Finland City Guide: Best Things to do in Helsinki & Turku
This was our first time visiting Finland and the country truly exceeded our expectations! We had an amazing time exploring the capital Helsinki, and the nearby old town of Turku. We were invited by Visit Finland on an LGBTQ+ media trip to experience Finland through a queer lens. Finland is known as a progressive Nordic country that really focuses on inclusion and sustainability. And let us tell you, they walk the walk and talk the talk! We felt totally safe and comfortable there as a couple, and we saw so many amazing sustainability efforts being carried out in both cities we visited. Keep on reading to see our favorite things we did on our trip!
Helsinki
Helsinki is the capital of Finland and is the perfect city for that urban feel with easy access to nature. There are 300 islands in the Helsinki archipelago, so you have easy access to not only the sea, but also the peaceful serenity of the forest. We loved how welcoming and clean Helsinki was, and we absolutely loved our time visiting the city.
Where to Stay in Helsinki
We stayed at the Hotel Helka and had an amazing time! Hotel Helka was founded by one of the oldest woman’s organizations in Finland the YWCA. It was built in the late 1920s and was a safe space for women to live or visit. Now it’s hotel where everyone will feel welcomed and safe. It’s the perfect location, in walking distance to everything we wanted to see in Helsinki, and the hotel & rooms themselves had such amazing artwork all over! We would definitely recommend staying here when visiting Helsinki.
Find other Helsinki Accommodations here on Hotels.com!
How to Get Around Helsinki
The best way to get around Helsinki is by walking! The city is pretty flat so it’s very easy to walk everywhere. But there is also public transportation and Ubers if you need. To get from the airport to the city center, we used the public HSL train. Tickets range in price and work for the trains and trams in the city. A two day pass for zones ABC was €16, but they have other ticket options for less time or longer. We recommend downloading the HSL app as it’s the easiest way to store your tickets.
Best Things to do in Helsinki
Huvilakatu Street
Helsingin Saunalautta
Helsinki Cathedral
Amos Rex
Experience a Finnish Sauna! - Sauna is such a huge part of Finnish culture, there are apparantly 3 million saunas in Finland and almost every house, apartment, building, hotel, etc. has a sauna inside. We went on a floating sauna experience with Helsingin Saunalautta and thought it was so unique! It’s a floating sauna in the middle of the sea, and is a perfect bucket list experience. There are also tons of public saunas un Helsinki (the most popular is Löyly) but there is also saunas in all the hotels as well.
Do a walking tour of Helsinki - we did an LGBTQ+ focused walking tour with Yoo-hoo! Tours, and learned a lot about the LGBTQ+ history of Finland. Walking tours are a great way to see any city and learn important history from the locals!
Visit the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art - A wonderful art museum, but our favorite thing was the Tom of Finland exhibition they had when we visited! Tom of Finland is a famous artist all over the world, but he was born in Finland and lived in Helsinki for a time. His queer art pushed boundaries and was very controversial for it’s time. We loved learning more about Touko Laaksonen (the real name of the artist) and thought the exhibit was very well done.
Visit Amos Rex - a museum dedicated to the successful Finnish businessman Amos Anderson. You tour though his old home that has been renovated, and learn about his contributions to the country. But our favorite part was the outside exhibition on Lasipalati Square. It feature geometric domes that are the roof of the underground exhibition hall. The underground part of the museum currently features works from young artists in Finland from the ages of 15-23. Definitely don’t miss out on that when visiting Amos Rex!
Explore Senate Square - Senate Square is the popular square in Helsinki where you can see the Helsinki Cathedral! We thought the square was beautiful and took a bunch of photos there, so it’s definitely a must visit.
Walk the colorful Huvilakatu Street - a cute, colorful street famous for it’s rainbow 19th century houses. It’s a great spot for photos and to admire the 19th century architecture.
Grab a hot cocoa at Cafe Regatta - Cafe Regatta is a cute shack that has been transformed into a cafe! It looks very Finnish and they serve hot drinks & snacks along the water. We thought this place was so cute and loved getting to chat with some of the locals there!
you can book other Helsinki tours & activities here on Expedia!
Where to Eat & Drink in Helsinki
Yes Yes Yes
Kahvila Rakastan
Yes Yes Yes
Kahvila Rakastan
10 Kerros
Glass Palace
Cafe Regatta
Bun2Bun
Roots Cafe
Junk Y Vegan
Be Mine Healthy Friends
Turku
Turku is a quaint, charming city and the oldest city in Finland! The city is pretty small so it’s very walkable, and the Aura river runs through the city center. Turku has a medieval feel, with the architecture & cobblestone streets, and we absolutely loved out time there! There are also over 40,000 islands in the Turku archipelago, so there is easy access to nature and the sea.
Where to Stay in Turku
In Turku we stayed at the Scandic Hamburger Börs hotel and it was absolutely stunning. The hotel is one of the oldest buildings in Turku, but it was recently renovated and just reopened in 2021. The interior is beautiful, and we loved the rooftop bar & the sauna! It was also in walking distance to everything we wanted to see in Turku.
Find other Turku accommodations here on Hotels.com!
How to Get Around Turku
Like Helsinki, the best way to get around Turku is by walking! Almost everything is within walking distance from the city center and it’s beautiful to walk along the riverfront. Uber does not work in Turku, but there are city bikes and electric scooters you can use to get around is you don’t want to walk.
Best Things to do in Turku
Luostarin Valikatu
Turku Castle
Turku Market Square
Turku Cathedral
Try local cuisine at Turku’s indoor Market Hall - The Market Hall has been open since 1896 and is filled with local vendors that serve fresh, Finnish cuisine. It’s a great place to taste some local delicacies and they even have vegan options inside as well!
Do a beer tasting at Kakola Brewing - Kakola Brewing is a fairly new brewery located in the old prison on top of Kakola Hill. The prison was abandoned for many years, and recently they started developing the area with shops and housing. We loved trying the local beers and sodas they make at Kakola, as well as the delicious pizza they serve.
Walk around the Market Square - which we had a view from the window of our hotel room! Market Square is one of the main squares in Turku, and on the weekends they have a local farmers market!
Explore Turku Castle - this was our favorite thing we did in Turku! The castle is from the 13th century, and looks very medieval inside. The grounds of the castle are free to explore, but there is a museum inside that you can buy tickets for if you want to learn more about the castle’s history. It’s about a 30-40 min walk from the city center to the castle, but it’s a nice walk and you can even walk it along the river if you want!
Check out Luostarin Valikatu - a beautiful, cobblestone street near the Turku Cathedral. There was a fire in the 1800s that burned down most of the city, but this street is one of the only areas that was not affected by the fire and still looks like it originally did. It’s a great spot for photos as well.
Book other Turku tours & activities here on Expedia!
Where to Eat & Drink in Turku
Kuori
Kakola Brewing
Kuori (some of the best vegan/vegetarian food we have ever had!)
Kakola Brewing
Ullakko
E. Ekblom
Cafe Qwesnel (another original building in Turku that was not harmed by the fire in the 1800s)
Roots Kitchen (inside the Market Hall)
Bar Ö (they have live Jazz and other music performances here)
The LGBTQ+ Scene in Finland
Finland was one of the countries we’ve felt the safest as an lesbian couple. The locals are very tolerant and we didn’t get any weird looks or stares, and we were with an all LGBTQ+ group. They have really worked on their LGBTQ+ equality laws over the years, and you can really tell that the locals are all on the same page. There aren’t many queer bars in Helsinki or Turku, but ones of the reasons is because queer people are welcomed everywhere in Finland. We would definitely recommend visiting Finland if you are looking for a safe country for LGBTQ+ people.
If you want to see more of what we did in Helsinki & Turku, make sure to check out our Finland YouTube vlog!
Thank you to Visit Finland for bringing us on this trip! As always, all opinions are honest and our own. Some links on this post are affiliate links of which we receive a small commission, but the price is the same for you.