Helsinki & Espoo July 2017
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Day 1. A walk to Tervesaari island, Helsinki
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…
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Day 2. The National Library of Finland and the Bank of Finland Museum
Dominating Senate Square is Helsinki Cathedral, built in the neo-classical style this landmark building was completed in 1852 and its tall green dome can be seen from many parts of the city. Senate Square was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel in 1852 and the cathedral was his masterpiece, majestically dominating the surrounding buildings. The large…
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Day 3. A Day in Tallinn
We often visit Estonia’s capital Tallinn whilst we are staying in Helsinki as it makes for a pleasant day out or overnight stay. Several ferry companies ply the route taking between 90 minutes on the fast ferry to two and a half hours on the larger, more comfortable car ferries. This summer we spotted an…
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Day 4. The Arabia district of Helsinki
Just north of the centre of Helsinki and at the terminus of the No. 6 and 8 trams lies the Arabia district where we found much of interest to occupy us for several hours. Starting off by the tram terminus is the Iittala and Arabia design centre and outlet store where we were able to…
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Day 5. Kamppi and Herttoniemi, Helsinki
A MasterChef type outdoor cooking competition was taking place in Narinkkatori square just outside Helsinki’s Kamppi shopping centre so we decided to join lots of other inquisitive people and take a look at what was happening. The event was hosted by Lidl and was the national finals of their Grillimaisteri barbecue competition. It was interesting…
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Day 6. The Tall Ships Race in Kotka, Finland
Having previously enjoyed seeing the Tall Ships in Helsinki in 2013 we were keen to catch up with them again, this time in Kotka. Located on the south coast of Finland, Kotka’s city centre is situated on Kotkansaari island. Getting from Helsinki was very easy, we booked with Onnibus who have regular daily services between the…
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Day 7. Leppävaara and Glims Farmstead Museum, Espoo
Leppävaara is located in Espoo and is easily accessible by both bus and train from Helsinki. Adjacent to the rail and bus station is a modern, attractive shopping centre called Sello which has a wide selection of shops and cafes. As it was such a warm, sunny day we decided to take a stroll over…
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Day 8. Pihlajasaari Island by ferry
It was a sunny morning so we packed up a picnic and decided to take one of the small ferries to the outlying island of Pihlajasaari. It’s a former villa island and is now a popular outdoor recreation area which is located 3 km offshore from the centre of Helsinki. There are piers in two…
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Day 9. Visiting Turku to see the Tall Ships Race
A second chance to admire the Tall Ships this summer as they sailed from Kotka to Turku in south west Finland. Getting there was easy, travelling by Onnibus once again and by booking the tickets early it didn’t cost very much. The journey time from Helsinki to Turku was approximately two hours but with comfortable…
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Day 10. Haukilahti and Matinkylä, Espoo
Haukilahti is a small coastal town in Espoo located between Westend and Matinkylä. It’s just a 20 minute journey from central Helsinki and is a lovely place to visit on a sunny day. We decided to take a walk along the waterfront walkway/ cycle path which is known as Espoon Rantaraitti and is clearly signposted…
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Day 11. Villa Elfvik and Laguuni Water Park, Espoo
Villa Elfvik is located in Espoo close to the centre of Helsinki and it was from there that we started our countryside walk. It’s an art nouveau villa on the edge of the Laajalahti Nature Reserve, inside we found exhibitions relating to the diverse nature of Espoo as well as a children’s adventure area ‘Badger’s…
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Day 12. The Museum of Journalism Helsinki
Our plan today was to explore Helsinki’s Boulevard which starts from Erottaja in central Helsinki. Strolling along this elegant avenue we admired the beautiful buildings, many of which are now high class shops, cafes, restaurants and galleries. We passed The Old Church and its garden which always seems a popular venue for young people to…
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Day 13. Lake Tuusula, Järvenpää
A day I had been looking forward to, meeting up with my Finnish blogging friend Suvi, author of the lovely blog Destination Everywhere whom I first met on my visit to Finland last year. This time we planned a day out together exploring Lake Tuusula in Järvenpää, about a 30 minute drive from Helsinki. Suvi…
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