The world's most public sauna

Have you been to Helsinki's only free sauna? It is called Sompasauna and is located in Sompasaari a few hundred meters away from the Kalasatama metro. Sompasauna is run by volunteers and hence completely free to use.

Timo Wilderness made an excellent video about the place. Check it out.


And come to Sompasauna as long as it is still in its location. And if you have an idea or suggestion where a new location for it could be in the next year and want to help rescue the world's most public sauna, leave a comment below or get in touch with the Sompasauna peopled directly through their website.

No need for an own car in 2025

Helsinki is already an excellent city to get around in by public transport, bike or even on foot. But the city's ambitions are bigger than that. The long term plan is to make privately owned cars completely obsolete.

And that vision is not too far in the future. Already 2025 this should be reality. For more information on those plans check out the article on Fastcoexist.

Helsinki Päivä

Tomorrow is June 12, Helsinki Day. And as every year the city's birthday is celebrated with a lot of activities around town.

The program is huge and spans the whole day starting at 8 in the morning, going on until 9 in the evening. Enjoy e.g. a free swim in one of Helsinki's public swimming pools, do design orienteering through the Helsinki Design District, join the fishing competition in Vuosaari, listen to one of the many concerts around the city or come to the dinner under the Helsinki sky on Esplanadi.

For more information and the whole program visit the official Helsinki Päivä website.

City bikes are coming back

Good news for all cycling enthusiasts - and even more those who don't have an own bike. Starting from May 2nd Helsinki will have a bike sharing system again.

You can then borrow yellow city bikes (called Alepa Fillari) at one of 50 stations around town. In the beginning around 500 bikes will be available. But until 2018 the number should be raised to 2000.

To borrow a bike you have to register to a season pass: 5 € per day/10 € per week/25€ for the whole season (until end of October). Once you purchased this pass you can borrow any bike at any time at any station and use it free of charge for the first 30 min. After that time extra charges apply. But let's be honest, who needs a bike in Helsinki for longer than 30 min?

To register to the service and find out more about prices, stations and other details, check out the City bike website.

Enjoy cycling and have a nice week!

Sunny Sunday

The sun is out and it feels like spring. It is the perfect day for a walk around town or along the coast. And for those of you interested in some art today, you can still join today's Helsinki Art Work starting at 13:30.

Have a great Sunday!

A pint at Kitty's

The weekend is here! Time to leave work and reward yourself for a hard week of work with a tasty pint of beer.

And how about enjoying it with friends in a cozy booth, dim light and a friendly bar atmosphere? Sounds good? Then head over to Kitty's Pub right in the city center.

At Kitty's they have everything you expect of a good English pub: a good selection of beers on tap, a decent whiskey collection and lots of cozy corners to enjoy your drink.

Give it a try and have a good start into the weekend!

Chinese New Year

Today Keskuskatu in the city center turns into China Town. For the celebration of the Chinese New Year and welcome the year of the monkey.

This celebration has meanwhile become a tradition in Helsinki and is meanwhile in its 10th year. It starts at 13:30 with a parade through the city. Then lots of performances with dance and music follow. The highlight of the event will as always be the big fireworks over Töölönlahti. More information on the program can be found on the official website.

Drop by and enjoy the celebration!

The Swedish Starbucks

The Swedish company Espresso House has come to Finland a few months ago and is now well situated in several spots in the city center such as Kamppi and Stockmann.

With a cozy interior they invite to sit down for a short coffee break and a chat with friends. And for all you Frapuccino lovers out there, this is a real alternative to the ever-present Starbucks. Espresso House has some nice coffee and milk mixes to offer that are worth a try as well.

Check it out and have a nice day!

The magic of LUX

The light exhibition LUX opened this week. And if you haven't seen it yet you should not miss out on the possibility.

Throughout the city center impressive light installations by Finnish and international artists have been set up.

LUX is on until Sunday. So take out the warm winter clothes and go through an evening walk through town. The lights are on until 22:00 every evening.

Welcome the new year

It is the last day of the year. Time to celebrate the a hopefully successful 2015 and the beginning of an even better 2016 for all of you.

If you want to welcome the new year together with lots of other Helsinkians then come to Senaatintori tonight. It is the biggest party in town and as every year a full program is awaiting. The celebration will be kicked off at 22:00 with the We Love Helsinki DJ. Later Finnish pop star Maija Vilkkumaa will sing live on stage. The celebrations will culminate with a musical fireworks display at midnight.

There is of course no entry fee. Check out the whole program on VisitHelsinki. And don't miss out on the great deals offered by many restaurants in the city center that are only valid today on the bottom of the page.

Have a great start into the new year!

Walk through Christmassy Helsinki

Christmas Eve is only one day away. Most of you hopefully started their Christmas vacation already. A great way to get into the Christmas mood and leave all the work and present buying stress from the last days and weeks behind is a walk through the streets of the city. Now everything is enlightened with thousands of small Christmas lights.

Especially Esplanadi and Aleksanterintie are worth a stroll. Have a nice walk!

Christmas World in the heart of the city

The Joulumaailma is the probably most prominently positioned Christmas market in Helsinki. It is located on Mannerheimintie around the old Vanha ylioppilastalo.

Many small stalls offer handicraft as well as delicious Christmas treats and snacks from around the world. The market is open daily until December 23 and will then close for Christmas. What is special though is that the stalls will open again for another few days between December 27 and January 6. So you can still enjoy some Christmas feeling in the city center after the holidays.

You can find more information on opening times and vendors on the official website.

Ice skating in the city

The ice rink at Rautatientori is open again. So how about a skate right in the city center this week? And afterwards you can warm up with a hot cup of coffee, tea or glöggi.

The Jääpuisto is open daily until at least February next year. Tickets are 6 € for adults, 4 € for students and 3 € for children under 18 and are valid all day. If you don't have skates yourself, you can rent some as well.

For more information on prices and opening times check their website.

Singing to Sibelius' honor

Yesterday the famous Finnish composer Jean Sibelius would have celebrated his 150th birthday. To his honor hundreds of Helsinkians came to the Senat Square to sing his piece Finlandia together.

And just in time the sun even came out. Watch the impressive video on Yle.

Helsinki starts the Christmas season

Just in time for the start of the Christmas season in the city center of Helsinki the first snow came. The roofs and trees are covered by a white layer.

If you want to get into the Christmas mood then come to the opening of the Aleksanterinkatu Christmas Street starting today at 14:00. The event starts at Senaatintori with a charity Christmas market. The major of the city and Santa Claus will arrive on a history tram and together switch on the Christmas lights.

Don't miss it and enjoy the white and Christmasy Sunday!

First signs of Christmas

A look around the city reveils that it is not long until christmas anymore. The big shopping centers Forum and Kamppi already took out the Christmas decoration.

The famous Christmas lights in Aleksanterinkatu are still to follow though. They will light up this Sunday in  the opening of the Aleksanterin Christmas Street. Don't miss it!

Helsinki's first time cafe

There is a new pop up cafe Hauskafe in Lasipalatsi that you really should try. It is Helsinki's first time café. The concept already exist in some other big European cities and now also came to the Finnish capital.

Instead of paying for what you order you pay for the amount of time you spend here now. When you enter you receive a card marked with your entrance time. Every hour costs 5 €. During the time you spend you can have as much delicious Johan & Nyström coffee, tea and cookies as you like. 

You can also play table football, board and cosole games, read books or use the meeting room. Some special cakes and sandwiches are charged extra but still for a rather reasonable price. You can also bring your own food or beverages if you like.

For now Hauskafe will be at this location until mid December. If things go well, the cafe will be established there permanently.

Give it a try!

Healthy and fresh take-away soup

Soups are a new trend in Helsinki. And they are the perfect food to warm up on a cold fall day. Among the soup places in town is also a small new soup kitchen called LaSoupe. You find it on Eerikinkatu just a few blocks away from the city center.

LaSoupe has several fresh and tasty soups on offer every day. The selection varies daily but always has enough choices for everyone's taste.

The soups come in take-away cups for you to have on the way to work, town or just in between for a snack. Of course you can also eat them right there at one of the high tables though. 

Or try one of the owner's new specialties: Bone Broth. It is a hot soup-like drink made from stock and ginger. Ask for a tasting cup and give it a try.

Grand Opening at Forum

Forum finished its big rennovation and is celebrating this with a Grand Opening party. Until October 25 there is a big program with lots of happenings every day at the shopping center.

During the next days there will be something for everyone. Forum has DJs, live music acts, kids program, special offers and much, much more. For families Saturday is probably the best day to visit. It's kids day.

All events are of course free of charge. Have a look at their website for the whole program.

Check it out and have a nice weekend!

Free entrance to Ateneum

Ateneum is one of Helsinki's most renowned and well-known museums. A must-see for everyone visiting or living in the city.

And now you have the chance to visit it for free. Until October 22 the entrance to the museum is free. Have a look at some of the most important art pieces of Ateneum's collection from Finnish and international masters.

Don't miss out on the opportunity! For more information and the opening times visit their website.