Helsinki Dining and Entertainment

Helsinki Hotels

Dining in Helsinki

As the 21st century is already well under way, Helsinki has got off to an excellent start in renovating and renewing itself as the cultural capital of Europe. Museums, galleries, cafes, and restaurants have multiplied and spread throughout the center of our capital like a virus. What many foreigners don't automatically understand is the size of Helsinki. The truth still is that there are only just over five million Finns, leaving only about 500,000 in the Helsinki area. Therefore, when you compare Helsinki to Europes other capital cities, it might seem very small and dull. This might have been the general opinion a decade backwards, but the effort and work done in the past few years has been unforgettable. Today Helsinkis wining and dining scene is remarkably diverse, with enough bars and restaurants within about a three kilometer radius from the Central Railway Station to satisfy anyone from anywhere. This is the advantage here in Helsinki: you can walk anywhere.

Due to the small size of the centre of Helsinki, one difficulty in describing the bar and restaurant scene is the division of it. One reprehensible fact that you cannot deny in this city is the never-ending battle with ages. At the age of 24 you are guaranteed entrance to all places; before that nothing is certain. Many clubs and pubs demand proof that you are twenty, others require the age of eighteen. This subject is obviously a constant topic of discussion, and is therefore also an important factor when attempting to divide the places into categories. But Helsinkis center also has its own districts, which helps in learningto find your way around the city very quickly. Even the young low-budget traveller will find many places to start. Kaisaniemi Park is a beautiful little spot to enjoy the summer sun, located next to the railway station. After visiting the Botanical Gardens here for a minimal entrance fee, enjoy the verandah seats at the old and extraordinary Restaurant Kaisaniemi for a light lunch or just a drink to kill your thirst.

Continue on towards the Hakaniemi-Kallio area around the beautiful Eläintarhanlahti Bay, where everything is one notch cheaper. Visit Kallion Kulma for a pint or two for an outrageous FIM10! Restaurants Cella and Bullman are close by also; there you can enjoy an inexpensive but high quality meal. The Kallio neighborhood is situated on quite a high spot topographically, and the Kallio Church at the top of this hill is also a useful landmark. This area is marked by cheap pubs and bars on every other street corner. Ethnic restaurants are also a popular sight, but are perhaps not of the best possible quality. A popular party spot in this area is the disco of the Cumulus Hotel on Läntinen Braahenkatu. Josafat, as the place is called, is full of people whose average age is not higher than 19. The party ends at 3 am here. Not many other discos are located in this direction.

Coming back towards town from Hakaniemi over the Hakaniemi Bridge we get to the Kruununhaka area. This area is popular for that peaceful lunch or dinner, and quite a few restaurants have risen around these few blocks. Stroll to Meritullinkatu to find Zinnkeller,a West European kitchen serving original German bratwurst and beer. The Kolme Liisaa-bistro is also nearby. Two or three blocks south you will find many more restaurants, including the Russian Kasakka, Finnish legend Suola & Pippuri, as well as the very cheap lunch spot Keko. A small underground disco by the name of Hampaankolo is your only party spot here, but it is open very seldom.

Continuing this circle around the very centre of Helsinki we stroll the Pohjoisranta to get to the beautiful part of town that is Katajanokka. Covered with buildings from the beginning of last century, this area is full of wanted apartments and houses. Dining here is also enjoyable. Two classy restaurants at the foot of the exquisite Uspenki Cathedral are Sipuli and Kanavaranta, both serving original contemporary dishes. If you are looking for more ethnic food in the area, the so-called Nepalese restaurant Everest on Luotsinkatu is the place to go. Cheap tasty pizzas can be found at Piccolo Piazza at the end of tram line 4, while the Grand Marina Congress Centre is a sure place to find your stylish restaurant. Back on the road and to the Kauppatori Market Square. Instead of continuing straight through the Esplanadi park, which has endless amounts of cafes and Samrat, the best Indian in town, keep going south, staying by the sea. Pass by the Silja Line boat terminals and you will soon reach the most expensive area of Kaivopuisto.

Kaivopuisto Park is a lovely place to spend some time in, after which you can stop for a cappuccino at the peaceful Cafe Ursula. Stroll to the opening at the corner of Neitsytpolku and Merisatamanranta and take a ferry to the nearby Uunisaari Island and enjoy a modern lunch here. Another cafe down by the shore here is Cafe Carusel, where interior decoration and style is as post-modern as you will find it. Come back towards town through the Eira neighbourhood and take pleasure from the beautiful houses all around you. Glance at the tall Agricola Church, and then have the steak or pizza of your life at Nerone located on Perämiehenkatu. Sepänkatu, Merimiehenkatu, and Punavuorenkatu all have pubs and small restaurants scattered here and there. Saslik is the most respected, and most expensive Russian restaurant in town, situated on Neitsytpolku.

By now your journey brings you back towards the very centre. A famous street for drinking and dining has always been Iso Roobertinkatu. Practically the whole street is covered with pubs and restaurants. Persepolis offers a cheap buffet, while Dragon Inn is pure Chinese and Don Tano perhaps one of the best Italian kitchens in town. Jump into Jump Inn for good electronic music and young company, but make sure you are 20 years old. The Labyrinth is a bar for people over 22, while the Black Door just concentrates on getting you the exact beer you feel like tasting. Uudenmaankatus Babushka Ira offers more Russian food, and Kynsilaukka Garlic next door is for garlic lovers. Continue on to the Finlandia Drink Bar still on the same street, where all blends contain Finlandia Vodka. If 2am is not late enough, stop by the trendy Soda for a soda or even a beer. Music here is great, but once again if you are under twenty, don't bother with the two previously mentioned places. Gloria is a club on Iso Roobertinkatu which hosts music happenings; however it isn't open every night.

Still staying away from the immediate surroundings of the Central Railway Station, we continue on Fredrikinkatu towards the metro station of Kamppi. This is the main area for drinkers and diners between the ages of 18 and 20. Eerikinkatu is also packed with all sorts of places. Wine and dine at Mother, then have a game of snooker at Corona Bar across the street from the gay bar Con Hombres. Continuing on down the hill we reach Pub 28, which is popular with youngsters. Sauna Bar a bit further on offers a mysterious atmosphere with if not live, then at least interesting music. Keep partying at any age at Highlight Cafe or Club Arkadia until 4am; both are located on Fredrikinkatu. In this area a short strip of Annankatu is also full of small pubs and ethnic food spots, including thhepromising Maithai. The best Japanese restaurant in town, Kabuki, is also close by on Lapinlahdenkatu. A respected and reasonably priced restaurant serving traditional Finnish cuisine is the A la Maison next to the Radisson SAS Hotel, where men in suits enjoy the expensive buffet and listen to the smooth live jazz band play their stuff. Premiere Nights is also a popular club nearby which hosts mostly techno parties.

And then we finally get to the real centre of the city. The amount of places to eat and drink just a few steps away from the Central Railway Station is incredible. Just the one building in front of the station includes some of the best places in town. Omenapuu is the best place for your Sunday brunch, while La Tour offers a romantic atmosphere. This same building includes many dance and drink spots like Aladdin, Poppis, and Zetor, but all places require you to be at least 22. Papa Giovanni in the World Trade Center is the most dressy Italian restaurant you will find, Sling Bar in the same building is a small and expensive spot for no one under 24. At Dick Tracys Diner you definitely get your moneys worth on huge steaks, the same goes for the American style Restaurant Amarillo on Mikonkatu. Party your night away next door at the Helsinki Club or at the opposite Salsa Club Copacabana, but again not before you are twenty-four. The exploding popularity of Mexican/American food has brought dozens of competitors into this central area, some of the best being Cantina West on Kasarmikatu and Santa Fe in the previously mentioned World Trade Center. Bar Chaplin is also a place to shoot pool, and is a very popular drink spot for people under twenty. If you manage to stay moving until 4 am, and you are still looking for more, your final destination is the new Nosturi in Ruoholahti. Parties here usually start at 5 am and continue on until noon or so.

Before leaving the city, one must enjoy the respected and very popular pastries served all around the cafes in town. Certainly these delicacies are available almost anywhere, but it is an accepted fact by most that the famous Fazer makes the best treats anywhere (in the world!). Be sure to visit the Fazer Cafe on Kluuvikatu, but go before it gets dark because it is not the easiest place to find a seat in once people get out of work.

Tatu Markkanen

Entertainment in Helsinki

Helsinki, despite its status of capital and world-renowned political summit centre, is actually quite a small city. This can of course be both seen as an advantage or a disadvantage, depending on your point of view, but for the tourist it is ideal, as thus nothing is too far from anything. For example: the Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, which is in the centre of the city, is a five minute walk away from the Finnish National Museum which is just across the street from the marble-clad Finlandia Hall. Then again, if you walk in the other direction you are not far from a number of restaurants, clubs and cinemas. And furthermore, if you are not the walking kind, you are quite likely to find a tram that goes in your direction - taking a tram is an experience that is not to be despised, especially if it is a new one for you (the experience, not necessarily the tram!).

Art
Helsinki has countless museums and should be able to satisfy both the most particular and the most demanding cravings in the artistic line. For a look on contemporary art the newly-opened Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, will be an interesting place to start. Then again, if you have your sights set on something less avant-garde, more in the line of fine art, The Museum of Finnish Art, Ateneum, might be a better place to start with its works of art by artists ranging from Auguste Rodin to Akseli Gallen-Kallela and more. There is also a multitude of galleries in Helsinki, especially in the surroundings of Uudenmaankatu.

Cinema
The recently opened Tennispalatsi (14 screens, including among them Finlands largest screen with area of 176 m2) and Kinopalatsi (10 screens) are the two bigger cinema complexes in Helsinki. Besides these, there are of course many other smaller theatres and in most of them you will be able to see the most recent films.

For the movie-goer with a more refined taste there is the Orion cinema, run by the Finnish Film Archive, with older films and a continuously changing programme of themes ranging from Fritz Lang movies to Czechoslovakian animations.

In case you are looking for the slightly off-beat, but nonetheless want to see something more recent than what Orion has to offer, then Andorra, New York or Kino Engel might be the places to look.

Most films are shown in their original language and have subtitles in Finnish and/or Swedish. Some childrens movies may be dubbed in Finnish.

Theatre and dance
Helsinki has an abundance of theatres, the biggest ones probably being the Kaupunginteatteri (City Theatre) and the Kansallisteatteri (National Theatre). The latter is situated directly opposite the Ateneum, right behind the statue of Aleksis Kivi, Finnish playwright of The Seven Brothers (Seitsemän veljestä) fame. Then there are, among numerous others, the Swedish Theatre (Svenska Teatern) catering to the Swedish-speaking part of the population with plays and musicals, Ylioppilasteatteri (The Student Theatre), and the not quite as centrally located but esteemed Pieni Suomi.

The Vihreä Omena puppet theatre might also be worth your while, being known for its high quality productions.

When it comes to dance, Helsinki is surprisingly amply equipped, having everything from the renowned Helsinki City Theatre Dance Group, to diverse Zodiak-productions at the Kaapelitehdas ('Cable Factory'), to the two-person Rollo Dance Theatre. Not to mention the numerous independent dance productions that are put on continuously all over the city. Then there is of course, the National Opera, where you can find anything from opera, to ballet, to more contemporary dance.

Music
For classical music the Finlandia Hall is definitely one of the places to go to. The Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra (Helsingin kaupunginorkesteri) often plays there, as does the Radio Symphony Orchestra (Radion sinfoniaorkesteri). Another most worth-while place to look is the Sibelius Academy (one of the worlds most famous music academies), which arranges a large number of concerts in various places over the year.

Jazz-lovers, on other hand, will probably find what they are looking for in Storyville or Sture; and then again, if rock music is your thing, then the best places to look for it might well be Tavastia, Vanha or Semifinal.

This, of course, is not to say that the above-mentioned are the only places to look! Further to these, all kinds of music, from classical to rock, can occasionally also be found in surprising places ranging from still-functioning churches to small cafés, and often in the outdoors

Clubs
If clubbing is what you are looking for then Helsinki should be able to give you your fill of that too. For the younger clubbers looking for MTV-style dance music there are, among others, Arkadia, Highlight and Roberts right in the centre of Helsinki; but be prepared to queue if going there on the weekend. For the slightly more trendy, grown-up club-goers there are also plenty of places to go, especially in the Uudenmaankatu / Fredrikinkatu area; among others, Kerma and Soda with funk, groove, house and techno music depending on the day. Another trendy area for young adults is the vicinity of the Helsinki-club, Copacabana, and Amarillo.

Amusement
For those so inclined there is also an amusement park in Helsinki, Linnanmäki (meaning literally 'Castle Hill', the park indeed being situated upon a hill). Here you will find bumper cars, slot machines, a roller coaster ride (the quite unique 100 year-old Vuoristorata), open-air shows and the Linnanmäki Museum, among other things. This is also the place where the Peacock theatre is located. Also worth a visit is the large Serena water park, not too far from the city.

Gambling
For those for whom gambling equals entertainment there is Helsinkis only casino, Casino RAY, situated in the President Hotel. Dress code applies.

Festivals and events
Among the many yearly events worth taking note of in Helsinki, is the Night of the Arts (Taiteiden Yö) when art in its various forms can be experienced through the night in places ranging from the Hesperia park to a telephone booth. The Night of the Arts has traditionally been held towards the end of August.

It is also definitely worthwhile to find out precisely when the Kaivopuisto concerts are held this summer, especially if you are fond of Finnish pop music. In addition to that, if you are interested enough to look a bit further out, you might do well to check out the biggest rock festival in the area of greater Helsinki, which is the Ankkarock (literally 'Duck Rock') festival in Korso, usually held at the end of the summer.

In addition to this there are special festivals and events within for instance music and film that you should definitely find out about.

Curiosities
The Suomenlinna fortress island with its many small museums (for instance the Doll and Toy Museum, the Armfelt Museum, and the Vesikko Submarine, fortress remains, and a summer theatre, is a most worthwhile visit. It is lovely to spend a whole day there, picnicking and sunbathing as well as sightseeing. Getting there can be especially rewarding in the summer, when you can browse through the many stalls of the Market Square or take a look at the offerings in the cooler Old Market Hall (Vanha Kauppahalli), while waiting for the ferry to Suomenlinna.

Among many other sights worth seeing and not yet mentioned are the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum in an environment that is sure to appeal to the nature-lover; the Heureka Science Centre for the more scientifically-minded; the Street Museum on Sofiankatu, for a look into the look of Helsinki streets in different times; and the magnificent Senate Square with its statue of Alexander II (1818-81), the Russian emperor who was favourably inclined towards the Finns. This is also the place to find the Cathedral, right behind the statue. Of interest is also the Kiseleff Bazaar with its many shops (one of the places to look for souvenirs and gifts to take home), having one of its entrances on Aleksanterinkatu, on the edge of the Senate Square.

T. Turola