Helsinki
 

Hello - I have 3 full days in Helsinki. What would you recommend? I am already planning a day trip to Tallinn and a 72 hour trip to St Petersburg. What are your must sees/must do's ?

Oops - I should've mentioned that I will be there in August and that I like museums, walking, and hiking.

I had only a few hours in Helsinki after returning from my 72 hour trip to St. Petersburg last year. I took a ferry ride out to Suomenlinna island(s) for a few hours. It was a pleasant time wandering around but not my most memorable experience in Europe.

Enjoy the ferry to/from St. Petersburg! I loved the experience, more than expected, and St. Petersburg is great!

Several things to see in Helsinki, especially if you are into architecture:

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...ain-and-shine/

https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...i-art-nouveau/

3 days in Helsinki give you a lot of options! I found it impossible to see what I wanted to see in Helsinki with only 2 days there; I would recommend the Rough Guide or Lonely Planet to see what YOU want to see and do.

But I'm confused -- how do your plans for Tallinn and St. Petersburg fit in?

FWIW, I thought 6 full days in St. Petersburg barely sufficient to see even its highest highlights....

Again, a good guidebook or two should serve you well....

Hi again - after reading my original post, I see that it is a bit confusing - After St Petersburg and Tallinn, I have 3 full days in Helsinki. I will check out your recommendations. What about Porvoo? Would you recommend that?

I found the Sibelius monument quite beautiful as well as the Church on the Rock. There is a nice market and, of course, the Big Lutheran cathedral is great as is the Upanski church. Just walking about the city is pleasant. It's quite walkable.

Does that three days in Helsinki include the day trip to Tallinn?

I was in Helsinki for five days in June (with a day trip to Tallinn) and previously in 1999, en route to St. Petersburg.

I agree, you'd enjoy the Rock Church (Temppeliaukio), Uspenski Cathedral, Sibelius Monument, Old Market Hall in Market Square (Kauppatori), Senate Square (Senaatintori), home to Helsinki Cathedral. In summer, Senate Square can get busy with cruise ship passengers and tour buses during the day. The Cathedral's setting and exterior are striking, its interior somewhat plain.

The Atheneum Art Museum houses Finland's largest collection of paintings and sculptures. Its major strength is Finnish art, but it's also collected international works and was first museum in the world to own a Vincent Van Gogh. The Kamppi Chapel of Silence is a six-minute walk from here.
http://www.ateneum.fi/?lang=en
https://www.archdaily.com/252040/kam...k2s-architects

If you're interested in pre-history (Stone Age to present day), visit the National Museum of Finland. Ceiling frescoes in the entrance hall depicting scenes from the Kalevala were done by Finnish painter Akseli Gallén-Kallela. The building was designed by Herman Gesellius, Armas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen. Saarinen also designed the Central Railway Station.
http://www.architravel.com/architrav...ilway-station/

Kiasma is contemporary art museum housed in a modern building designed by American architect Steven Holl.
http://kiasma.fi/en/

More museum suggestions:
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/fi...t-in-helsinki/

You could spend a couple of hours on historic fortress island of Suomenlinna.
https://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/
As you enjoy hiking, maybe visit the less busy and more natural environment of Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari Islands (they're connected).
http://www.nationalparks.fi/vallisaari

I wanted to visit but never got around to Nuuksio National Park, about 20 km from Helsinki. Seems like a great place to hike. http://www.nationalparks.fi/en/nuuksionp
https://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attrac...o_Uusimaa.html

More about Helsinki outdoor experiences:
http://www.visithelsinki.fi/sites/de..._nature_a4.pdf

Finland's a land of lakes (187,888 lakes) and forests (about 70% forest).

Helsinki has an excellent tourism website:
https://www.myhelsinki.fi/en/see-and-do/sights

The city center is walkable, and its trams handy for places farther out. You can buy a one-zone all-day or multi-day public transportation pass covering trams, metro, buses, commuter trains within Helsinki and the Suomenlinna ferry.
https://www.hsl.fi/en/dayticket
You can buy the passes at R-kiosks, large department stores, ticket machines and HSL service points, and they can be shared.

To explore the city on my own, I downloaded "See Helsinki on Foot: Five Walking Routes Around the City":
http://www.visithelsinki.fi/sites/vi...ki_on_foot.pdf

You can also pick up maps and brochures at the Helsinki Tourist Information office (address: Pohjoisesplanadi 19). It's in a pale yellow corner building across from Esplanadi Park, which is near Market Square.

You'll notice street names are in Finnish and Swedish. For example, Mannerheimintie is also Mannerheimvägen (Mannerheim Way in Swedish). Aleksanterinkatu is also Alexandersgatan (Alexander Street in Swedish).

The Finns are known for design. Even if you're not a shopper, you might want to visit Iitala (Pohjoisesplanadi 23) across from Esplanadi Park.
https://designdistrict.fi/en/members...ore-esplanadi/
Or Artek (Keskuskatu 1 B)
https://designdistrict.fi/en/members/artek-helsinki-2/

The Academic Bookstore is around the corner from Artek. The interior was designed by Finnish architect and designer Alvar Aalto.
http://www.akateeminen.com/fi/in-english/
It's next to and part of Stockmann's Dept. Store.

I also didn't visit the Open-Air Museum of Seurasaari (because I planned on visiting a similar open air museum in Stockholm afew days later):
http://www.visithelsinki.fi/en/see-a...rasaari-island
http://www.kansallismuseo.fi/en/seur...-openairmuseum

Porvoo by boat or bus was also in my plans, but in the end I decided to just walk around Helsinki, exploring Art Deco architecture in the neighborhoods of Katajanokka and Eira.
https://helsinkiaffair.wordpress.com...is-hidden-gem/

If you enjoy concerts, it's worth checking an events schedule. The Helsinki Festival is on in August.
http://www.helsinginjuhlaviikot.fi/en/
https://www.flowfestival.com/en/visit-helsinki/

Diamantina - thank you SO much for taking the time, along with others, and answering so thoroughly with your suggestions. I will start to look into the links you have recommended to help me make decisions. My three days does not include Tallinn or St Petersburg. After visiting those two places, I will have 3 full days. I am looking forward to checking your suggestions out.

Lyntay, I hope you enjoy Helsinki as much as I did. There were so many things I didn't get around to seeing that I'm looking forward to returning.

I don't know what your plans for Tallinn are, maybe a description of what I did will help.

On my day trip to Tallinn, I mainly wanted to visit Kumu Museum in Kadriorg Park, a few kilometres from the Old Town, but wanted to see a bit of the Old Town, too, and didn't have a lot of time. I left Helsinki on the Viking Line Express (XPRS) ferry at 11:30 a.m., arrived in Tallinn at 2 p.m., got off the ferry and walked about 10 minutes to the Old Town, walked around a bit, then caught the #3 Tram (fare 2 €) just beyond the Old Town's Viru Gate to Kaldriorg Park (tram only took about 15 minutes), walked about 10 to 15 minutes to the museum, spent about an hour here, then returned to the Old City, walked around some more, before walking back to the Viking Line Express (XPRS) ferry that left Tallinn at 6 p.m. I made sure to be at the ferry terminal a half hour before departure. The ferry arrived in Helsinki at 8:30 p.m. As this was June, it was still light out.

Disembarkation took a long while, as the ferry was full and many of the Finns were rolling trolleys loaded with cartons of alcoholic drinks. Roundtrip ferry fare was 18 Euros. I bought my ticket in advance.

According to this Viking Lines webpage, they offer a free bus from the ferry to central Tallinn, but it was easy to walk.
https://www.sales.vikingline.com/en/...-info/tallinn/

I thought about taking one of Tallinn's Hop On Hop Off buses to get around, but figured I wouldn't have enough time to take full advantage of its many stops.

Here's a link for Kadriorg Park:
https://www.visitestonia.com/en/kadriorg-park
And Kumu Museum, the Estonian Art Museum.
https://kumu.ekm.ee/en/

Diamantina, Thanks again for Tallinn itinerary. This really helps to know that it is quite walkable, so easy. I will definitely be doing what you did. In hindsight, do you wish you had a couple more hours there - maybe have taken an earlier ferry?

Yes, absolutely, I could have spent more time in the Old Town if I'd had a few more hours to explore. I probably could have walked up to Toompea Castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in the time I'd had, but would have been rushed and preoccupied about getting back to the ferry on time. I also would have liked time for lunch, to try the local cuisine. I was impressed with my dining experiences in Helsinki, but Tallinn restaurants looked equally charming and the food and wine prices were a relative bargain compared to those of Helsinki. I also popped into a couple of shops selling locally made goods and, while I'm not much of a shopper, enjoyed seeing what was unique to Estonia and would have liked seeing more. If I were to return to Helsinki/Tallinn—and I hope to—I'd try to spend a night in Tallinn, to have a full day to explore and to enjoy a long relaxed dinner.

As you enjoy walking and if you aren't bothered by hills (to Toompea Castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral), I'm fairly certain you'd find the Old Town walkable. You'll only need to take a tram out to Kadriorg Park, as it's too far to walk. My fallback plan was to jump in a taxi, if needed, but I had more than enough time. I enjoyed walking around and taking the tram on my own, and felt safe at all times. I checked out my routes ahead of time on Rome2Rio and Google Maps. As I wrote before, to get to Kadriorg Park, I took the #3 tram from the Viru stop just beyond's the Old Town's Viru Gate (then you'll pass a short, colorful block of flower stands and other vendors). Unexpectedly, the tram stopped in the middle of the roadway. Usually in such situations there's a island in the middle of the roadway, where passengers can stand or sit and wait, but here I had to stand on the nearby sidewalk and walk out into the middle, crossing a lane or two of traffic, when the tram stopped. It wasn't difficult, just different from what I'm used to, and made me wonder if I was standing in the correct place at first, but there were others waiting for the tram as well.

I wish I'd had more time in Helsinki, too. It's was such a different city in summer than my last visit during spring. It was nice to see Finns making the most of the milder weather, enjoying the outdoors, its city parks, its extensive waterfront, the walking paths and picnic spots on Vallisaari and Kuninkaansaari Islands. On one of my days there, on which I'd previously planned to visit Porvoo, I instead took a long waterfront walk, from Katajanokka, to Market Square, to Kaivopuisto Park, to the southern Helsinki waterfront promenade of Merisatamanranta, nearly walking to the popular sauna-restaurant, Löyly. In June the weather alternated between sunny and partly cloudy, but I still enjoyed this walk through scenic, quieter parts of the city.
Löyly

I would be curious to know if folks felt comfortable visiting St. Petersburg as Americans. I'm sure it's probably very safe - especially with a group - but did any one feel uncomfortable or hassled? Would love to tack this onto a regional cruise at some point!

Since this thread is titled Helsinki you would do better to start a new one. For what it's worth I felt quite safe in Russia, traveling solo by train, but that was back in 2004.