LakesideChick

Hi everyone

We will be arriving in Helsinki in August this year and will be there for 3 full days (plus the days we fly in and out) and we are hoping to see a little more than just Helsinki, and maybe stay in a bed and breakfast and hire a car. We would appreciate any info on places we could visit that are possible to drive to, nice bed and breakfast rercommendations, and if driving in Finland is relatively easy.

Thanks!

Cathy

tower

chick:

I would suggest not to give Helsinki short shrift...it's a very nice European capital. Easy to maneuver...

On the other hand if you want to see some of the country, I suggest a circle tour of Southern Finland (3 days). Turku, Jyvaskala and Porvoo, back to Helsnki. As you say, you could at least give Helsinki time during the in-and-out days, and perhaps a half day...rest of the time you can easily make a nice trip of the south....

Here are some possible b and b lodgings:

http://www.strandhagen.fi/index.php?...allery=default (near Porvoo)

http://tourism.porvoo.fi/en/accommod...breakfast_wera

Hotel type...more expensive lodgings...but very nice
http://www.parkhotelturku.fi/en/

Here are some scanned pix of one visit (pre-digital) we made to Finland, with map

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/Finland# (see Porvoo)
To enlarge , click on the magnifying glass icon.

Stu Tower

walksntalks

Driving is very easy in Finland. Everybody is following all the rules very strictly. Also the signs are clear.
Tower mentioned Porvoo and I agree. Porvoo is close by and charming. Jyvaskyla - yes, it is difficult to spell right - is approximately 3 hours from Helsinki and it only makes sence if you really want to see the lakes area. Do not even think about it, if the weather is not nice.
You never know the weather in August. It can be nice, or rainy and miserable. If the weather is nice, I would stay close to the coast - Porvoo, Helsinki, Tammisaari and perhaps Turku. Jyvaskyla and the lakes area is the alternative.
If the weather is bad, I would stay in Helsinki.
Dining in Helsinki:
Chez Dominique has two Michelin stars, but it is not too expensive. Palace Gourmet has a fantastic seasonal menu, but it is more expensive.
Savoy is famous and expensive. It has a long history, and it was re-opened in 1990's with great expectations. I was disappointed, and I still am. But, perhaps you will like it.
Some people like to visit Hotel Torni bar. It is the only skyscraper in the city (sort of...), so you have a very nice view over the city from there. O'Malleys pub in Hotel Torni is the most famous (and best to me) pub in Helsinki.

tower

walksntalks...last time in Helsinki we stayed at the verable Torni..a fine bar...O'Malleys is a fun place, too.
We were sucked into lunch at the Chef School...not memorable at all (forgot the name...maybe it's just as well)

stu

tower

above...should read "venerable"
I looked up the name of the Chef's school in my journal..."Perko's" (still open?)

LakesideChick

Thank you for the information so far... the people on this site are wonderful... I am now thinking we might base ourselves in Porvoo for 3 night, and do a day trip into Helsinki and spend the 2 other days exploring areas near Porvoo. How does this sound?

walksntalks

Tower,
The Chef School is called Ravintolakoulu Perho http://www.perho.fi/ravintola/english/index.htm
Never been there though.

LakesideChick,
Remember, Porvoo is charming but a small town. And, it is only some 40 minutes from Helsinki. I would stay in Helsinki and make a day-trip to Porvoo, unless you really like small towns.
http://www.porvoo.fi/index.php?mid=721

SemiMike

Helsinki is a fine walking city, and the ferry to Tallinn makes a nice day trip. For more, see my phototravelogue at http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=...&x=0&y=-95hdl3

tbandrews

I am going to Finland in July and enjoyed the pics that were added. Thanks for adding captions!!!!!!!!!!

Debs

SemiMike - Great pictures! Great captions too! We're headed to Tallinn and Helsinki in early June - looks like we have a lot to see in both cities!

Did you eat at Cafe Kappeli - did an online search for their menu and it looks tempting for lunch.

Thanks for sharing!

Kay2

I have eaten dinner at Kappeli and it was quite good and charming in the evening.

SemiMike

Yes, Cafe Kappeli was good and not too pricey - an issue in Helsinki! I also liked Cafe Esplanadi down the street for the same reasons.

walksntalks

Cafe Chapel and its terrace (Kappelin terassi in Finnish) is legendary in Helsinki. It's THE place for the first beer outside each summer.
I believe they still have a brew of their own by the way.
http://www.kappeli.fi/english_chapel.html

bratsandbeer

Helsinki is great! There is so much you can see just by walking in the city. Don't miss the cafe mentioned above - we had coffee there everyday. The market along the waterfront is fun.

We took the ferry to Tallin for one day. The ferry landing is a short walk to the out town. When we were there many buildings were being renovated so there should be many shops open now. We toured the old church also which was interesting.

We took the train to Turku and visited the Cathedral of Turku which is considered the national shrine of Finland.

Another trip to Helsinki included a 4 day trip to St Petersburg with the Finland Tourist Bureau.

LakesideChick

This website and the people who take the time to reply with such amazing info are wonderful. Thank you all so much!!!!

LaurenKahn1

Great photos! Thanks. I just booked a ticket for my Finland home exchange this summer!

lanejohann

enjoy your trip Lakeside Chick
all this talk is making me salivate! cant wait to get going!
we just booked out ferry to tallinn on the tallink silja line - 59 gbp each which seems ok
at least they leave early - 730 and we will catch the 530 back which will still leave us a little bit of daylight to explore Helsinki...

some ferries, it seems, only leave at 1130am !that seems pretty late for daytripping..

anyway,looking forward to whizzing round helsinki in the short time we have there...

i read that the markets are really good for food so we might grab a breakfast down there by the harbour- apparently there are these meat pies ( wonder if theyre like russian piroshki?) that are fabulously good
anybody recommend some local fare to try? is the food like russian food or more scandinavian or are they all a bit related through herring lol?

LakesideChick

Hey LaneJohann, have an awesome trip and let us know how it is when you get there. Where are you staying?

elina

Food: part Swedish, part Russian, part traditional Finnish, part what is called something like "international". Chinese if you want Chinese, Indian if you want that, French goes under the label international, Italian, Nepalese, the first Moroccan just bopened, a very, very good Lebanese place...

Those meat pies are horribly greasy, try Carelian pies with eggbutter instead.

lanejohann

thanks Lakeside Chick
upon Tower's recommendation i tried to book the torni but it was booked out in late may09
seems that may is popular time for conventions

had trouble getting the popular helka hotel or anything reasonably priced and central
so after talking to the receptionist at the helka who gave me a helsinki number i spoke to a lovely helpful lady booking agent who got us into the sokos hotel helsinki

we did initially book into eurohostel but we just cant risk the potential noise factor that is inherent in so many hostels so though it was cheap - ish , we ended up cancelling and taking up the hotelhelsinki instead

you do have to be careful - apparently the hostels have wooden floors- a lot of them- and the lifts can be noisy so i think it is wise to invest in a phone card and call the place youre interested directly

elina...sorry to hear the pies are really greasy - i suspected theyd be lol
thanks for your insights on the type of cuisine we are likely to encounter and ill look out for the carelian pies
not really interested in other nationalities' foods - can get that at home