I spent an extra night in Tallinn after my Explore tour ended, then took the ferry on Sunday to Helsinki. I booked via Direct Ferries. The Tallink Megastar was very comfortable. I appreciated they had lockers for my backpack, just 2€. I could move around the ship easier. I had a nice window seat where I spent about half the time before wandering around the ship. The ship was both larger than I expected and had more amenities. There was a huge shopping area like you’d find at an airport, several different restaurants, cafes, a bar. It was a very comfortable way to travel.

There are plenty of taxis at the Helsinki port but I used the tram, just 3€, and only had about a 2 block walk to my hotel from the tram stop. I spent 4 nights at the Original Sokos Hotel Albert.

I had a walking tour scheduled at 1600 that first afternoon but received an email cancelling and rescheduling for Thursday. I wasn’t going to be in Helsinki Thursday. I went back to Freetour and found the same tour at 1430.

I went to the Cathedral, about a 20-minute walk from my hotel. Our guide, Alberto, from Spain, had been living in Finland for about three years with his Finnish wife. We met at Senate Square, talked about the Helsinki Cathedral and the statue to Emperor Alexander II, who was the Grand Duke of Finland. It was erected in 1894.

We walked down to see the Bank of Finland and the J.V. Snellman Statue across from the bank. He created the Finnish currency. Alberto pointed out the damage that bombings during WWII did to the statue and other parts of Helsinki as we toured.

We walked through the Standerhusets Park on the way to the Finnish House of Nobility. We stopped to talk about the Uspenski Cathedral on the way to the port.

There are three saunas on the waterfront and a cold water pool and we visited Tove Jannson Park. We walked through the open air market, full of both produce, souvenirs, and restaurants, and he recommended a visit to the Old Market Hall.

We continued past the Havis Amanda statue hearing about the controversy, it was sexist, it was too French, it’s now a beloved part of Helsinki. Then we visited the Esplanadi, a beautiful park. We learned they have all street signs in Finnish and Swedish (not necessarily same name!).

We also visited Railway Square and the railway station. We ended at the beautiful Helsinki or Oodi Library. I went in for a visit after the tour. A very unique and beautiful building. Alberto showed us the great architecture and we heard a lot of the history and culture of Helsinki, too.

The next day I had booked tickets through GetYourGuide to the Swedish Fortress of Suomenlinna. There are multiple tours of Suomenlinna. I could have just booked the ferry, or ferry/museum but I chose the Ferry Ride to Suomenlinna and Walking Tour.

I walked down to the waterfront and had time to visit the Old Market Hall before catching the ferry. It was cloudy but not raining until I got on the ferry.

It was, unfortunately, raining for most of the 2-hour walking tour of the islands, but the rain stopped and I enjoyed several hours of visiting all the islands.

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress has been a UNESCO heritage site since 1991. It was started in 1748 by the Swedes when Finland was part of the Kingdom of Sweden to protect against an invasion of Russia. Called Sveaborg, it served as a naval base in 1788 when Sweden and Russia were at war. In 1809, the fort was attacked by the Russians and surrendered. Finland became part of the Russian Empire as the Grand Duchy of Finland. It served as a Russian naval base during WWI and was abandoned in 1917 when Finland declared independence.

It was given the name Suomenlinna in 1918. We visited the park, dry dock, fortifications. We saw Augustin Ehrensvärd’s grave, the Swedish colonel who designed the fort. The small Ehrensvärd Museum is close by and included with the tour.

After the tour, I visited some of the tunnels, walls, King’s Gate and more. I had a late lunch at the Suomenlinnaan Panimo then went over the other islands, Iso Mustasaari, Pikku-Musta, and Lansi-Musta for a visit before catching the ferry back to the port.

The next day I went out to Seurasaari Open-air Museum. This was quite a distance so I took a bus out and then had a short walk through the woods to get to the bridge to the island. They have very helpful maps with all the buildings and trails. They had paper maps marked to show all the open buildings with docents. All the buildings were moved here for the museum, they range from the 17th c to the 20th c. They have farm buildings, spas, windmills, churches and church boats, a gorgeous manor house, a summer home from the 1950s that was just added. I had perfect weather for wandering all over the island for about 3 hours.

I took another bus from the museum to the Sibelius Monument and the waterfront park. I had never heard of Sibelius but heard this monument was very beautiful. Sibelius Park is beautiful, too. I had a quick lunch at Cafe Regetta.

I walked over to Temppeliaukio Church. This is a very unique church built into the rock. There is 22 kilometers of copper in the ceiling, with a skylight all around. There are wonderful views of the church from the second floor, and quiet corners to sit away from the other visitors.

My last day in town was more rain unfortunately. But I walked down to the waterfront, stopped in Old Market Hall then went to Uspenski Cathedral. This is a beautiful Finnish Orthodox church with some great icons and an altar.

I went back to Senate Square. I was going to visit Helsinki Cathedral. But after looking at reviews and photos online, thought it’s quite a simple church and expensive, and a lot of the reviews said not worth the money.

So I just went over to the Helsinki City Museum. Free entry. The fourth floor had a special exhibit on all the suburbs of Helsinki. The second floor is their permanent exhibit, with history of the city and Finland. The first floor has an interesting photography area, lots of old photos to look through with comfortable chairs, as well as a children’s area, and a cafe and museum shop.

I stopped by to see Kampii Chapel. It’s a nice place to pray or meditate or just have a moment of peace. Made of curved wood, spruce, ash, and alder, it’s beautiful outside and inside. Wonderfully silent. 5€

I had four nights here, 3 1/2 days. Despite all the time there is more to see. The weather just didn’t cooperate, so it made it harder to get out and enjoy the city and sight-see. Two of the sites, Suomenlinna Fortress and Seurasaasi, can both take half a day or more, easily.

** All photos property of Lisa, not to be copied or reproduced **