ALINA local tips by
@alinatrvl (tiktok)
TRAVEL
HELSINKI
GUIDE 2024
CONTENTS
SIGHTSEEING
/ THINGS TO DO / NATURE
FOOD
NIGHTLIFE
SHOPPING
PUBLIC TRANSPORT
DAYTRIPS
WHERE TO STAY
MAP / LANGUAGE
The guide is free, but if you like it, you can
drop a few coins to support here <3
WHO AM I?
I am Alina, Finnish travel
content creator, event
planner, concert girlie &
traveller. I am originally from
the northern part of Finland
but have been living in
Helsinki for the past 8 years.
I love to share my tips on
places I’ve been to, so why
not of my home city!
This guide includes my © capturednina
personal tips and where I, as
a local, go to. My personal
favorites are marked with an
orange heart.
Hope you like it!
🧡Alina
SIGHTSEEING
Helsinki is definitely not packed
with typical sightseeing points,
but it's a great city to experience
things, chill and enjoy nature.
You can easily check out all the
main sights even in a day.
HELSINKI SENATE SQUARE &
CATHEDRAL
NATIONAL LIBRARY
USPENSKI CATHEDRAL
MARKET SQUARE
ESPLANADE PARK
CAFE REGATTA & SIBELIUS
MONUMENT
LASIPALATSINAUKIO
SUOMENLINNA ISLAND
Unesqo world heritage site and
very historical island.
You can use the ferry with the
normal AB ticket to enter.
THINGS
TO DO/VISIT
SAUNAS
When you are in Finland, of course
you need to go to sauna! Good
popular ones are Allas Sea Pool &
Löyly. Allas Sea Pool has an outdoor
pool that remains open year-round,
which is super nice thing to do. For
authentic Finnish feeling try the free
🧡
24/7 Sompasauna ( ) or Lonna
sauna in the Lonna island.
BOAT TOUR
Helsinki looks its best from the sea. If
you're not heading to one of the
islands, consider taking a boat tour,
like the canal tour, to enjoy the scenic
view. A couple of companies at the
Market square offer the boat tours.
THINGS
TO DO/VISIT
MARKET HALLS
Old market hall (Eat salmon soup at Story, or
rye bread with salmon) 🧡
Hakaniemi market hall
Hietalahti market hall
MUSEUMS
Kiasma (modern art)
Ateneum (art museum)
AmosRex
Natural History Museum of Helsinki
+ Oodi Library
NATURE
I really recommend visiting some of the
nature areas in Helsinki. There's plenty of
parks and beautiful nature around Helsinki.
PARKS & NATURE
Töölönlahti
Kaivopuisto & Tähtitorninvuori
Uutela (have a coffee & thin pancakes at
Kahvila Kampela) 🧡
Lammassaari
ISLANDS
Suomenlinna
Vallisaari
Lonna island
Pihlajasaari
BEACH FAVS
Hietaniemi beach (+see Sibelius
monument and go to Cafe Regatta)
Mustikkamaa + beach 🧡
FOOD
BREAKFAST / BRUNCH / CAFES
Cinnamon rolls at Cafe Regatta are
a must-do!
Tanner 🧡
🧡
Cafelito
🧡
Flä No14
WayBakery
Cafe Engel (for the view)
Fazer Cafe
Lazy Fox
St George Bakery
Ihana kahvila (cafe)
LUNCH / QUICK & EASY
Teatterin deli (for salad)
Deliberi
Green Hippo
LieMi (Vietnamese, take the shanghai
tacos!)🧡
VENN
Bites Burgers
FOOD
DINNER FINE DINE FAVS
Hills Dumplings 🧡 Gaijin
BasBas Kulma 🧡 Farang
Shinobi
YesYesYes YOU NEED TO TRY:
Rioni Salmon soup
Teller Rye bread
Shelter Karelian pie
(karjalanpiirakka)
PASTA & ITALIAN Salty liquorice
Goose Pastabar Cinnamon bun
Osteria dei Gusti
Via Tribunali
Nolita
Cafe bar No9
FINNISH FOOD
The markets & market
halls
Konstan Möljä
Löyly or Story for salmon
soup
Savoy
NIGHTLIFE
BARS
Iso Roobertinkatu has many bars:
E.g. Llamas, Jackie, Brewster & The Riff
Grotesk (great cocktails)
Siltanen
Head to Kallio, the bar district, for cheaper bars.
For example the streets Helsinginkatu &
Vaasankatu. E.g. Harju8 (also a restaurant),
Sivukirjasto, Gate H11, Sörkan Ruusu
In Vallila: Bar Petiit, Pub Magneetti Vallila
Psst! You can also combine sightseeing & beer with
the SpåraKOFF beer tram. It’s fun!
CLUBS
Tbh the clubs here could definitely be better, but
here are some tips:
Mainstream: Kaarle XVII
Rnb/mainstream: Butchers
Techno/electronic: Kaiku, Kuudes linja
LGBTQ+: DTM, Hercules
NIGHTLIFE
SUMMER SEASON FAVS
Mattolaituri
Löyly
Ääniwalli VUM Open air Sundays
Allas Sea Pool
Kiska
Teurastamo, Konepaja & Kanavanranta ( ) 🧡
are nice areas for bars
Kafè Koma
ROOFTOPS
Ateljee bar (Torni hotel rooftop)
10. kerros
Monkey rooftop bar (during summer)
KARAOKE
Us Finns LOVE Karaoke and that’s why a lot of
bars have karaoke area. Try Wallis or Erottaja
for a true Finnish karaoke experience.
SHOPPING
SECOND HAND GROCERIES
UFF (Many locations, K-market
vintage ones are the Alepa
best) S-market
Beyond Retro 🧡 K-supermarket
FTA Vintage Lidl
Almost New
Relove
ALCOHOL
LUXURY Alcohol stronger than 5,5%
Esplanade is only sold in Alko stores.
ART / DESIGN NOTE! Alcohol is only sold
Punavuori “design in stores between 9am-
destrict” 9pm.
SHOPPING MALLS
Kamppi
Forum
Tripla
PUBLIC
TRANSPORT
HELSINKI IS VERY WALKABLE CITY AND
THE PUBLIC TRANSPORT IS SIMPLE.
HSL APP
The best and easiest way is to get the HSL app.
You can use the same ticket for all public
transport (trams, buses, metros, regional trains,
Suomenlinna ferry).
If you are staying inside of Helsinki you will only
need the AB zone. If you are going outside of
Helsinki (the airport for example) you need ABC
zone. The app shows you which ticket you need.
TOLD YOU IT’S SIMPLE? THIS IS OUR
METRO LINE...
PUBLIC
TRANSPORT
GOOD TO KNOW
You need to wave your hand to the bus
when you’re at the bus stop so they know
to stop there. Show the ticket to the bus
driver at the front door. If you have a
physical ticket, you need to beep it at the
machines.
NOTE! You cannot buy the tickets from
the drivers!
Remember to buy the ticket, cause the
fine is 100€ and they do check the tickets
quite often.
If you continue your trip from Helsinki
to other parts of Finland with a train,
the train company is VR.
DAYTRIPS
TALLINN, ESTONIA
From Helsinki its super easy to do a daytrip to
our neighbour country Estonia. The ferry is only 2
hours and is very affordable. There’s several
boat terminals in Helsinki - Eckerö Line, Viking
Line & Tallink Silja operate to Tallinn.
NUUKSIO NATIONAL PARK
For a peaceful nature getaway head to Nuuksio,
which is a national park with several trails, ponds
& lakes in the forest. You can also rent a canoye
or a fat bike to go discover the park.
PORVOO
Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland, and is
only about an hour away from Helsinki.
WHERE TO
STAY?
Helsinki is a very safe city and there is not a lot
of areas that should be avoided. I would
recommend staying close to the center
though. You can see from the Google map on
the last page where all the main places are,
and book something quite close to those for
easy access.
HOUSE SWAP
If you are interested in house swaps, you can
contact me on my TikTok video.
GOOD
TO KNOW
Pretty much all places accept card
payments (I don’t remember the last
time I used cash here)
Expect it to be more expensive
comparing to many other European
countries
It is allowed to drink outside in public
areas. Because of the high prices in bars,
we love to have beers in parks during
summer.
There’s no tipping culture here, but of
course feel free to reward good service
It is better to use Uber/Bolt than take a
taxi from a taxi stop for cheaper prices
The tap water here is one of the best in
the whole world, so no need to buy
bottled water <3
WHEN
TO VISIT?
SPRING/SUMMER
Personally I think Helsinki is at its best at
summertime, from April until September.
FIRST OF MAY EVE
If you want to see some true Finnish celebration,
come celebrate the First of May and the eve
before that! It is a huge party in whole city.
DECEMBER
For real Christmas feeling, December is great
time to visit as we have one of the best
Christmas markets. But be aware that Helsinki
may not have super snowy winter scenes all
winter long as we're in the southern part of
Finland.
For true guaranteed winter experience (and
hopefully the northern lights, head to the north of
Finland).
GOOGLE
MAP
All the places from the guide +
couple extra tips can be found
from this Google map.
LANGUAGE
Hello = Moi
Bye = Moi moi
Easy right?
Thank you = Kiitos
Yes = Kyllä / Joo
No = Ei
Sorry/Excuse me = Sori / anteeksi
Check, please = Lasku, kiitos
Help = Apua!
ALINA local tips by
TRAVEL @alinatrvl (tiktok)
ENJOY
YOUR
VISIT!
