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Helsinki, Finland
Photo: Pertsaboy, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
South Helsinki is in this guide defined as the part of Helsinki south of the Esplanadi and Bulevardi streets. It also includes the archipelago south of Helsinki, such as the Suomenlinna islands.
From the travel guide. Select a place for details, a map and what is nearby.
Exhibitions of modern commercial and industrial design and modern art. The permanent exhibit in the basement showcases the history of consumer-goods design over the course of the 20th century, with a particular focus on the contributions of Finnish designers. If you're a fan of Finnish design products like Marimekko fabrics, Arabia porcelain and Iittala vases and their prototypes this is definitely not a place to miss.
Diananpuisto
Also known as Kolmikulma (the triangle), this pocket sized park is a nice place to take break from your sightseeing in the summer and just sit down on a park bench and have an ice-cream.
Saksalainen kirkko
The Lutheran Church of the German community is situated at the foot of the Observatory Hill and is a visible landmark if you are walking from the Silja Line ferry towards downtown. The Neo-Gothic church was built in 1864 and is also a venue for liturgical and classical concerts.
Johanneksenkirkko
The largest church in Helsinki and a fine example of Gothic Revival architecture.
A beautiful park by the sea in the namesake neighbourhood in the southernmost part of the city. In summer you might want to sit down for a cup of coffee in one of the seaside cafes and enjoy the view of sailboats and the people on the promenade. Housing surrounding this area is the most expensive in Helsinki.
Finnish Marshall Carl Gustav Emil Mannerheim lived in this villa 1924—51. The museum contains his personal home and a vast array of items he acquired during his life and on his long journeys.
A prime example of 1930s functionalism at the border of districts of Eira and Punavuori. Slightly unusually for this architectural style it's constructed in red bricks. The spire of the church can be lowered into the church tower, a feature that was used during WWII to make it less visible for Soviet bombers.
Merkki
In the newspaper museum you can learn more about the history of newspapers - journalism and printing.
Tähtitorninvuori
As the name reveals, this hill rising above the Olympia and Makasiini terminals of South Harbor hosts an observatory, and from the hill you have a nice albeit partial view over the city centre (part of the view is obstructed by trees). It is also the place for people to picnic on the may day festival Vappu and on the morning of the Finnish Independence Day the hill hosts a televised flag rising ceremony.
Ursan tähtitorni
The 1926 yellow-coloured observatory, operated by the Astronomical Association Ursa, is still in active use by both members and other enthusiasts, but non-members can also attend public shows to either observe solar phenomena or look at the starry sky.
Few tourists find their way here, but this is a very popular summer spot for Helsinkians, with sandy beaches (including a mixed nude beach) and a restaurant dishing out cold beer and ciders. Ferries run from Merisatama pier at the southern end of Kaivopuisto Park (tram 3) hourly from 09:30 to 20:30, 10-15 min, €5.50 return.
Sinebrychoffin taidemuseo/Konstmuseet Sinebrychoff
Promotes itself as the only museum in Finland specialising in old European art. Located in a stately house commissioned in 1842 by Nikolai Sinebrychoff, the founder of the Sinebrychoff brewery. Nikolai Sinebrychoff never lived in the house, preferring instead to live in Viapori (now known as Suomenlinna), but his brother's family lived there for several years. The upper floor of the building hosts the Sinebrychoff house museum with plenty of 19th-century paintings on display.
Also known as "Koffin puisto", it's in Punavuori district next to the Sinebrychoff art museum. Popular with young people, in the summer it is full of people having picnics or just drinking pussikalja (literally: "beer in a bag", means buying beer from a supermarket and drinking it outdoors), while in the winter kids ride sleds down the snowy slope.
Ehrensvärd-museo
The first occupant of the current museum building was Augustin Ehrensvärd (1710-1772), the founder of the Suomenlinna fortress. The museum's collection includes paintings, furniture, weapons and ship models.
Sotamuseon maneesi
Founded in 1929, the central museum of the Finnish Defence Forces. Exhibits vehicles and armament used by Finnish forces during the Winter War and World War II.
Vesikko was one of five submarines to serve the Finnish Navy during the wars in 1939–1944. It´s also the only surviving German Type II submarine in the world (Vesikko was the prototype).
One of the better kept secrets of Helsinki is the beach on Uunisaari, an island a short ride away from the south coast.
Try some ice hockey with your friends in the Jääherne ice hall on the southwesternmost tip of Helsinki.
Motorboat rental in Merisatama.
Popular bar that also serves a variety of dishes with a twist of cross-kitchen style, priced from €4.90-15.90, most main courses under €10. Tends to be packed at lunch and dinner time.
Free flow lunch restaurant that offers a spacious and luminous environment to spend the lunch hour. The daily Lunch Club menu consists of four different choices all for €9.20. There is choice of Scandinavian style home-cooking, Mediterranean or Asian delicacies, salad bar and soup of the day or vegetarian meal.
Very simple and inexpensive lunch place, no gourmet-stuff going on here, but the sort of food Finns eat at home made fresh on site. Run by a friendly husband and wife team, this kiosk/restaurant melange a stone's throw away from five corners serves one of the cheapest healthy warm lunches you can eat in central Helsinki. Take away also possible if the few tables are full. Soup €4.50, lunch of the day was €5.70 or €7 depending on portion size (Sep 2015).
former Kahvila Suomi
The Japanese tourists come because the cult hit movie Kamome Shokudo was filmed here! Japanese cuisine.
Kirurgisen sairaalan lounasravintola
British and American store selling food, drinks, candies and other stuff.
A restaurant (housed in a magnificent 250-year-old building) with cool Nordic food, interesting drinks and good moments.
One of the oldest restaurants in Helsinki, dating back to the 1890s. It has been in its current location since the 1960s. Serves a wide variety of common restaurant fare in Finland: salads, pastas, steaks and hamburgers.
Mediterranean restaurant, serving food made with fresh and authentic ingredients.
Nice restaurant with an Italian flavour. Reservations suggested, particularly on the weekend.
Tiny restaurant known for its special Finnish entrées called sapakset (a play on tapas), with roots in Finnish food tradition. Try the cabbage roll with crayfish or the egg cheese with marjoram.
The restaurant provides excellent hospitality and a wide variety of authentic Indian cuisine. An affordable and changing lunch buffet, dinner, delicious Indian desserts, take away service and catering for smaller or larger events. Peaceful location.
A pizzeria where you can choose a table either in the labyrinthine fortress ramparts or on the sunny summertime terrace.
A Georgian restaurant serving authentic food.
A German restaurant inspired by the famous Hofbräuhaus am Platzl in Munich. Spacious, with premises on two floors. Authentic-looking Bavarian-style decor reminiscent of the original Hofbräuhaus. Tasty Bavarian cuisine dishes with copious amounts of meat, but vegetarian options also available. One of the few places in Finland to serve Austro-Bavarian schnitzels of veal rather than pork. A good variety of German beers on tap.
The restaurant's history began in 1897 with a former small kiosk, the door of which sold food and tobacco mainly to sailors. Even today, the restaurant is famous for its Baltic herring dishes.
A trendy Asian cuisine restaurant.
Lovely cafe in the toy museum with proper espresso, ice cream, local snacks and wines, with a terrace overlooking the sea.
An Italian restaurant.
Established in 1933 as a basic eatery, this joint has slowly become a local legend affectionately known as Sikala ("Pigsty"), and both the decor and the menu are still preserved from the 1950s. A long-time Wallpaper Magazine favourite. Try the famous herring dishes or the onion steak.
Tasty Thai food.
A British restaurant bar.
This café-restaurant is a popular lunch and evening spot for both yachtspeople and the residents of Suomenlinna Island.
Cosy vegetarian lunch restaurant with a daily changing soup and main dish (around €9).
On Liuskasaari island, Boathouse offers seasonal kitchen and a wide selection of wines.
An unusual high-class restaurant geared towards the young and trendy, Demo's decor is minimalistic, but the food is of excellent calibre. There are no menus, only set courses pre-chosen based on what is fresh and available for the evening. Easily deserving of its Michelin star. Reservations essential.
One of Helsinki's finest Asian cuisine restaurants, serving a mixture of Japanese, Chinese and Korean cuisine. Famous for its tasting menus. As the restaurant is very popular and a bit cramped, prior reservations are recommended, although not mandatory. The food is a bit expensive but extremely tasty, and the staff are very friendly.
A Greek restaurant.
The successor of the legendary Havis Amanda and still the best upscale seafood restaurant in town.
Combines North European ingredients into a modern Scandinavian cuisine while using seasons best ingredients available.
An atmospheric restaurant that serves top quality local food made from seasonal ingredients and wine.
Fine dining restaurant. Established in 1952, it got its second Michelin star in 2022.
A fine dining restaurant that serves innovative dishes and wines selected according to the season.
Traditional Lapp food in kitschy Lapp surroundings – reindeer horn chandeliers and the lot – but unlike some of the competition, they don't compromise on food quality. The octolingual menu runs the gamut from smoked elk to bear meatballs. Don't miss the buttermilk pancakes (äkäset) for dessert.
Traditional Russian delicacies. Russian music and decor of old samovars, stained-glass windows and paintings. Try traditional blinis or Saslik's bear specialities.
Restaurant using seasonal ingredients.
Särkänlinna offers a Nordic cuisine. Provides a good premise for dinners for two to as well as weddings or private parties. Famous for its traditional crayfish parties.
This traditional cafe serves excellent delicacies. Famous for their enormous cinnamon rolls (korvapuusti), also available in Cafe Esplanad.
French-type cafe in the Design Forum. Try the lovely Sacher cake. Take away is cheaper.
The café and furniture shop Plootu offers a great tea selection (served in a 600ml/1000ml presso pan), smoothies, salads, coffee and pho soup. An atmospheric and fun little coffee shop where everything you dine or drink coffee on is on sale.
A summer wine bar open from the end of May until the beginning of September.
Named after the forge where the mythical Sampo of the Kalevala was made, this is a slick modern bar-lounge with two sides to it: a pure white space as you enter, with a bar counter and sofas, and a darker back room with nooks and crannies for a quieter chat. Try the drink Ahjotonic.
English pub. Weekdays are relaxed, weekends have live DJs and a full bar. A place to go for quality beers, ales, ciders and whisky.
A small, consciously crude bar, that used to be one of the primary hipster hangouts in central Helsinki. The bar is now all but deserted by the trendy crowd, and the music turned into the usual fare of hit-list pop, but on the upside the service is friendly and there is ample sitting room at the tables.
A Helsinki institution better known as Kalle, this former church hasn't had a renovation in years and really needs one. It still continues to pack in a hard-partying thirty-something crowd, especially on Thursdays. Six bars (all small), playing top-40 tunes, rock and Finnish pop. The last of the bars has a dance floor and gets particularly packed, with people dancing on the tables. Minimum age 24.
A cocktail bar.
All year open hostel located at the Suomenlinna sea fortress. Great for a quick escape from the city. The ferry runs from 6AM to 2AM so you are not totally cut off.
A small, clean, and friendly hostel with a central location.
A hotel owned by the Evangelical Free Church of Finland (EFCF).
Helsinki's first boutique hotel, although they prefer the term "personal contemporary hotel". Rooms range from the small Passion & Mystical types to the aptly named Envy Plus. Central location, funky styling and reasonable prices make this a winner.
Hotel Haven, Finland’s first member of the Small Luxury Hotels of the World, is designed to provide homely warmth, exclusive comfort and high-quality services for the discerning guest.
Internationally recognized designer clothes, handmade in Finland.
New and vintage design furniture, lighting, textiles, jewelery, glass. Finnish designers represented include Eero Aarnio, Alvar Aalto, Tapio Wirkkala, Timo Sarpaneva and Ilmari Tapiovaara. Not for the budget traveller.
Gallery and shop for young designers, artists and musicians. And while you are there, check out Lux shop on the opposite side of the street.
Only grocery store in the Suomenlinna Island.
Used rock, Finnish, funk.
Jazz/classical/world. Very recommended.
Dub/jazz/salsa.
Rock/indie/electronics misc.
From the central railway station, bus station or central Helsinki in general, there isn't anywhere in southern Helsinki you couldn't get on foot within half an hour or so.
Read in the guideIf you aren't going by foot or bike, tram is the best alternative; line 3 takes you around southern Helsinki.
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