Underground by car

Underneath the city of Helsinki spans a huge tunnel system. Not only can you walk along there like mentioned earlier on HelsinkiIn. You can also drive through the tunnels.

Did you know that Stockmann is connected to the beginning of Ruoholahti underground? When you leave Stockmann’s parking lot you can follow the signs to Ruoholahti and will find yourself driving underneath the city for several hundreds of meters. It’s quite impressive and also good to know to avoid traffic in the inner city.

Have a sparkling weekend

The week is over. Finally! Time to reward yourself for all the hard work. And what better way is there to start the weekend than to go for after-work drinks? And what about starting off with some nice sparkling wine in a classy new bar? 

In that case Shampers at Forum might be the place for you. This new bar has some good after-work offers. Have a glass of dry Cava for just 4 €. And if you are not that much into sparkles maybe a normal wine (white or red) for just 3 € might do. Shampers’ after-work hours are Mondays through Fridays from 16:00 till 21:00.

Have a nice weekend!

A textbook example of a good restaurant

Looking for a restaurant where service and quality are the utmost priority? Where you can be sure the staff is doing their best to assure you a pleasant stay.

Then the place you should go to is Perho. Perho is not just a restaurant but also a restaurant school. Future cooks, waiters and waitresses can put what they have learned right into practice here. To avoid mistakes everything is of course supervised by experience teachers. The result is exquisite food and close to perfect service. 

Perho offers a delicious lunch buffet but also excellent a la carte dishes in a nice ambience. Find out more about Perho from their website and give it a try yourself.

Parking in the center

Parking in Helsinki can be quite pricy. The closer you get to the center the more you have to pay. At the parking lots of Kamppi and Stockmann it will even cost you a small fortune to park your car here for a day.

But if you are willing to walk a few hundred meters or take a tram for two stops you can park your car for free at the Olympic Stadium. The big parking area in front of the stadium is divided into rows that also allow different parking periods. While most rows just allow a few hours one (marked with a 24 hour sign) even makes it possible to leave the car for unlimited time.

Find out more about parking areas and prices in Helsinki from the city’s website.

Sunset over Itäkeskus

It's worth looking at the sky at the end of a clear winter day. And luckily Helsinki had a lot of them lately.

Storybook Helsinki and Beyond

When you walk through the streets of Helsinki and open your eyes to some of the buildings around you, you will soon find out that this city is full of architectural treasures.

Exactly this is what happened to Cody Douglas Oreck, the American ambassador’s wife when she explored her new home in 2009 for the first time. Searching for a book to tell her more about those astonishing buildings she soon found out that there was none.

Together with the talented Romanian photographer Octavian Bâlea she started working on exactly such a book. Three years later the Storybook Helsinki and Beyond is now on sale. And it’s worth risking a look. This beautifully illustrated book makes you see buildings you always passed by before in a completely different light.

You can get it from most bookstores in town for 44,95€ or download it as an iBook for about 15 €.