Travel
Location
Helsinki is located at 60°10′15″N 024°56′15″E
Situated on the Baltic Sea Helsinki is the capital of the Republic of Finland. It is a modern dynamic city with over half a million residents. Helsinki’s identity has been formed by cultural influences from both the East and West. Facing Tallinn (Estonia) across the bay, the north of Helsinki leads to other cities in Finland and connects to the borders of Sweden and Russia.
Geographically located on the southern peninsula by the Gulf of Finland, Helsinki is a sea-town par excellence. Half the city appears to be water with the tortured geography of a coastline covering numerous islands, peninsulas and bays. The city centre is on the southern part of Finland, which extends to the small islands across the sea.
The lifestyle is full of contrasts and activities in the form of hundreds of events and friendly people. Helsinki has been appointed the World Design Capital for 2012, featuring numerous public events and initiative projects.
The city boasts many beautiful parks and the nearby forests offer an ideal setting for peaceful walks. The harbour in the heart of the city is the home to many giant ferries gliding into port, which is a defining memory and an essential Helsinki experience.
With over 450 years of history and several architectural layers, the impact of different periods can be clearly seen in Helsinki. Finnish design has also made the country’s capital city world famous. The beauty of the surrounding nature blends seamlessly together with high-tech achievements, while old traditions mix with the latest contemporary trends.
Experience Helsinki before you arrive; by taking take a 360 degrees tour of the city.
Download detailed images of the city from the official Helsinki website, which also has an excellent map portal.
Climate
Check the four-day forecast and have a look at the current weather conditions.
Helsinki’s climate is typical of its northerly situation. Its intermediate climate combines characteristics of both a maritime and a continental climate. The proximity of the Arctic Ocean and the North Atlantic creates cold weather, while the Gulf Stream brings in warmer air.
Helsinki has an interesting climate of 18-hours of daylight during the summer solstice, and less than 6-hour of daytime on winter solstice. Nevertheless, the hot and cold months are never too hot nor too cold because of its closeness to the sea.
From June until August, the temperature runs along 18-25 °C. Post-Christmas time, January to February averages to -6 °C.
Currency, taxes and tipping
Finland is the only Scandinavian country to adopt the euro, the common currency of the European Union. For the current exchange rates, please check the Bank of Finland.
Money exchange is best done at the airport or at one of the exchange booths at the Helsinki Central Railway station or the adjoined underground shopping and Metro station complex. Normally tipping is not expected in Finland and a service charge is added in hotels and restaurants. Finnish people do tip only if they wish to appreciate good service or delicious food. It is not obligatory to give a tip to the taxi drivers.
Getting into and out of Helsinki
Airports
Helsinki-Vantaa International Airport in Vantaa, Finland, is the main international airport of Helsinki and the whole of Finland. It is located about 5 kilometres (3 mi) from the centre of Vantaa, Tikkurila, and 9.2 NM (17.0 km; 10.6 mi) north of Helsinki.
Transport
Take a look at this YouTube video regarding public transportation connections from Helsinki Airport.
Helpful tips for arriving passengers:
Transfer
Bus and taxi services
Renting a car
Airlines
Taxi
The taxi journey from the airport to the centre of Helsinki takes nearly half an hour and costs about 35-40 €. The taxi stations are located right outside the arrival areas of the terminals.
There are also three taxi operators at Helsinki Airport that offer special taxi services, fixed fare shared taxi and tours and chartered drives. For the location, opening hours and contact information of taxi operators go to Contacts.
Bus
There are regular 615 bus services to the Helsinki Central railway station in 30–55 minutes, and major hotels and railway stations in the Greater Helsinki Area within 15–120 minutes.
Bus transport to nearby hotels and airport’s parking areas are available free of charge. At the airport, the bus stops are situated in front of the terminals. For the location of bus stops, go to service map.
Bus services from Helsinki City and the Tikkurila railway station take you to the airport comfortably and rapidly:
- You can take a Finnair City Bus from downtown Helsinki. For timetables go to Finnair’s website.
- From Helsinki City by bus 615 takes appr. 35 minutes.
- At night from Helsinki 620N
- From Tikkurila by bus 61.
- There are a number of other bus connections from various parts of the Helsinki Metropolitan Area to the airport. The timetables are available on the HSL website.
Rail
Connecting the airport by frequent local bus 61 of Helsinki Regional Transport Authority or taxi to the Tikkurila railway station provides access to commuter trains as well as to long-distance trains in the directions of Tampere and Lahti, including lines to Saint Petersburg and Moscow. Bus number 540 connects to Espoo railway station in the direction of Turku.
Visa Requirements
Click here for further information regarding visa requirements for Helsinki; Finland .
Language
Finnish and Swedish are the official languages of the municipality of Helsinki. The majority, or 84.3 % of the population, speak Finnish as their native language. A minority, at 6.1%, speak Finland Swedish. Those who speak a native language other than Finnish or Swedish stand at around 9.6% of the population.
Finnish speakers surpassed Swedish speakers in 1890 to become the majority of the city’s population.
Tourist information centre
The Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau’s Tourist Information offers free information about the city and its sights, events and services. Tourist Information provides tips and advice for making the most of your holiday. At the same time you can pick up brochures and maps.
Pohjoisesplanadi 19
Location on the map
Street View in front of Tourist Information
Telephone +358 (0)9 3101 3300
fax (+358 (0)9 310 13301
e-mail:tourist.info(at)hel.fi
www.visithelsinki.fi
