helsinki weekend?
 

Would helsinki be well seen over an extended/three-day weekend?

Like to see nature/trek/hike/outdoor stuff and dont care much for shopping (unless it's about nokia!) or nightlife/clubs/resorts..

Happened to transit through the airport and found it to be small,quiet, efficient and unpretentious....but could not step out for the lack of a visa....

Sure, why not? Here are the towns tourist bureau pages: http://www.hel2.fi/tourism/en/matko.asp

And this is just 25 kilometres from the center of the town: http://www.luontoon.fi/page.asp?Section=5131

Many hikes there, many small lakes, cliffs, forest...

I spent a lovely few days in Helsinki many years ago. I really enjoyed walking around Suomenlinna Fortress Island (easily reached by a pleasant ferry ride) and the Seurassari Open-Air Museum - there were interesting things to see while being out and about. I also enjoyed walking around Helsinki itself - its a beautiful city! Hope that helps.

thanks to both elina and kja.
Will 3 days be enough though?

It totally depends on what kind of things you want to do. Most people seem to just wander off their Baltic cruise boat, wander a couple of blocks in the center and think that that was it. A friend of mine even gave instructions to a couple who had a map in their hands. The problem was that it was the map of Oslo.

You would just have to limit it: one day would go to a good hike in Nuuksio with some swimming all by yourself in a lake of your choosing, In the evening you could go to tradi5tional wood-heated sauna.

Both Suomenlinna and Seurasaari that kia mentioned are very nature-near, pleasant to walk places. They together would take a day.

And the thrid day you might just wander around town and check for example Art Deco style parts of the town, walk the shoreline, maybe take a boat to some nice island with a restaurant. And so on.

I agree with elina - whether 3 days is enough depends on what you want to do, but it would certainly allow a nice visit to this delightful city! As I recall, I spent about 2.5 days there, which was enough to take some wonderful, long walks both in and out of the city and to visit some interesting churches. I would have liked to visit Helsinki's art museums - and would have had time to do so - but they were closed for a holiday.

much thanks to elina and kja; appreciate the detail and thoughtfulness....

I have been a couple of times and thinkk that three days is plenty. You can also take a ferry over to Estonia for a day and return in the evening. Finland/ Helsinki is beautiful nd the people are great.