New hotspots add to summertime Helsinki’s magical appeal – do you know them all?

Tourism to Helsinki is growing by leaps and bounds, with the Nordic capital attracting more and more visitors from both elsewhere in Finland and abroad. In the summertime in particular, vacationers are spoiled for choice with an abundance of new things to do, see and experience.

New destinations for culture and history enthusiasts

This summer, several exciting new and updated attractions are opening in Helsinki. The decommissioned Hanasaari power station area - a short walk from the Helsinki city centre - now offers a truly one-of-a-kind urban setting for various culture and events. A summer café has also been opened in the newly refurbished villa of the legendary Finnish opera singer Aino Ackté, located on Tullisaari in eastern Helsinki. The historic building was restored by the city after local residents submitted a winning proposal to the OmaStadi participatory budgeting initiative. 

Located by Helsinki’s Senate Square, the Helsinki City Museum invites visitors to learn more about the city’s past by touring its new permanent and rotating exhibitions. The oldest wooden house in the inner city, the Burgher’s House Museum, has also opened its doors for the summer. History buffs can also dig deeper into the city’s history with visits to Villa Hakasalmi, the Worker’s Museum and the Tram Museum.

Architecture enthusiasts will be drawn to Helsinki landmarks designed by the iconic Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto. Five Aalto buildings in Helsinki have been proposed for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage List. One of the five, the Finlandia Hall event centre, was reopened to the public last year following a magnificent restoration. Finlandia Hall’s new permanent exhibition, Visions of Alvar Aalto, offers visitors a glimpse into the life and work of Alvar Aalto and his architect wives, Aino and Elissa Aalto.

The Aalto family’s work and thought processes are also highlighted in the new Aalto Design – Shapes of Wellbeing exhibition, which has opened at the Architecture and Design Museum.

Even more opportunities to explore maritime Helsinki

The Helsinki archipelago and its islands are a top summer attraction every year. This summer, new and expanded ferry routes will open up fresh seascape vistas across both the eastern and western islands. A new ferry service from the district of Lauttasaari began operating in June, and an expansion to the eastern archipelago route now makes island-hopping easier than ever.

The Kruunuvuorensilta Bridge, which was completed in the spring, offers pedestrians and cyclists a new scenic coastal route from the island of Laajasalo to Korkeasaari – the island that houses the Helsinki Zoo – and onward, through the Kalasatama district to the city centre. As the longest and tallest bridge in Finland, the new bridge offers stunning views out to sea and towards the mainland. The new bridges, combined with the opening up of the area around Hanasaari, creates new waterfront trails and connections to Kalasatama and the other eastern parts of the city centre.

Among the most notable new additions this summer are three new self-service saunas in Helsinki’s eastern archipelago: The first, on an island called Läntinen Neitsytsaari, opened in June, and those on the islands of Malkasaari and Kotiluoto will open in July. Sauna slots can be booked on the Uusimaa Recreation Area Association (Uuvi) website. Water buses run to each of the three islands.
 

Events bring the whole city to life 

Helsinki is a bustling city full of exhilarating events throughout the summer, with a packed lineup for fans of culture, music and sports. Alongside major music festivals and concerts, the city is enlivened by dozens of local events, neighbourhood block parties and free outdoor gatherings.

For example, the Malmi Summer of Events brings a wide range of free activities to the Ala-Malmi Market Square and Malmintalo Cultural Centre. The Malmi Ice Rink is also welcoming new events this summer, as it hosts the internationally acclaimed LEGO® Jurassic World exhibition.

Helsinki’s market squares, halls and public spaces also buzzing with activity this summer. The courtyards and cobbled streets of the Torikorttelit quarters in the city centre are filled with summer events. A race village is being built on the Lyypekinlaituri pier, in front of the Old Market Hall in the South Harbour, in association with the international Dragon sailing regatta, featuring a diverse event programme related to sailing and maritime culture. Helsinki’s hip old abattoir area of Teurastamo also offers an eclectic range of events, from jazz music to film screenings.

A new café and events space has opened in the historic Harju mortuary in Vallila, bringing together people from the culture, music and creative industries.

The Superterrace open-air food court and meeting place at the Kasarmitori Square also offers free entertainment every day. Popular sing-along sessions from last summer are making a comeback, and on 23 July, the Superterrace Sing-along will feature beloved songs about Helsinki. Similar al fresco dining areas are also available at Senate Square, Hietalahti Market Square and other locations. 

Great food and drink are also on offer at the capital’s culturally and historically significant canopied kiosks – built as ticket booths for Helsinki’s Olympic Games, which are located on the streets of Esplanade and Hietalahdenranta and in the Hakaniemi Market Square. Pedestrian-friendly “summer streets” in the district of Kallio also lend their own unique vibe to city life in the summer.
 

Art and experiences across the city

Helsinki is internationally renowned as a city of pioneering design and architecture - a city where history and modern design come together. In Helsinki, Carl Ludvig Engel’s neoclassical monuments sit alongside Art Nouveau gems, iconic buildings from the Aalto studio and more recent landmarks such as the Oodi Central Library and the Löyly public sauna and restaurant, forming a diverse whole.

Free summer concerts on Thursdays at the Musiikkitalo concert venue invite the public to enjoy the summertime Töölö Bay area. Art lovers will also find plenty to enjoy at Helsinki’s dozens of museums and galleries, such as the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Ateneum, Amos Rex and the Helsinki Art Museum HAM in the city centre’s cultural districts. Towards the end of last year, the wonderful Makasiini Contemporary art gallery relocated to the Vallila district’s Train Factory, a cultural and culinary hub a bit north of the inner city. Villa Gyllenberg and the Didrichsen Art Museums, surrounded by the natural beauty of the Kuusisaari neighbourhood, are also ideal destinations for a summer art excursion. 

In addition, visitors can admire nearly 300 works of art throughout the city’s outdoor spaces as part of the Helsinki Art Museum’s extensive collection of public art. The most recent works include Olafur Eliasson’s light installation The Long Daylight Pavilion on the Kruunuvuorenranta shoreline and the artist collective Keiken’s Angel Spirit House in Kalasatamanpuisto Park.