Helsinki - Anyone been?

Go to the zoo, its awesome! There are some really nice restaurants hidden around, don't just go straight for the big ones :) There was one particular Italian one I liked, I think it was below a gym hmm.
 
CocoPops said:
Well, starting with a where to stay? Good/Bad Areas.
What to see? What not to see?
Restaurants?
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The centre of the city is quite small, there are really no areas to avoid there. If your hotel needs to be further away, go north and west. Stay away from the east. You should try to stay within walking distance from the tram lines since they are an incredibly handy way to get around the city. You might even want to just sit through the route of 3B or 3T for sightseeing purposes.
Go visit the amusement park, Linnanmäki. I've always found it a lot of fun.The zoo is tiny, but worth a visit, like Neolink suggested.

Try to make time to take the ferry and pop by Suomenlinna, the old sea fortress just a short while off the coast. It's beautiful. As said above you can also take a day ferry to Tallinn, Estonia.
Go visit the market square Kauppatori, it's a short walk from the Helsinki Cathedral and you can usually find many stalls with fresh fruits, veggies and fish there. Don't buy snacks from the snack stands (like crepes), they're highly overpriced.

Esplanadi and Aleksanterinkatu are nice for some light shopping and walking around. Kamppi and Forum are malls and good for shopping as well. Kluuvikatu is adjacent to Aleksanterinkatu and there's a little gem in there: The Fazer Café. It's the place to go if you like chocolate (and you really should try Fazer!), you can buy chocolates and candy there.

An obligatory sight is Tuomiokirkko (Helsinki Cathedral). I find it really beautiful and it's right in the heart of the city. Another church worth seeing is Uspenski Cathedral, it's an Orthodox cathedral and a little less known.

If you don't have that much money, don't bother with restaurants that are in plain sight, say next to the Helsinki Cathedral. They're incredibly expensive. If you do have the money and want to try it, there's a very Finnish restaurant opposite of the cathedral called Savotta. http://www.asrestaurants.com/EN/restaurants/savotta/presentation.html
It's supposed to be very good, try their Sisu ice cream!

If you plan to travel a lot using public transport, consider buying a day ticket instead of individual tickets every day. A single ticket is valid for 1 hour (could have been changed to 1.5 hours, can't remember) and you can use it in any bus, underground, train or tram within Helsinki. With the day ticket you get unlimited travel for 1-7 days, depending on how many days you pay for.

Whew. I guess that's a start.


batsy said:
Your views on living in Scotland
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Oh don't get me started. It's awful. :p
 
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