I loved this amazing opportunity to discover beautiful Helsinki. It was on my bucket list for long and I finally got to discover it in a very authentic way with some great inside information. Fikri and I had an absolute blast and enjoyed every minute of our trip! The arrival went smooth and the public traffic was the best way to get into Helsinki.
Dutch Laurens Sebastian Van Gent and Belgian Fikri Ettahiri visited Helsinki in winter, and published several posts about their stay on Laurens Sebastian's popular Instagram account laurensvangent.
Here follows a short summary of those posts with 5 tips out of their recommendations in Helsinki:
1. Sauna Löyly. It was such an open yet traditional sauna located on such a great place to have a view over the sea. The whole idea was to experience the sauna tradition in a vibrant yet traditional place. Thanks to the architecture of the sauna, you felt like you were outside, which was not the case, but they did a great job in giving the best service and sauna tradition. A must visit in Helsinki.
2. Michelin restaurant Olo. Such a great restaurant with outstanding service and the dishes were simply brilliant. The location was great and the food traditions it told about, they really came along together. Traditional Finnish food with a twist. I would highly recommend this to foodies like us.
3. Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma. It is simply beautiful with its spacious halls and art that is displayed. We could wander here for days. In general, all museums were worth visiting. We actually loved hanging around in Roberts Coffee at Stockmann’s, it is such a cozy and personal space that makes it feel like home. We had not planned it, but we discovered we would take a coffee there on a daily basis.
4. Bakery & Cafe Ekberg. A cute place as well. It really gives you the opportunity to see the locals get a coffee and pastry. Very authentic and cute. Besides this, we really liked Stockmann’s supermarket based in -1 level in the city center.We enjoyed our lunches there at Food Market Herkku. Honest and healthy food is priority for me and they are focused on this.
5. The National Library of Finland is such a beautiful place as well. It almost feels like a palace. It is great to see that Finland keeps these nations treasures in good condition. I think the most important things that we need to add to our lives are rest and peace, and we found those during our stay in Helsinki. We have visited so many great spots in Helsinki and we really felt such a good vibe of the locals. As we both have hectic lives and are in a fast moving world focused on smartphone screens, we really got to take a break. As the locals of Finland, really take their time for you whether it is to help or just to have a talk. I really think Finland does a great job in living more in the moment instead of being all the time on the phone or computer. People really enjoy life in Helsinki minute by minute, even though the days are short with daylight in wintertime.
See all the posts here!