Ghent and Brussels in Belgium 

• Helsinki and Lapland in Finland

• Tallinn in Estonia

• Tortuguero, Caribe, Arenal, Monteverde and San José in Costa Rica

• Marrakech in Morocco

• Madrid

• Gibraltar
• Andorra