Scenic view at Tokoinranta

Sunday is always a good day to try out a new café in Helsinki. Today’s suggestion is Café Piritta at Tokoinranta in Hakaniemi. The glass building from the late 1970s has been renovated and reopened lately. During the renovation lots of thoughts were given to the design and a good view.

And the view is what makes Café Piritta special. There won’t be many other places in Helsinki where you can enjoy your coffee while looking over some of the city’s most important landmarks (e.g. Helsinki Cathedral, Central Railway Station and the National Museum) and at the same time sitting in an idyllic green surrounding next to the water. You can enjoy the view either from inside through the big glass windows or from the big summer terrace. 

Be aware that even though it's not not located right in the center Café Piritta is not one of the cheapest places.

Enjoy!

Fabulous view included

You want to enjoy lunch or just have a drink at one of Helsinki’s most beautiful terraces and overlook the city at the same time? Then you should go to Loiste on top of Sokos warehouse at Mannerheimintie. They just opened their terrace again for this season. Here you have one of the best views of Helsinki. While sunbathing and sipping from your sparkling wine glass you can watch people on the streets rushing from Kamppi to the tram, see the cars, busses and taxis making their way through Mannerheimintie or see the dome of Tuomiokirkko rise into the sky over the city.

Prices here are quite high but it’s definitely one of the places you should visit on a sunny day.

Enjoy!

How to find good wine and beer

By now you are probably aware of the Finnish alcohol selling system. Everything that has more than 4.7 % of alcohol can’t be sold at normal supermarkets but has to be sold at the state owned liquor stores called Alko. Unfortunately that breaks down the variety of things you can buy to what Alko has in their assortment. Still they normally have quite a lot of good products in most Alko stores. If you are searching for something special though and want to have a bigger variety and get some good suggestions what would go best with your food e.g. you should check out Alko at Paasikivenaukio right across from Kiasma. It is the biggest Alko in whole Helsinki and has a really big variety of all kinds of alcoholic drinks. The prices don’t differ from any other market since they are regulated through the state. It is expensive anyway.

This place like any other Alko in Finland is closed on Sundays.

Support for Suomi!

The Ice Hockey World Championships are still going on till Sunday. Let’s hope the Finnish team makes it as far as last year (which would mean winning the Championships). To show your support for the team you can of course get fan products now everywhere in Helsinki. For the special occasion they also put up a fan shop in front of Kammpi Shopping center. Here you get everything you need to show you are supporting the Finnish lions. Take a look but carefully consider if you really want to buy something there. The prices are really high. You barely get anything for less than 20 Euros. Rather take it to get an idea about what you want to have and try to find those things in the nearby warehouses for a few Euros less.

A relaxed Sunday at the Casino

In Kulosaari east of the center of Helsinki the restaurant Casino is awaiting your visit. The traditional building was built in 1915 and is located next to a sailing harbor on a small island that is connected by bridge to the main land. From the restaurant and especially from its terrace you have a beautiful view over the small bay. At this time of the year you can observe lots of birds while enjoying your drinks.

You can come there for a fancy lunch or dinner or just to have a drink. You can of course also rent the place for weddings, birthday parties and such.

Being one of the oldest and most exclusive places in Helsinki the prices are high but don’t really differ much from what you pay in the center of Helsinki.

The location has the big advantage that you don’t have any city noise. Therefore it is not that well connected by public transport. You have to take the metro to Kalasatama, continue with bus line 16 and walk the last 500 meters.

Drinks at the carpet pier

The weekend starts today and hopefully has some nice sunshine for us again. One way of enjoying the good weather in a beautiful surrounding is to go to Mattolaituriat Kaivopuisto. The café and bar just reopened again for the summer and is right next to the sea. Mattolaituri means carpet pier and actually describes the small pier next to the bar where Finns can come to wash their carpets and hang them to dry in the sun.

Mattolaituri is just a bar with a terrace.  It doesn’t offer any inside sitting possibilities. With good weather it’s the perfect spot to have a coffee or a beer though. While enjoying your drink and wrapping yourself up in a blanket you have a scenic view over the small islands in front of the Helsinki shore line.

Mattolaituri is quite pricy though. For a cappuccino you have to pay 4 Euros. But it’s also the place where the high society goes. If you keep your eyes open you might spot one or two Finnish celebrities.

Small delicious fish snack

One of the many Finnish delicacies are the small muikku fish. When you see them for the first time you might be a bit surprised. Since those fish are so small they are prepared and also eaten in one piece – head, bones and skin included. Normally they are deep-fried and can be bought as a snack with some sauce on markets or food stands. But you will also find them in restaurants e.g. in combination with lingonberry and mashed potatoes. Even though they might not look like it those small fish are a real treat. Be brave enough and try them! You won’t regret it!

 

Unfortunately they are quite expensive. At Kauppatori you won’t find a portion for less than 7 Euros. Should you be interested in cooking your own muikku dish you can find them already prepared and ready to just be warmed up at Stockmann’s food department.

Enjoy!

Season starts at Linnanmäki

Today Linnanmäki opens its gates again. The amusement park in the city welcomes its small and big guests to lots of rides and shows. Furthermore several restaurants and bistros offer snacks and meals for those who need a break from all the roller coasters and other attractions. With the new Kattila there is even more variety in food at Linnanmäki now. Six Finnish top chefs with a total of four Michelin stars created new dishes from around the world that, according to Linnanmäki’s website, should fit every taste and budget.

Well, Linnanmäki is not really a place for a small budget. As soon as you want to use any of the rides it quickly gets quite expensive. Think about if you just want to go on one or two rides or if you rather want to spend the whole day on the roller coasters. You can either buy single tickets or get a wristband for the whole day and unlimited use (all rides for 37 €). The nice thing about Lintsi, how the locals call it, is that the entrance is free. So if you want to inhale some amusement park atmosphere, just go there and wander around a bit. 

Tip: Check out the look-out tower. It is for free and provides you one of the best views over the city.

You get to Linnanmäki either by car, with tram 3B or 3T or check here. The park will be open till October 21^st.