Morning
Start your morning with a breakfast at the Old Market Hall by the Market Square, or at Tin Tin Tango in the Töölö district. Hotel breakfasts in Helsinki are also always amazing. If your hotel package does not include breakfast, you can still pay for breakfast at any hotel in the city centre and “upgrade” your morning.
You should probably go shopping for LPs and CDs first thing in the morning, when you still have funds available in your wallet. Keltainen Jäänsärkijä – the “Yellow Icebreaker” – next door to the legendary rock club Tavastia has a huge selection that you have to see to believe, especially since the record store does not have a website! The staff are real music gurus, so you can some truly rare finds. Levykauppa Äx is another great record store just around the corner that also has excellent staff and a good selection of predominantly heavy metal music.
Picnics are always fun in summertime, and they are great way to meet locals too. The best parks for mingling include Sinebrychoff Park, the Old Church Park (a.k.a. Ruttopuisto or Plague Park!), Esplanade Park, the Tokoinranta shoreline and Karhupuisto (Bear Park). If you have time in your schedule, you should also head out to the nearby islands: you can get to Suomenlinna, Vallisaari and Pihlajasaari in just ten minutes or so, and the ferries only cost a few euros. So bring along your copy of “The Best of Judas Priest” and your boom box, head into a local grocery store for supplies, and off you go!
Afternoon
Must-see tourist attractions: Helsinki Cathedral (a.k.a. Tuomiokirkko or the Church of DOOM!), the Sibelius Monument (legendary Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was the great-grandfather of Lauri Porra, the bassist for Stratovarius), Tiketti Galleria (which has lots of music-inspired exhibitions that are usually very affordably priced) and the terrace of Helsinki Central Library Oodi for a glass of prosecco and the chance to see the “mound” where Tuska was organised from 2001 to 2010.
Afternoon bars: The afternoon is a great time to stroll along the bar streets of Kallio and get to know the locals. Recommended bars include Loosister (good pizzas too) and Majava Bar, where well-known members of heavy metal bands can be found either serving drinks to other musicians and fans or enjoying drinks themselves on the other side of the bar. In fact, you will find friends the entire length of the legendary bar street Vaasankatu and its surroundings, and you will feel like a fish in water. In the city centre, U. Kaleva is worth checking out for its exotic Finnish appeal; the bar is only big enough to accommodate ten people at a time, and Finnish hits are played in the background. If it gets too tight for you, you can just move next door to Base Bar, where you can listen to Holy Diver and other heavy metal classics. The same applies for Praha in Kaivopiha.
Early evening
Don’t forget to eat once in a while. An easy choice in the city centre is Ilves, which is right next door to Tavastia; the food is tasty, it has a great selection of drinks, and you can hear yourself speak over the music – although you might hear the soundchecks inside the rock club resonating through the walls! If you feel like a pizza, head for Putte's Bar & Pizza, which is run by Antto Melasniemi, former keyboardist of HIM. If you just want a snack, Loose on Annankatu is a good choice. For fancier dining with friends, try Grön, Baskeri & Basso Bistro, or Lonna (which is a fun 10-minute ferry ride from the Market Square). For more casual dining, try Naughty Burger, Döner Harju or Bun2Bun Redi.
Evening
Helsinki has lots of great clubs where you can check out live gigs, such as Tavastia, Semifinal, Bar Loose, Kuudes Linja, Korjaamo, Ääniwalli, On the Rocks and Lepakkomies.
The biggest indoor gigs are held at Helsinki Ice Hall and Kaapelitehdas (Cable Factory).
Helsinki’s live scene is extremely lively, even on a European scale, and active all year round. For the most comprehensive and up-to-date event listings, check out meteli.net.
Night
For nightlife (but before after-parties), head for The Riff, which is run by Jussi69 from The 69 Eyes, or Praha. Bar Loose is also good but be prepared to queue up; there is plenty of space upstairs, and it plays good rock music. In summertime, after the bars close you can usually find a party at the Sompasaari sauna continuing into the early hours of the morning.