WELCOME TO HELSINKI
It’s fitting that harbourside Helsinki, the capital of a country with such watery geography, entwines so spectacularly with the Baltic's bays, inlets and islands.
While Helsinki can seem a younger sibling to the Scandinavian capitals, it’s the one that went to art school, scorns pop music and works in a cutting-edge studio. The design scene here is one of the most electrifying in the world today, with boutiques, workshops and galleries proliferating in the Design District, Helsinki's thoroughfares and intriguing backstreets. The city's foodie scene is also flourishing, with hip eateries offering locally sourced tasting menus, craft-beer bars, coffee roasteries and microdistilleries popping up at dizzying speed.
Nevertheless, Helsinki's older icons endure. It's understated, yet glorious art-nouveau buildings, centenarian cafes, museums preserving Finnish heritage, and restaurants that have changed neither menu nor furnishings since the 1930s remain an intrinsic part of the city’s quirky charm.
It’s fitting that harbourside Helsinki, the capital of a country with such watery geography, entwines so spectacularly with the Baltic's bays, inlets and islands.
While Helsinki can seem a younger sibling to the Scandinavian capitals, it’s the one that went to art school, scorns pop music and works in a cutting-edge studio. The design scene here is one of the most electrifying in the world today, with boutiques, workshops and galleries proliferating in the Design District, Helsinki's thoroughfares and intriguing backstreets. The city's foodie scene is also flourishing, with hip eateries offering locally sourced tasting menus, craft-beer bars, coffee roasteries and microdistilleries popping up at dizzying speed.
Nevertheless, Helsinki's older icons endure. It's understated, yet glorious art-nouveau buildings, centenarian cafes, museums preserving Finnish heritage, and restaurants that have changed neither menu nor furnishings since the 1930s remain an intrinsic part of the city’s quirky charm.
