Helsinki Questions? Glad to help!

[Ultima Thule]

 

1. Just to confirm with you that the name of the bus stops as follow: Hernesaari LHB is Hernesaaren laituri and Market square is Kauppatori.

Market square is Kauppatori, ok.

Hernesaaren laituri is the stop for for quay LHC. The stop for quay LHB is named Matalasalmenkuja-

 

3. I would like to go to Hietalahti Flea market.. is it walkable from Market square?

Note that the flea market is at its best only on sunny summer weekends.

0.9 miles easy walk from the Market square along the Esplanade and then the Boulevard. You could do part of the trip in tram 6.

Also note its actually a bit shorter from quay LHB to the flea market, some 0.8 miles.

 

6. I am using tram 3T going for one direction .. will be glad if you can let me know what is the sequence of the following attraction and their stops:

- senate square

-Suommenlina Fortress (By ferry from Market square)

- Temppeliaokio Church (Sammonkatu stop)

- Hietalahti Flea Market (Kauppatori)

-Helsinki Cathderal

-Sibelius Monument

Olympic Stadium (may be tram pass by is enough!)

 

Ok consider you are taking the tram that makes the bottom part of the "8" in anti-clockwise direction. At bottom of the "8" it will change name from 3B to 3T. Then the order will be:

1 Market square - stop "Kauppatori"

2 Senate square & Helsinki Cathedral - stop "Senaatintori"

3 Temppeliaukio Church stop "Kauppakorkeakoulut" or "Sammonkatu"

4 Olympic Stadium - stop "Ooppera" ( a bit away but visible)

5 Sibelius Monument stop "Töölön Halli" (a bit away from the tram. It has been discussed here a long time ago. I'll try to find the link)

 

- Tram 3 will not go near the flea market. Use tram 6 for that.

 

stop list is found here:

http://aikataulut.hsl.fi/reittiopas/en/line?keya=&line=3T&px=2549164&py=6683186&ppx=2549164&ppy=6683186&zx=2549164&zy=6683186&type=&zoom=1&width=600&height=400&adv=&click=1&cs=&nc=0&fcmap=&mapstyle=

Edited April 27, 2012 by Ultima Thule

[Sinppu]

Is the day ticket good for the bus and tram?

 

We are docked at at Hernesaari @ West Harbor

 

We were thinking of taking the 14B bus for a tour of the town, is the 16 bus just as good?

 

Our plans are to go to the Rock Church, (tram 3T) and Market Square to walk around.

 

Hi,

the day ticket is valid in ALL public transport. Subway, train, bus, tram and ferry.

Both buses are OK, 14B maybe slightly better. It'll take you close to the 3T stop at Main Railway station.

[Blackrat]

Hi Sinny,

 

We have never been to Helsinki and will be arriving there on the 15th June for the day; we like walking and are reasonably fit. If you had never been to Helsinki before where would you pick as must-see places, things to do, things to eat?

 

Blackrat

[Sinppu]

Hi Sinny,

 

We have never been to Helsinki and will be arriving there on the 15th June for the day; we like walking and are reasonably fit. If you had never been to Helsinki before where would you pick as must-see places, things to do, things to eat?

 

Blackrat

 

Hi there! The many times mentioned Market Square is en excellent starting point. There are lots of Finnish products on sale and quite unique Finnish dishes to be eaten. Esplanadi and Kaivopuisto parks are close, as it the Senate Square with the Cathedrals.

This is a great area or people-watching and you can catch a tram to see more sights or visit Suomenlinna fortress by ferry.

The latter is to anyone interested in history and/or nature.

 

The Main Railway station has an interesting design, as does our National Theatre. They are located next to each other and a 10-minute walk from the Market Square.

 

Two very popular dishes are paistetut muikut (fried small fish) and poronkäristys (reindeer stew with mashed potatoes and lingonberries). Coffee is nice with a munkki (big sugar-coated doughnut with jam inside) or some ice cream. All these you can find in many stalls at the Market Square. There are also many stalls in the city centre that sell fresh fruit and berries, these can be paid in euros and are very popular.

 

Hope this helps!

[Ultima Thule]

4. Is it possible just to enjoy the scenery going to Suommelina and come back without going in? Just to save time?

 

Should not be any problem. In worst case if ferry crew insists that the ferry should be emptied, all you need to do is to turn around on landing stage and follow when new passengesr enters. The fortress islands are considered to be a city district with people living on them, so they are open, i.e you don't "go in" or pay entrance fee. Ferry ticket system is self service, i.e no control in normal cases. Its up to you to have a valid ticket in case of a spot check

 

-Sibelius Monument

 

regarding how to reach the monument from tram 3T see following threads:

 

post #10 at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=756666

 

 

post #30 at

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=963355

[tupperny]

Sinpuu:

 

Thank you for all of your advice. This is a great thread!

 

My grandparents are from Finland and this will be my first cruise that docks in Helsinki. We won't have tons of time, but want to get the "feel" of Finland. My grandparents came from Teuva and we likely won't make it that far north. One of the cruise-line excursions has a visit to a "farm family" (Porvoo?). Is this too "touristy" or will this give me the feel of the people? Other ideas?

 

Thanks again,

 

Bill

[dakacz]

Do both 14B and 16 Bus go to Market square?

[Sinppu]

Sinpuu:

 

Thank you for all of your advice. This is a great thread!

 

My grandparents are from Finland and this will be my first cruise that docks in Helsinki. We won't have tons of time, but want to get the "feel" of Finland. My grandparents came from Teuva and we likely won't make it that far north. One of the cruise-line excursions has a visit to a "farm family" (Porvoo?). Is this too "touristy" or will this give me the feel of the people? Other ideas?

 

Thanks again,

 

Bill

 

Hi Bill!

I see you have a Finnish last name :)

I think this would be a great excursion for you. Porvoo is a very beautiful small town (I have many friends living there) and I'd say it is not too touristy. Of course there will be many others from your cruise ship but you'd see more than staying just in Helsinki.

 

Have a great trip!

[Sinppu]

Do both 14B and 16 Bus go to Market square?

 

Hi,

16 goes straight to the Market Square. 14B goes quite a bit off.

[Moose Tracks]

Sinny....I was checking the new schedule for the Suomenlinna ferry for May 1 onwards and am wondering about the price of the ferry tickets. On the schedule it states that local tickets (2.2 euros) are valid on the ferry, but then I did the Price Calculator on the hsl.fi website and it shows a 12-hour ferry pass as being 5 euros. Does this ticket give you multiple trips in a 12-hour period? Do we just need a 2.2 euros ticket for one ride over to the island and then back to Market Square? We don't plan on using any other public transit other than the ferry. We dock at 6 a.m. and are planning to walk from the port and take an early ferry. I know the ticket kiosk in Market Square doesn't open until 9 a.m. so we'll be buying our tickets from the machine by the ferry dock. Will that machine sell the 5 euro pass only?

Lynn

[weatherman46]

It looks to me like the 15A is the better bus to catch from the port into town, because the 15 and 15V don't appear to go very near the town. Is this correct?

 

Please can you tell me if the 24-hour 7 Euro ticket can be used on both buses and trams?

 

Paul

[Sinppu]

Sinny....I was checking the new schedule for the Suomenlinna ferry for May 1 onwards and am wondering about the price of the ferry tickets. On the schedule it states that local tickets (2.2 euros) are valid on the ferry, but then I did the Price Calculator on the hsl.fi website and it shows a 12-hour ferry pass as being 5 euros. Does this ticket give you multiple trips in a 12-hour period? Do we just need a 2.2 euros ticket for one ride over to the island and then back to Market Square? We don't plan on using any other public transit other than the ferry. We dock at 6 a.m. and are planning to walk from the port and take an early ferry. I know the ticket kiosk in Market Square doesn't open until 9 a.m. so we'll be buying our tickets from the machine by the ferry dock. Will that machine sell the 5 euro pass only?

Lynn

 

Hi Lynn!

The machine sells all kinds of tickets so you should be able to buy regular tickets. The 12-hour pass gives you as many trips as you have time for. The 2.2 euro ticket is valid only one hour from the moment you buy it.

Hence you'd need to buy new tickets when coming back from Suomenlinna (there is also a machine there).

If you buy the 12-hour ticket instead of two 2.2 euro tickets, you'll pay 60 cents more but then you can make several trips on the ferry (if you want to).

When you buy your tickets use small notes or coins as much as you can, the machines can't give change in large amounts.

[Sinppu]

It looks to me like the 15A is the better bus to catch from the port into town, because the 15 and 15V don't appear to go very near the town. Is this correct?

 

Please can you tell me if the 24-hour 7 Euro ticket can be used on both buses and trams?

 

Paul

 

Hi Paul, you are right. 15 and 15V will take you to Ruoholahti tube station which is two stops away from the Main Railway station.

15A goes straight to the Main Railway station.

The 24-hour ticket is valid in all buses, trams, tube, ferries and trains.

[Moose Tracks]

Hi Lynn!

The machine sells all kinds of tickets so you should be able to buy regular tickets. The 12-hour pass gives you as many trips as you have time for. The 2.2 euro ticket is valid only one hour from the moment you buy it.

Hence you'd need to buy new tickets when coming back from Suomenlinna (there is also a machine there).

If you buy the 12-hour ticket instead of two 2.2 euro tickets, you'll pay 60 cents more but then you can make several trips on the ferry (if you want to).

When you buy your tickets use small notes or coins as much as you can, the machines can't give change in large amounts.

 

Kiitos, Sinny. It's so kind of you to help all of us make the most of our short time in Helsinki.

 

Lynn

[Blackrat]

Hi there! The many times mentioned Market Square is en excellent starting point. There are lots of Finnish products on sale and quite unique Finnish dishes to be eaten. Esplanadi and Kaivopuisto parks are close, as it the Senate Square with the Cathedrals.

This is a great area or people-watching and you can catch a tram to see more sights or visit Suomenlinna fortress by ferry.

The latter is to anyone interested in history and/or nature.

 

The Main Railway station has an interesting design, as does our National Theatre. They are located next to each other and a 10-minute walk from the Market Square.

 

Two very popular dishes are paistetut muikut (fried small fish) and poronkäristys (reindeer stew with mashed potatoes and lingonberries). Coffee is nice with a munkki (big sugar-coated doughnut with jam inside) or some ice cream. All these you can find in many stalls at the Market Square. There are also many stalls in the city centre that sell fresh fruit and berries, these can be paid in euros and are very popular.

 

Hope this helps!

 

Hi Sinny,

Thanks for the reply and sorry it took me so long to answer I have been busy at work and sooo looking forward to a break and the cruise in June.

 

Thank you for the suggestions which we will try. Munkki and a coffee sounds good and I am looking forward to visiting some of the sights.

 

Can I just say a big thank you for providing all this information to us, the tourists, it must take up quite a bit of your time.

 

Blackrat

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for all your valuable advice, Sinny.

 

I'm considering a cruise which stops at Turku, as well as Helsinki. What would you recommend for a port visit to Turku (early am, late pm ?) in early July?

[meganttt]

Thanks Sinny for your answer. One more question.. i understand there is something special on the tram during summer traim during the most tourists visit.. i read it some where..

 

any special events like dancing or musical playing ??

[Sinppu]

Thanks for all your valuable advice, Sinny.

 

I'm considering a cruise which stops at Turku, as well as Helsinki. What would you recommend for a port visit to Turku (early am, late pm ?) in early July?

 

Hello Marion! You are in luck, I lived in Turku for five years before I moved to Helsinki ;)

 

Turku castle is very popular. It is located in the port and parts of it are from the 13th century.

Turku is divided in two parts by the river Aura. You can walk to the City Centre (it is about 20-30 minutes) by the river bank and see beautiful statues (the whale tail is wonderful), boats and if the weather is nice, plenty of people. You can walk all the way to Turku cathedral and come back the other side. You can take the old river raft called Föri to get back to the port side of the town. Föri is free.

 

You can also take bus no. 1, it goes straight to Kauppatori (the market) and all the life is found here.

 

There are many restaurant boats on the river and eating/drinking here is the most popular thing people like to do.

Turku is famous for utilizing old buildings as restaurants so they have an old apothecary, bank, school and even an old public toilet as restaurants now.

They have an Viking-themed restaurant called Harald and an angel-themed one called Enkelikahvila. You can visit all of these just for sightseeing purposes.

There is an old handicraft museum village called Luostarinmäen museo where they have authentic handicraft displays and artists that make things like they did in the 19th century.

There is a museum called Aboa Vetus which is an archaeological site where they discovered very old town remnants a few years ago.

 

I hope you'll get started with these.

 

P.S can you tell I had a summer job at Turku Tourist Centre? :D

Edited May 3, 2012 by Sinppu

[Sinppu]

Thanks Sinny for your answer. One more question.. i understand there is something special on the tram during summer traim during the most tourists visit.. i read it some where..

 

any special events like dancing or musical playing ??

 

Hi!

I did find this info:

 

http://www.hsl.fi/EN/Pages/default.aspx

 

There has also been a bar tram called Sporakoff (after the Koff beer brand).

It's bright red and you can find it besides the Railway Station, in front of the Helsinki Casino. The route takes about one hour and covers many sights. With the price you get one beer/cider and can buy more for extra fee. This cost 7 euros per person for a few years back but the price has likely gone up since.

They also serve non-alcoholic beverages.

[MacThespian]

When you buy your tickets use small notes or coins as much as you can, the machines can't give change in large amounts.

 

Will the machines accept credit cards, or do we need actual currency?

Thanks.

[Sinppu]

Will the machines accept credit cards, or do we need actual currency?

Thanks.

 

They also accept debit/credit cards.

[MacThespian]

They also accept debit/credit cards.

 

Thanks. That will make it easier for us.

[Weluv2cruise2007]

Sorry! Another bus question! You've mentioned the 15A goes to the "Main Central Station"....is that the final stop? If not, what is the name of the stop? I don't want to be confused as to when to get off once we get on the bus! Thank-you so much for all your help and patience!

[Weluv2cruise2007]

For anyone who has been there....what can we expect once we reach the islands? Is everything walkable? Are there walking tours of the fortress available? Is the ferry close to the actual fortress?

 

Thanks for your assistance...

[Cornishpastyman1]

For anyone who has been there....what can we expect once we reach the islands? Is everything walkable? Are there walking tours of the fortress available? Is the ferry close to the actual fortress?

 

Thanks for your assistance...

I made this from my 90 minutes there

which shows my self-guided walking tour.

 

The ferry drops you on the fortress, and while I'm sure official walking tours are available it is very easy to do by yourself with a simple map or guide book.

There's a museum there too, but I didn't have time to visit it.

 

All the best, Tony