7 Best Sights in Katajanokka and Senaatintori, Helsinki

The steep steps and green domes of the cathedral dominate the Senate Square, and its silhouette is a classic emblem of the city. Completed in 1852, the cathedral is the work of German architect Carl Ludvig Engel, who was commissioned to design a focus for the newly appointed capital during Russian rule and who also designed parts of Tallinn and St. Petersburg. Wander through the restrained but tasteful blue-gray interior, with its white moldings and the statues of German reformers Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, as well as the Finnish bishop Mikael Agricola. Concerts are frequently held inside the church, and the expansive square in front of it is a venue for national celebrations and gatherings. The crypt at the rear is the site of historic and architectural exhibitions and bazaars.

The Art Museum of the Ateneum is one of three sheltering under the Finnish National Gallery umbrella. The gallery holds major European works, but the outstanding attraction is the Finnish art, particularly the dramatic and moody works of Akseli Gallen-Kallela, inspired by the national epic, The Kalevala. The rustic portraits by Albert Edelfelt are enchanting, and many contemporary Finnish artists are well-represented. The two other museums that make up the National Gallery are Kiasma and Sinebrychoff.

The train station, the terminus for routes all across the country and to St. Petersburg and Moscow in Russia, and its adjoining Railway Station Square are the city's bustling commuter hub. The station's huge quirky granite figures are by Emil Wikström; the solid granite building they adorn was designed by Eliel Saarinen, one of the founders of the early-20th-century National Romantic style.

Helsinki's amusement park, to the north of the city, is a great option for families and one of the most popular attractions in terms of visitor numbers in the whole country. It includes the Sea Life aquarium and stages its annual Carnival of Light to brighten up the onset of fall in October.

Eclectic contemporary art is on show behind the shiny, reflective exterior of Kiasma, one of a cluster of modern buildings opposite the sterner edifice of the Parliament House. Praised for the boldness of its curved steel shell conceived by American architect Steven Holl, but initially scorned for its encroachment on the territory of the iconic Mannerheim statue, this striking museum displays a wealth of Finnish and foreign art from the 1960s to the present and stages often provocative changing exhibitions. Extensive external renovations were due to be completed by the end of 2022. Look for the "butterfly" windows, and don't miss the view toward the Parliament House, the Finlandia Hall, and the Oodi Central Library from the north side of the fifth-floor gallery.

The Senate Square is the heart of neoclassical Helsinki, dominated by the Lutheran Cathedral. On the square's west side is one of the main buildings of Helsinki University, and up the hill is the university library. On the east side is the pale yellow Council of State, completed in 1822 and once the seat during Russian rule of the autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland's Imperial Senate. At the lower end of the square, stores and restaurants now occupy former merchants' homes. The harmony of the three buildings flanking this spacious square exemplifies one of the purest styles of European architecture, as envisioned and designed by German architect Carl Ludvig Engel. 

Helsinki's Orthodox cathedral is its most conspicuous reminder of its historical connections with Russia. Perched atop a small rocky cliff in Katajanokka, it is the main cathedral of the Orthodox Church in Finland. Its brilliant gold onion domes are its hallmark, but its imposing redbrick edifice, with an interior decorated elaborately by 19th-century Russian artists, is no less distinctive. The cathedral was built and dedicated in 1868 in the Byzantine-Slavonic style and remains the biggest Orthodox church in Scandinavia.