When in FinlandThree days in Helsinki

Helsinki in April is still a bit on the cooler side, but I don't mind that at all. Better than blazing hot, IMO. A lot of the touristy destinations were very close together. Public transportation is also fairly easy to navigate. We stayed in an Airbnb close to Kamppi subway station and Kluuvi train station, making day tripping an option for us.

Day 1: Walking tour

We explored most of Helsinki's must-see destinations on foot. It was a windy but sunny day. We got coffee to go from Lagom cafe & bakery, a cute little cafe just downstairs from where we were staying, and walked over to Esplanadi. I had to stop at the Moomin store in Esplanadi before we could continue on. There was so much cute stuff here!

The Esplanadi is a long wide esplanade that is home to many high-end stores and department stores. It was nice walking through.

The SkyWheel, on the way down to the pier.

Once past the Esplanadi, we made our way to the Uspenski Cathedral for a quick photo, but did not go inside this cathedral. We spent our time at a pop-up market down by the pier instead, snacking on salmon soup and fried smelt. Each vendor seemed to have their own salmon soup recipe. I liked the creamier version, which I still haven't had a chance to try and recreate at home. There are also vendors selling reindeer meat at the market. We tried some reindeer sausage that wasn't particularly unique, just a bit more gamey than a normal beef or pork sausage.

Uspenski Cathedral. A quick photo, then straight to the food.

Salmon soup and a reindeer sausage at the pier market.

Next, we walked over to the Old Market Hall (Vanha Kauppahalli) and passed by the ferris wheel. If the weather is good, I highly recommend picking up some Finnish delicacies to enjoy on the stairs outside the Helsinki Cathedral, which is located in a small, charming square located near Esplanadi. Don't miss out on the Kalakauppa E. Eriksson, where you can order ready-to-eat goodies by weight. We grabbed an assortment of pickled herring and different cuts of cooked and smoked salmon. These were our highlights for lunch.

The counter at Kalakauppa E. Eriksson. Order by weight, eat on the steps.

The Old Market Hall.

Lunch on the steps, looking over Senate Square.

After lunch, we walked inside Helsinki Cathedral and admired the art and architecture. There is no entry fee for this cathedral. The iconic green dome is also quite impressive inside, but not overly extravagant compared to some other European cathedrals. I would say that this is a theme I found with architecture in Helsinki in general. It was clean, simple, and mostly practical rather than extravagant.

Helsinki Cathedral. Free to go in.

After dinner, we went to check out Helsinki Central Library Oodi. The library is uniquely designed and it was beautiful to watch the sunset over the city from here.

Oodi, the central library.

Sunset over the city from the top floor.

Day 2: Reindeer sanctuary

It takes about an hour by public transportation to get to Nuuksio National Park, but not impossible to find and get to without a car. You can catch the E, U, or L train to Espoo Centre and then transfer to the 245(A) bus to Nuuksio from platform 32. If you aren't sure where your stop is, you can ask the bus driver to point it out as the reindeer sanctuary part of the park is quite easy to miss.

The train to Espoo Centre, stroller and all.

The sanctuary itself is not big, but there are nature walks in the area if you want to explore a bit more. When you pay for entry at the sanctuary, they give you lichen to feed the reindeer in a designated area. The staff are friendly and happy to answer any questions you have and even share the reindeers' history and how they ended up here at the sanctuary. It turns out that every reindeer in Finland belongs to someone. Apart from feeding the reindeer, you can enjoy a hot drink and some cardamom bread that you wrap and cook yourself over the bonfire inside the traditional hut. Perfect for shelter on a cooler day.

Lichen, handed over.

Cardamom bread over the bonfire in the hut.

We had lunch at Ravintola Haltia afterwards. It wasn't exactly what I had expected. We paid the buffet price and grabbed what we wanted to eat. It feels a bit like going to the Ikea cafeteria, but buffet style. They have a different menu every day of the week. They also offer some a la carte cafe options if you don't want to spend €21 on food. The restaurant itself overlooks the national park and is very peaceful. If it was warmer, we would have sat out on the balcony to enjoy our food. After lunch, you can spend some time walking through the nature centre and learn about the preservation efforts of this park. If that's not your thing, there are some easy trails just outside the centre.

We took the bus and train back to the city the same way we came and ended up buying some groceries to cook in so we could enjoy the hot tub and sauna that came with the Airbnb. This also made it easier with little ones on the trip. Food in Finland is also quite expensive, and cooking is one way to save a bit.

Day 3: Temppeliaukio Church and Suomenlinna Fortress

Temppeliaukio Church, aka Rock Church, is easy to miss if you don't know it's there. But that's the point. The designers of this church were challenged in a competition to build it into the land and they did. It looks just like a hill in the middle of a residential courtyard. We booked an early timeslot and managed to get in with very few other people in the church. They also run concerts at this church but we weren't able to time our stay with any of those. The acoustics in the church would probably be amazing.

Temppeliaukio Church, from the inside of the hill.

We had a morning coffee break with the little one after checking out the church. You just cannot miss coffee culture in Finland. In the afternoon, we headed out to Suomenlinna Island to walk around the fortress. It is a short ferry ride from the pier where the Old Market is and there are plenty of ferries that run back and forth during the day. If the weather is nice, it would be nice for a picnic. Or if you're a history buff, this could be interesting. Otherwise, I would say this is skippable. We went on a super windy day so we were cold and just wanted to leave the island. Also be prepared for lots of walking as it is a small island built around the fortress.

Suomenlinna. Windy, and mostly ours and the goose's.

In front of the submarine at Suomenlinna.

Alternatively, I would suggest a sauna day. I regret not making time for this, but we did get to use the facilities in the comfort of our Airbnb.

If I were to do this again, I think I would skip Suomenlinna and enjoy a day trip to a sauna. Having a baby makes it hard to do that though. It also makes it hard to do the day trip to Estonia, which is a bus and ferry ride away.