Helsinki looking for something different to do

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

Helsinki  looking for something different to do ? been there 3 times .

thanks 

Marty

[dogs4fun]

Have you considered a sauna?

Shopping at the old market hall

Biking on the trail that runs along the waterfront

Suomenlinna Sea Fortress

Seurasaari Island

Visit Uspenski Cathedral

Nuuksio National Park tour (you can book a half day tour that will return you to Helsinki in the afternoon)

Visit Uspenski Cathedral

Ride the vintage tram 

Visit the Vallila district (several of the cool painted timber houses are now homes to the artistic community - lots of green spaces, trendy pubs & shops)

https://www.myhelsinki.fi/en/see-and-do/sights/puu-vallila-wooden-house-district

 

[Nitemare]

We loved the shopping (and we don't usually shop) and they have a great Contemporary Art Museum

[Hezu]

On 9/20/2020 at 3:31 PM, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Helsinki  looking for something different to do ? been there 3 times .

 

Any hints on what sort of activities you would like to do? And I presume that with three visits you have already seen the most common attractions around the city centre, right?

 

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

19 hours ago, Hezu said:

 

Any hints on what sort of activities you would like to do? And I presume that with three visits you have already seen the most common attractions around the city centre, right?

 

Some thing different ...

[Nitemare]

it really helps if you tell us what you HAVE done.

[Hezu]

It would also help to know what sort of things you are interested in. History? Art? Nature? Physical activities? Shopping? Glimpse of the everyday life outside the city centre?

 

I would probably suggest the last one combined with a destination that interests you, for example: hopping on a metro train and head either east (with eg. Itis shopping centre at Itäkeskus as destination) or west (eg. the garden town Tapiola with interesting architecture and WeeGee Museum Centre, which includes Espoo Museum of Modern Art EMMA, Espoo City Museum, Finnish Toy Museum and Finnish Clock Museum).

 

It is also fairly straight-forward to find even some rural landscape within the city limits if that would interest you. Smaller patch of fields (including ones with grazing cows) fairly close to the city centre can be found around University of Helsinki's Experimental Farm in Viikki (that area would be also quite good for seeing some nature). More fields you can found in Haltiala-Niskala area, which is little further away, but still reasonably easy to reach on a bus.

[John&LaLa]

Indoor dog sled racing

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

9 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Indoor dog sled racing

Where and when ????? PLEASE

[John&LaLa]

52 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Where and when ????? PLEASE

 

We did it in August 2018 on a Royal Caribbean excursion.  

 

Kivikon Hiihtohalli, 30 minutes north

 

WWW.winterworld.fi

 

The sled dogs were extra for our excursion 

 

It was fun

[dogs4fun]

10 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Indoor dog sled racing

Are you referring to Winter World? Lots of activities there, including an ice bar.

[Gail & Marty sailing away]

2 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Are you referring to Winter World? Lots of activities there, including an ice bar.

Indoor dog sled racing where is it held???

[John&LaLa]

10 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

Are you referring to Winter World? Lots of activities there, including an ice bar.

 

yep, our first stop. great start to the morning

 

I really enjoyed the Church of the Rock as well

[dogs4fun]

9 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Indoor dog sled racing where is it held???

Winter World is an indoor venue a ways from the city center - it is somewhat pricey. Admission is 35€ per person and the dog sleds are an additional charge. You need to pre-book the husky rides unless you are part of an organized group. The address is Savikiekontie 4 - located about 25 minutes from the city center (you can take a taxi).

https://winterworld.fi/info-for-visitors/

From the website:

Experience winter and snow in summer!
Wild Nordic has brought wonderful winter of Lapland to Helsinki city. In Winter World you can find snow attractions and activities for everyone: toboggan hill, kicksleds, fun skis, ice sculptures, snow igloos and much more. There is no age limit, children and adults of all possible ages are warmly welcome. 
Everything is built indoors using ice and snow. Our weather forecast of the day is always -3º Celsius, no wind or precipitation. We provide each guest with the thermal clothing to keep you warm and cozy. 

Edited September 25, 2020 by dogs4fun

[John&LaLa]

9 minutes ago, Gail & Marty sailing away said:

Indoor dog sled racing where is it held???

 

see post#10

[dogs4fun]

13 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

yep, our first stop. great start to the morning

 

I really enjoyed the Church of the Rock as well

I didn't enjoy Winter World - too cold for me. 😕 We get plenty of cold & snow here in Colorado so the snow features were no thrill for us. I see that you are from a much warmer climate than I - weren't you freezing??

We had previously visited an ice bar in Stockholm so the ice bar also wasn't a big deal.We really went to Winter World for the youngsters in our group & they had a great time!

I also found the Rock Church interesting - we have visited twice. We scored some wonderful panoramic photos of Helsinki from the old Olympic tower - did you make it out there? 

On our last visit, we enjoyed riding the trams & just wandering about. We really enjoy visiting with the locals - we find the Finnish people absolutely lovely.

Edited September 25, 2020 by dogs4fun

[John&LaLa]

8 minutes ago, dogs4fun said:

I didn't enjoy Winter World - too cold for me. 😕 We get plenty of cold & snow here in Colorado so the snow features were no thrill for us. We had previously visited an ice bar in Stockholm so the ice bar also wasn't a big deal.We really went to Winter World for the youngsters in our group & they had a great time!

I also found the Rock Church interesting - we have visited twice. We scored some wonderful panoramic photos of Helsinki from the old Olympic tower - did you make it out there? 

On our last visit, we enjoyed riding the trams & just wandering about. We really enjoy visiting with the locals - we find the Finnish people absolutely lovely.

 

It was unique, we actually enjoyed getting dressed up in the snowmobile suits. Didn't make it to the Olympic park, our other stop was the cathedral. The entire excursion cost was around $45 plus the extra $30 or so for the sled ride. 2 laps if I recall.

 

BTW, OP, it's really not a race per se. You just race along the track. But it's fast. 

 

Here is a retrospect on our trip. Helsinki is pages 7 and 8

 

Edited September 25, 2020 by John&LaLa

[Hezu]

On 9/25/2020 at 4:43 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

It was unique, we actually enjoyed getting dressed up in the snowmobile suits. Didn't make it to the Olympic park, our other stop was the cathedral.

 

If I understood correctly your visit was in 2018, thus you probably would have seen mainly a construction site since Helsinki Olympic Stadium's renovation begun in 2016 and was finished this year in August. So now the stadium is back in use and open for visitors, who are interested in the views from the tower or/and sports venues. The stadium also hosts the Finnish Sport Museum.

[John&LaLa]

46 minutes ago, Hezu said:

If I understood correctly your visit was in 2018, thus you probably would have seen mainly a construction site since Helsinki Olympic Stadium's renovation begun in 2016 and was finished this year in August. So now the stadium is back in use and open for visitors, who are interested in the views from the tower or/and sports venues. The stadium also hosts the Finnish Sport Museum.

 

I think I saw the construction activity on a Google Earth picture. Thanks for the update.

 

We head back to Baltics in August, but I don't think we go to Helsinki 

Edited September 26, 2020 by John&LaLa

[dogs4fun]

1 hour ago, Hezu said:

Olympic Stadium's renovation begun in 2016 and was finished this year in August. So now the stadium is back in use and open for visitors, who are interested in the views from the tower or/and sports venues. The stadium also hosts the Finnish Sport Museum.

Thanks for the update.  If all goes according to plan, we will again visit Helsinki August 27th next year. I know that the photo hounds in our group will want to visit the tower as well as some of the must see sights for first time visitors.  On this next visit I plan to simply chill and enjoy the food & locals.😎 

[Lagerta]

Last time we went to Helsinki we enjoyed just walking along the embankment, the place is charming and peaceful, but we had only a few hours before the flight. And couple of years ago we visited sport complex Allas, we spent there almost 5 hours, swemt in several pools (there is one with salt water as well), got warm in a sauna and rested in a cafe. It was cool!