2 Best Sights in Helsinki, Finland

The Helsinki City Museum is housed appropriately in five of Helsinki's oldest buildings opposite the Lutheran Cathedral on the southeast corner of the Senate Square. The main building holds exhibitions on the history and culture of the capital. The museum is also a "parent" for various smaller museums across the city, namely the Villa Hakasalmi, the Tram Museum, the Burgher's House Museum, and the Workers' Housing Museum. The main museum includes an especially imaginative "Time Machine" exhibition based on a vast collection of historic photographs, inviting visitors to walk back through the city's history.

The spire of the National Museum is a landmark on the main Mannerheimintie thoroughfare and towers above absorbing exhibits of Finnish history and culture. The handsome stone bear at the top of the steps leading the main door is an example of how architect Eliel Saarinen and his partners combined the language of Finnish medieval church architecture with elements of art nouveau to create this vintage example of the National Romantic style. The result resembles something from a Tolkien fantasy, with granite embellishments and that sturdy bear guarding the steps to the main entrance. The museum's collection of archaeological, cultural, and ethnological artifacts gives you an insight into Finland's past, while changing exhibitions delve into other cultures. Be sure to admire the fabulous fresco in the entrance hall, depicting scenes from the national epic, The Kalevala, painted by Akseli Gallen-Kallela.