Day 1. A walk to Tervesaari island, Helsinki

On By Little Miss TravellerIn Finland, Helsinki & Espoo July 2017, Northern Europe

With Finland celebrating its centenary this year and the country being a firm favourite of ours, it seemed only natural that we should make a return visit this summer.  On arriving into Helsinki airport late the previous evening, we spent our first day enjoying a walk around the market square which is always a beautiful sight.  The square is the beating heart of the city bustling with activity.  The small orange and white canvas roofed stalls sell fresh berries, flowers, vegetables and gifts and are always crowded with tourists, many from cruise ships looking for the perfect souvenir to remind them of their visit to Helsinki.  The market square is also the starting point for boat trips and a regular ferry to Suomenlinna island, a UNESCO World Heritage site, just a short 12 minute journey away.

Helsinki Market Square
Helsinki Market Square

Strolling across the footbridge we were interested to view the Allas Sea Pools which were nearing completion when we visited last summer.  Allas is located in a prime position at the side of the harbour next to the Ferris Wheel, affording stunning views of the harbour and the market square (kauppatori).  Wide, wooden steps lead up to the terrace and these have been cleverly designed to act as seats as well as a staircase with large bean bags to relax on.

Allas Sea Pools, Helsinki
Allan Sea Pools, Helsinki

Tickets are not required for access to the terrace areas but are needed to use the pools and saunas.  Allas boasts three pools located on a floating basin on top of the sea.  The Big Pool is filled with heated tap water and is a very comfortable 27 degrees Celsius all year round.  The Sea Pool is filled with sea water pumped from further out to sea where the currents are cleaner and then filtered.  The temperature of this pool is the same as the sea with warm water in summer and ice swimming during the winter months for the brave or should I say foolhardy!  The third pool is primarily for children and their parents and this is also heated to 27 degrees Celsius.

Allas Sea Pools, Helsinki
Allas Sea Pools, Helsinki

The complex also has three luxury saunas taking between 15 and 20 people at one time.  We climbed to the uppermost terrace from where we had splendid views of the pools and the harbour setting.  Here we found a rooftop bar with lots of wooden deck chairs to soak up the sunshine whilst sipping cool drinks.  On the lower level there is also a restaurant and cafe.  The site is spacious and can accommodate up to 2,700 customers, we were very impressed and will definitely be returning again during our stay.

Allas Sea Pools, Helsinki
Allas Sea Pools, Helsinki

Continuing our walk along the waterfront we admired some beautiful buildings from the Art Nouveau / Jugend style and boats moored in the harbour opposite.  Slightly further on, we followed a path along a causeway to Terversaari island.  This causeway was constructed in 1939 when it was used as a storage area for tar awaiting exporting.  After the final industrial units were removed in 1970 the island was opened to the public and in the mid 1990’s it was enlarged by means of land reclamation and transformed in to a park like setting.

Jugend architecture on Helsinki's waterfront
Jugend / Art Nouveau architecture in Helsinki

Hedges of wild roses line the path and were awash with colour as the flowers were in full bloom.  Small boats were bobbing in the water on the causeway moorings and views back to the mainland were stunning.

Carpet Washing Pier, Helsinki
Carpet washing pier, Helsinki

Starting our walk around the island we passed a traditional Finnish carpet washing pier ‘mattolaituri’ where people bring their rugs and carpets and wash them in the sea.  They are then left to dry in the sunshine on the wooden racks to be collected later.  These washing piers are a common sight along the Helsinki and Espoo waterfront.

Icebreakers in Helsinki harbour
Icebreakers in Helsinki harbour

From the island there are some good views of the Finnish ice breaking fleet in their summer home of Katajanokka.  These ships work hard at keeping the ports free from ice during the winter months and are now celebrating Finland’s centenary with a large banner.  Further round we could see Korkeasaari island which is home to the Helsinki Zoo.

Korkeasaari Island, Helsinki
Korkesaari Island, Helsinki

We also passed a dog park which even has its own designated swimming beach for dogs, a children’s playground and an outdoor theatre where regular summer performances take place.

Designated dog park and beach, Helsinki
Dog park and beach, Helsinki

The island also features a traditional Finnish style restaurant ‘Savu’ which is located in the last remaining storehouse.  The restaurant specialises in smoke curing and is located in a beautiful setting.  After completing a circuit of the island we continued to Hakaniemi from where we caught a tram to the Kamppi bus station to return to our accommodation in Espoo.

In this, my second series of blog posts on southern Finland, my plan is to mainly visit places that I have not previously written about.  If you are interested to read about my month long stay last summer you can find a link to it here.

If you have enjoyed reading this post you may also like:

The Moomin Museum & enjoying Tampere’s nature

Villa Elfvik and Laguuni Water Park, Espoo

 

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75 thoughts on “Day 1. A walk to Tervesaari island, Helsinki”

  5. The Allas Sea Pool terrace is one of my fave places for a drink (on a sunny day). It can get very windy up there! I love swimming at the pool too. Miss you and so glad we managed to meet up this summer even though it was on your last day! xx

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  15. I had the pleasure of visiting Helsinki many many moons ago. In the winter months I believe. It was a very short trip, but I had some of the best fish I have ever had on that trip. Thanks for the post and bringing back some good memories.

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  17. We love Helsinki! My university roommate is from there and we tacked on a visit to see her a few years ago at the end of our Russia trip (the last time I’d visited her was 25 years earlier! Yikes!).

    It’s was a wonderful place… clean, neat, orderly and yet full of culture. And the food scene there was incredible. We are definitely planning a return visit.

    Thanks for sharing your experiences of it… they’re a welcome reminder of that time!

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  23. Wow, I’m going to use your post to plan my midwinter 23/24 December stopover en route to Goa. I was in Helsinki about ten years ago for an Eric Clapton concert, August, so lots of bright light. Any good hotel tips, central and not a budget breaker?

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      1. It will be an interesting stopover to see the city midwinter and maybe catch the last days of Christmas markets and take a trip out to one of the islands through an ice cut channel. I may even scope out the pools, especially if the bar is heated and open!

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  24. I can hardly believe a year has gone by since your last visit to Finland Marion, I remember all those posts… doesn’t time fly. So lovely to go back again especially in the centenary year. Love the idea of a swimming beach for dogs too!!

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  28. I enjoyed Your walking tour. Well-descripted and beautiful photos. We made in June nearly the similar walking tour starting from Helsinki market, but we continued to Hakaniemi. One of our main interest was Laajasalo island.

    Happy weekend.

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