Living in Helsinki: tips and advice

You may have heard of me… the marketplace in the harbor also known as Kauppatori, the Lutheran and Uspenski orthodox Cathedral, Finlandia Talo, the Kiasma contemporary art museum, both the isles of Korkeasaari and Seurasaari, the Rock Church are just a few examples of what this Scandinavian Capital could offer during your permanence here. The taste of this city will probably remind you of berries, fish, and vegetables with a little add of local meat and potatoes: several restaurant and marketplaces will certainly satisfy your appetite! Nightlife in Helsinki is reasonably held indoors and offers all different kind of music tastes. Here just a reminder for you: if you’re under 20 you can’t enter a pub! Last but not least: are you an active and sporting person? No problem! Finns love practicing sports, especially ice hockey, football, and athletics. Have we mentioned the other national sports like wife-carrying race and the mobile-throwing competition?

Walking around Helsinki’s city center is feasible however during the winter you will need a travel pass for the cold days. It is very easy to travel around Helsinki thanks to the HSL pass: you can take the metro, tramway, city train and even the local ferry! If you arrive in Helsinki by plane, the airport is only 30 minutes away from the city center and can be easily accessible by the city train. There are also a lot of buses going from Helsinki to the other cities of the country (Tampere, Turku, Jyväskylä…).

One of the finest Harbor cities in Scandinavia, Helsinki is the Capital of Finland and the biggest city in the country, with almost 600 000 inhabitants. The countless number of islands toward its coast diversifies the city’s urban pattern: a few examples? The isles of Suomenlinna, the Fortress Island, and Seurasaari and its open-air museum. It can be surprising how harsh winter and extreme day-night cycles do not affect the daily rhythm of the city: no matter what, people in Helsinki always keep going! Even if it’s advisable to learn the local language when moving to another country, in Helsinki all the services are offered in English, Finnish and Swedish: none is left behind. Let’s say that if you really love challenges, this language with 15 declinations could be the one for you! In addition to the most common Holidays, in Finland, you find the 6th December as the Independence Day, Vappu the 1st of May, and of course the Midsummer Day the 24th of June.

White and cold landscapes, sauna and, of course, the Santa’s reindeer. These could easily be the first images coming to mind when thinking about Finland. But, if you scratch the surface a little, you may discover the most unexpected! As an example, you may not know that gender equality standards are the highest in the continent (Finland is the first country in Europe that gave to women the right to vote), or that Finnish education system is considered one of the best in the EU (Business Insider). The deep relation developed by people with nature has also given birth to one of the most surprising habits of this country: swimming in the ice holes! How so? It’s pretty simple: after relaxing in your sauna, after a certain time you run out and dive into the iced water! Why? Because it seems to be quite healthy! Seeing is believing.