Rick Steves Calls This Unique & Creative Finnish City A 'Spruce-And-Stone Metropolis'

The world can take a lot out of you, and sometimes a vacation is just what you need to refuel. If you're considering Europe, why not visit Finland, one of the happiest countries in the world? It's a fantastic destination, particularly its capital city of Helsinki, which is a place that travel pro Rick Steves recommends. On his website he tells us, "Helsinki bursts with vibrant street life and a joyful creative spirit that pleases locals and tickles tourists." This isn't, he tells us, the sort of historic city full of ancient history everywhere you look. Instead, Steves says, this is "a spruce-and-stone metropolis offering offbeat architecture, a taste for distinctive design, and an appealing Finnish personality," and it has a lot to recommend it. During the summer, when the sun doesn't set until after midnight, there are musicians, dancers, and people enjoying cafes on the main thoroughfare, the Esplanade. There are fascinating and unusual churches, amazing museums, and the Suomelinna Fortress on a nearby island. This is a young and vibrant city, and visiting it is an experience you'll never forget.

To get to this unique destination, you can fly into Helsinki Vanta Airport, one of the friendliest airports in Europe, which is around 12 miles from the city center. You can rent a car there if you like, but there is good public transportation between the two places. You can grab either the I or P trains from the station below the airport and get into the city center in around 30 minutes. You can also take bus route 600, which takes around 40 minutes. This airport even has free parking for bicycles. 

One place Steves mentions is the fascinating Kamppi Chapel (pictured above). It's made of three types of wood (with spruce on the outside), and it doesn't have services. You simply pay a few euros to enter for a spell of peace and quiet. Another site he suggests is the Lutheran Temppeliaukio Church, which is underground and covered by a stunning copper and glass dome. It's open every day for visitors for under $10, and is free for minors. 

The Museum of Architecture and Design has fascinating exhibits, as well as guided tours and workshops. It's in a beautiful building with a shop and restaurant, and exhibits like Escape to Moominvalley, and Utopia Now — The Story of Finnish Design and Architecture. The museum is in the Design District, and that's a great place to check out some boutiques as well as the Esplanade, which runs from the city to the ocean. People tend to get outside here for walking, biking, and picnicking, as well as enjoying some local cafes. A good cafe to try is Café Kappeli. It was built in 1867, and serves Finnish delights, including freshly-baked bread, cakes, and other sweet and savory treats. You can get dishes like crème brûlée and Finnish berries, roast reindeer, mushroom and cabbage rolls with pumpkin puree, and braised cod fillet in crayfish sauce.

You can also take a short ferry ride to the island sea fortress of Suomenlinna, a UNESCO World Heritage site (though people do live there). Built around the mid-18th century to protect the area from Russia's Peter the Great, it's now a park. You can see the canons, the church, the lighthouse, and more, and it's free to enter.

The best time to visit Helsinki may depend on the sunlight. This northern city can have almost 19 hours with the sun above the horizon in June and July, but only a bit under six hours of sunlight in December. Average high temperatures in June, July, and August hit between the mid-60s to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. However the winter in January has an average high of 29 degrees and a low of 19. So, make sure you pack accordingly. 

Whenever you go, however, you may want to indulge in a custom that Steves enjoys, which is the ubiquitous Finnish sauna. While he says that public saunas used to be in less prosperous neighborhoods (with the wealthy enjoying private in-home saunas), they're getting upgraded lately. They're sometimes split by gender and sometimes not. One he mentions is Löyly, which requires swimsuits (though others are fine with nudity). This traditional smoke sauna is around $30 for two hours (including a towel, seat liner, shampoo, and shower gel), and you can rent a swimsuit for around $9. Afterward you can jump into the ocean for a cold plunge. There is also a restaurant on the premises. 

Another experience Steves recommends is a visit to Kauppatori, the market square on the harbor with an outdoor food bazaar (pictured above). Here, you can get inexpensive lunches with a great view of the tall ships. There are craft and food booths, heated cafe tents, and the herring market which has been happening each October since 1743. It also contains the oldest public memorial in Helsinki called the Stone of the Empress, dedicated to Empress Alexandra's visit. Finally, if you're visiting Helsinki, you can take a two-hour ferry across the Gulf of Finland to Tallinn, Estonia, a city Steves calls "proudly unique."