Helsinki is the capital of which country on the world map. Open left menu Helsinki

The city of Helsinki is located on the territory of the state (country) Finland, which in turn is located on the territory of the continent Europe.

The population of the city of Helsinki.

The population of the City of Helsinki is 630,225.

Year of foundation of Helsinki.

Year of foundation of the city of Helsinki: 1550.

What time zone is Helsinki in?

The city of Helsinki is located in the administrative time zone: UTC + 2, in summer UTC + 3. Thus, you can determine the time difference in the city of Helsinki, relative to the time zone in your city.

Telephone code for the city of Helsinki

Telephone code City of Helsinki: +358. In order to call the city of Helsinki with mobile phone, you need to dial the code: +358 and then directly the subscriber's number.

Official website of the city of Helsinki.

Website of the city of Helsinki, official website of the city of Helsinki or as it is also called "Official website of the city of Helsinki": http://www.hel.fi/.

Coat of arms of the city of Helsinki.

In the description of the city of Helsinki, the coat of arms of the city of Helsinki is presented, which is the hallmark of the city.

Subway in the city of Helsinki.

The subway in the city of Helsinki is called the Helsinki Metro and is a means of public transport.

The passenger flow of the Helsinki Metro (Helsinki metro congestion) is 57.30 million people per year.

The number of metro lines in the city of Helsinki is 1. The total number of metro stations in Helsinki is 17. The length of metro lines or metro tracks is: 21.10 km.

Helsinki (Finland) - the most detailed information about the city with a photo. The main sights of Helsinki with descriptions, guides and maps.

City of Helsinki (Finland)

Helsinki is the capital of Finland and administrative center province of Uusimaa. This The largest city country, located in its southern part on the shores of the Gulf of Finland. Helsinki is beautiful modern city, which was built on the model of St. Petersburg after a fire that destroyed 1/3 of the historical core. As a result, the Finnish capital received a neoclassical center with wide beautiful streets and boulevards. Helsinki is a city with the makings of a metropolis, which has still retained its provincial character and measured rhythm of life.

Geography and climate

Helsinki is located in the south of Finland on the coast of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. The city grew up on a rocky coastline with little elevation change. The historical center is located on the peninsula. The climate of Helsinki is temperate, transitional from maritime to continental. Summers are cool, while winters are quite cold and snowy.

Practical Information

1. The population is more than 640 thousand people (agglomeration 1.3 million).
2. Area - 715.48 km 2.
3. Language - Finnish and Swedish.
4. Currency - euro.
5. Visa - Schengen.
6. Time - UTC +2, summer +3.
7. The best time to visit is summer and winter.
8. The Tourist Information Center is located at the corner of Pohjoisesplanadi and Unioninkatu (near the Market Square).
9. The international airport is located 18 km north of the city and is the largest in Finland. The best and cheapest way to get to Helsinki from neighboring countries- ferry. Regular ferry service has been established with the following cities: St. Petersburg, Tallinn, Stockholm, Gdynia (Poland), Rostock (Germany).
10. home market Street Helsinki - Aleksanterinkatu. It has many shops and the largest department store in Scandinavia - Stockmann. Esplanadi Street runs parallel with many branded boutiques. 15 minutes from the city center is the largest shopping center in Scandinavia - Itis (metro station Itäkeskus). Large shopping center in the center of Helsinki - Kampin Keskus.
11. Markets - Hakaniemen (food and souvenirs), Vanha kauppahalli (old market hall), Kauppatori ( Market Square).
12. Going to a restaurant in Helsinki is quite expensive. Budget food: fast food, pizza and various kebabs.

Story

Helsinki was founded in 1550 by the Swedish king Gustav Vasa. The first settlement arose on the site of the modern Arabia region and was called Gammelstadt. But the harbor here turned out to be too shallow and the city was moved to another place (in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe modern Market Square). The new settlement was named Helsingfors. Gradually, the two settlements merged into one city.

Until the middle of the 16th century, Helsinki was a small provincial town with wooden buildings. In 1748, the Swedes began building the fortress of Sveaborg, which was designed to protect the coast from the sea. During this period, the first stone houses appear in Helsinki. During the 18th - 19th centuries, Russian troops captured the city four times, until in 1809 Finland became part of the Russian Empire.

Market Square in Helsinki

In 1808, a significant part of the city was damaged by a severe fire. In 1812, Helsinki was declared the capital of the Finnish Principality. In 1816, the German Karl Ludwig Engel was appointed the chief architect of the city, who rebuilt the center of Helsinki in a modern neoclassical look.

In 1918 Helsinki became the capital of independent Finland. The city was bombed during the Soviet-Finnish war in 1939 and World War II. In 1952, Helsinki hosted the Summer Olympics.

Attractions

There are no sights of the Middle Ages in the historical center of Helsinki, since the city was founded only in the 16th century and was actually built in the 19th century on the model of St. Petersburg. However, Helsinki is a beautiful modern city that is great for walking and visiting on the weekend.

Sveaborg or Suomenlinna - object world heritage UNESCO, located 20 minutes from the center of Helsinki. This building was built in the 18th century on the island to protect the coast of the Gulf of Finland from the sea and is often called the Swedish castle. The fortress was taken by Russian troops and later expanded. Until our time, some old buildings, many fortifications, catacombs and cast-iron tools have been preserved in Sveaborg. The visit to the island is free. The best way to get here - take the ferry that leaves from the Market Square.

Market Square or in Finnish Kauppatori - the main square of Helsinki and one of ancient places the Finnish capital, which hosts one of the most famous street markets in Northern Europe. The square is located on the coast of the Baltic Sea and is famous for Finnish products and souvenirs.

The Cathedral is the main Lutheran church in Helsinki, which is an architectural dominant Senate Square and one of the symbols of the city. The cathedral was completed according to the design of Carl Ludwig Engel in 1852. It is an impressive building made of white marble, built in the style of classicism.

The Assumption Cathedral is one of the most impressive buildings in Helsinki. This Orthodox Church is the largest in Western Europe. It is a beautiful brick building with numerous towers crowned with golden domes.

Temppeliaukio is a Lutheran church of very unusual architecture built right into the rock in the late 1960s. It has a minimalist interior and excellent acoustics.

Train Station- the original building in the Art Nouveau style.

Church of St. John's is the largest stone church in Finland, built in the late 19th century in the Gothic Revival style.

Finlandia Hall is a building made of white Carrara marble, which was built in 1971 and serves as a concert and conference hall.

• Keskuspuisto - huge central park, with an area of ​​more than 1000 hectares.
• Seurasaari - small island north of central Helsinki, filled hiking trails and authentic old Finnish houses.
• Helsinki Zoo, which is located on the island of Korkeasaari and has 200 species of animals.
• Kaivopuisto- beautiful park by the sea in the southern part of the city.
• Linnanmäki is an amusement park with 43 attractions.
• Sibelius Park, dedicated to the famous Finnish composer. Known for the original monument of large metal pipes that create music under the influence of the wind.

• Museum of the famous Finnish artist Gallen-Kallela, located in a picturesque place on the shores of Laahalahti Bay in the eastern part of Helsinki.
• Finnish National Museum- a collection of archaeological artifacts, a Finno-Ugric collection with traditional costumes and objects of everyday culture, expositions on the history of Finland from the Middle Ages to the present.
• Finnish national Art Museum- more than 600 paintings, including works by Rembrandt, Van Gogh, Gallen-Kallela. The museum is located on the south side of the station square in a beautiful neoclassical building of the late 19th century.

In 1550, King Gustav Vasa of Sweden decided to establish a port face to face with rival Tallinn in trade relations with Russia. This is how Helsinki appeared and June 12, the day the decree was signed, is considered the birthday of the city. In 1641, in order to populate this area, the king ordered several hundred inhabitants of small towns West Bank move to a new place - the territory of the current urban area of ​​​​Arabia. However, it turned out that the place was chosen unsuccessfully - the harbor was too shallow, and as a result the city was moved to the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe current Kauppatori (Market Square). So Helsinki was moved 5 km to the south, to the tip of the Estnes peninsula. After that, the development of the city slowed down significantly due to constant wars, plague and famine. In the period 1713-1721, Russian troops burned and occupied the enslaved, bloodless city twice.

The expansion of the territory occupied by the city occurred in 1748 due to the Sveaborg fortress (Finnish - Suomenlinna) erected by the Swedes on the islands near Helsinki, designed to protect the city from the sea. The transformation of Helsinki into a western bastion was at that time also in the interests of King Louis XV of France, an ally of Turkey. During the war with Napoleon I of 1808/09, according to the Friedrichsgam peace treaty, Sweden had to cede Finland to Russia, as a result of which Finland became an autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland within the Russian Empire.

On April 12, 1812, Emperor Alexander I declared provincial Helsingfors the capital of the Grand Duchy of Finland.
The administrative independence of Finland allowed it to maintain a typically northern administrative and legal system. This event was a major political step forward for Helsinki. Granting independence to Finland was an exceptional case in the history of Russia.
After that, a reconstruction committee was established, headed by military engineer Johan Albrecht Ehrenström. He was supposed to rebuild the ceremonial capital of the Grand Duchy. In 1816, the German architect Karl Ludwig Engel, who worked in Russia, was invited to the post of architect of the Finnish capital. The development of the project was followed by Emperor Alexander I and his brother Nicholas, hence the noticeable similarity between the central parts of Helsinki and St. Petersburg. Since that time, the rapid organized development of the city began.
In the 1820s, Karl Ludwig Engel created a plan for the development of the central part of the city. As a result of its implementation, for example, the neoclassical ensemble Senaatintori (Senate Square) appeared with a magnificent cathedral. In 1827, the only university in the country was moved from Turku to Helsinki. At the end of the 19th century, the small village became a modern European city.
In the Crimean War of 1853-1856, Helsinki was fired upon by the Anglo-French squadron, but this did not cause him significant harm.

The active development of the peninsula began, associated primarily with the construction in 1862 of the railway, which connected it with the inland part of the country - Helsinki with Riihimäke and Tampere. Thanks to this, Helsinki's industry began to actively develop. And in 1870, a railway branch to St. Petersburg appeared. With the accession of Finland to Russia, neoclassical architectural ensembles began to appear in the capital.

In 1917, Tsentrobalt was located in the city. In addition, the leadership of the labor and democratic movement of the country acted here. Helsinki became the main center of revolutionary actions in 1905-1907, in particular, in support of the Sveaborg uprising, and later the Finnish Revolution.
The independence of Finland was proclaimed in December 1917 - Helsinki became the capital of the Republic of Finland and the seat of the secretariat of the World Peace Council.
After the declaration of independence during civil war in Finland, the city was occupied for some time by units of the Finnish Red Army, but as a result of the offensive of General Mannerheim from Vaasa, supported by German troops, the city came under the control of the bourgeois Finnish government.
After the end of the civil war, the city continued to develop dynamically. Significantly expanded its territory, grew new residential areas. For example, the garden city of Tapiola (Fin. - Tapiola, Swedish - Hagalund; administratively subordinate to Espoo) gained wide popularity.

The beginning of the Russian-Finnish war (1939-1940) and its continuation (1941-1944) proved the courage of the Finns and the right of the young state to independence. Despite the serious damage caused to the city as a result of the bombing by Soviet military aircraft, Helsinki, along with London and Moscow, was the only capital in Europe that was not occupied during the entire war, the capital of the country that took part in the war.

In the second half of the 20th century, Helsinki became the center of international political life more than once. For example, many international forums: World Assembly of the World (1955), World Congress for Peace, National Independence and General Disarmament (1965), Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (1975), World Conference for Cessation of the Arms Race, for Disarmament and Detente (1976), meeting dedicated to the 10th anniversary of the CSCE (1985), summit of Presidents B. Clinton and B. Yeltsin (1997) and many others. In 1952, Helsinki was honored to host the XV Olympic Games.
The city has gained international importance, with new hotels, shops, sports facilities and cultural facilities sprouting up its streets.

After Finland joined the European Union in 1995, the capital occupied the outer border of the European Union and the so-called Schengen area. In 2000, a representative of Finland became the President of the European Union for the first time, and in December of the same year, the European Council was held in Helsinki.
In 2007, the city hosted the annual Eurovision Song Contest.

City name

In Finnish, the city was officially called Helsinki since its foundation (1550); in Swedish it is still officially called Helsingfors. In all other languages, the name Helsingfors (in Russian - Helsingfors) was used for a long time before Finland became independent (December 6, 1917). And this is not surprising: until the end of the 19th century, the Swedish population absolutely prevailed in the city, although the population of the city in 1880 was only 43 thousand people.

Despite the formal subordination of the Russian Empire after 1809, the Swedish-Finnish nobility retained their power in Finland and for a long time preferred the Swedish language. In an effort to reduce dependence on Sweden, the Russian authorities stimulated the development of the Finnish language, and the intensive migration of rural Finns to the city quickly changed the demographic and linguistic balance in the city in favor of the Finns.

After 1917, the Finnish name Helsinki began to be used. On Soviet maps of the 20s - early 30s, there was a distorted name - Helsinki (it is also used in modern Ukrainian). Nevertheless, the Swedish minority in the capital remains to this day (6.2% of the city's population), and the Swedish language has the status of an official language on a par with Finnish.

Helsinki is the most visited city in Finland by tourists. According to the border guards, approximately 4.9 million of the foreign tourists who came to Finland indicated the purpose of their trip to visit Helsinki in 2015 (a total of 7.4 million people). Approximately 13% of them are citizens of Russia. According to statistics, tourists most often visited Linnanmäki Amusement Park, Korkeasaari Zoo, Suomenlinna Fortress, museums and sights of the city.

• (attractions, museums, shops).
• (hotels, hostels, camping).
• (by car, by bus, by railway or by plane).

Tourists come to Helsinki using different modes of transport. Helsinki Airport served 16.42 million passengers. The passenger port of Helsinki served 12 million passengers. Cruise ships brought 437,000 tourists to Helsinki. Residents of Russia often travel to Finland in their cars, buses and by rail. The Allegro high-speed train is the fastest way to travel between and Helsinki.

The activity of tourists can be indirectly estimated by the number of customers in hotels. In 2015, 3.5 million overnight stays were recorded in Helsinki hotels. Foreigners and locals accounted for approximately 50% of the total number of hotel customers. The largest number of customers came from Germany. The next in the ranking of tourist sources are Russia, Great Britain, Sweden, Japan and China. Approximately 52% of hotel customers arrived for tourism purposes and 48% for business purposes.

Foreign tourists spent approximately 1.47 billion euros in 20015 in Helsinki. (Tourist spending from China exceeded that of Russian tourists for the first time.)

Information about Helsinki

Helsinki is located in the southern part of Finland, on the coast of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea. The city is located approximately 280 kilometers west of St. Petersburg, approximately 370 kilometers east of Stockholm and 80 kilometers north of Tallinn. You can specify the location of the city of Helsinki.

The city of Helsinki is the capital of Finland. This is the most Big city Finland. About 600 thousand people live in Helsinki. The population of Helsinki, together with the nearest suburbs (the cities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen), is approximately 1,300,000 people. More than ten institutions of higher education are located in Helsinki. Representative offices of most foreign companies operating in Finland are located in the capital of Finland.
The land area of ​​Helsinki is 213 square kilometers (the total area, together with the sea area, is 715 square kilometers). Helsinki has many parks and state-protected natural areas. In 2011, Helsinki ranked first in the ranking of the 25 best cities in the world, compiled by the British magazine Monocle.

Helsinki is divided into eight administrative districts. Of greatest interest to tourists is the Southern District of Helsinki. Here is located historical Center cities, most of the places are located here. Here, for example, are: Presidential palace, Government Palace, Senate Square, Bank of Finland, University of Helsinki, central, Sokos and Stockmann department stores, Ateneum and museums, concert hall.

The year of foundation of the city is 1550.
Capital of Finland since 1812.
The number of museums is 72.
Number of pools - 14.
Number of beaches - 27.
The number of places (berths) for boats, cutters and yachts is 12,063.

The most popular museums in Helsinki The number of museum visitors.
Helsinki City Museum - 242,650 (total across multiple sites).

The city of Helsinki hosts many interesting events for tourists every year. Here are some of them. If you are in Helsinki these days, try not to miss these events.

Helsinki City Day held annually on June 12. On this day, interesting events are organized for residents and guests of the city in many places of the city. The biggest event of Helsinki City Day can be considered a concert in Kaivopuisto Park (Kaivopuiston kesäkonsertti).

The biggest rock festival in Finland, the Tuska Open Air Metal Festival (Tuska) is held in late June or early July in the Suvilahti region. This is the biggest rock festival in the north of Europe.

Fireworks Competition held in Helsinki in August. This colorful spectacle gathers a large number (more than 100 thousand people) of spectators every year. The organizer of the fireworks championship is the fourth television channel in Finland.

Perhaps the most famous event in Helsinki is Festive weeks in Helsinki(Helsingin Juhlaviikot). Festive weeks are held at the end of summer, in August - September in many places in the city. There are many different activities during this time. These days in Helsinki, classical music, dance, dramatic art, opera and much that is related to various genres of art are presented in all their diversity. These events are interesting for many tourists. During the Festive Weeks, the city center also hosts the Night of the Arts (Taiteiden yö, The Night of the Arts).

Love and Anarchy(Rakkautta ja Anarkiaa, Helsinki International Film Festival
Rakkautta & Anarkiaa is the name of the Helsinki Film Festival held in September. This is the biggest film event in Finland. Films from different countries are presented at the festival.

Preparing for Christmas begins with the opening of the Aleksanterinkatu Christmas Street. Celebrations begin in the afternoon on Senate Square on November 25th. The solemn lighting of festive lights at 15:00 on Aleksanterinkatu Street is the culmination of the holiday.

Find a trip to Helsinki.

Where to stay

Helsinki has a sufficient number of hotels of different price categories. The most popular hotels are located in the city center, not far from the railway station and the passenger port. Look for locations close to popular destinations in Helsinki.

Helsinki has two large water parks: Serena and Flamingo. They are especially popular in winter. Residents of both Finland and Russia like to rent a hotel room near the water park and spend a few days here with pleasure.

There is also a campsite near Helsinki. Camping Rastila is located about 12 kilometers from the center, next to the beach. There are places for setting up tents, motorhomes, as well as small cottages.

How to get there

You can get to Helsinki using various means of transport. The choice of transport depends on the place of your departure. The most convenient way is from St. Petersburg. You can get to the capital of Finland by train, bus, ferry or plane.

By rail from St. Petersburg it is most convenient to come to Helsinki on high-speed train Allegro. A comfortable train will take you to the capital of Finland in about four hours. The train departs from Finland Station. You can also take the Moscow-Helsinki train at the Ladozhsky railway station.

From St. Petersburg to Helsinki buses of different transport companies depart daily. You can find interesting offers on our website.

Getting from Moscow to Helsinki The most convenient way is by rail or by plane. Trains to Helsinki depart from the Leningradsky railway station in Moscow. Travel time is approximately 14 hours.
Planes depart for Helsinki, as a rule, from Sheremetyevo Airport. Flight time is about two hours. You can buy a plane ticket online.

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🚌 Tickets.
Helsinki.

About transport in Helsinki.

Built on the peninsulas and islands of the Baltic coastline, Helsinki is maritime city. Streets wind around bays, bridges connect islands, and ferries connect with distant islands. It is saturated with the smell of the sea, and in the ports there is a constant noise from arriving and departing ships.

Helsinki covers an area of ​​1140 sq. km and includes 315 islands; at least 30% of the city is dedicated to parks and open spaces. However, most of the city's attractions are concentrated within one peninsula.

Story

Founded in 1550 by the Swedish king Gustav I as a trading rival city to Tallinn, Helsinki had a hard time in the early years of its existence. The nascent settlement was threatened by poverty, war and disease. long time it remained an insignificant coastal city dominated by other prosperous cities - shopping centers in the Baltic region. The construction of Suomenlinna (sea fortress) helped raise Helsinki's status, but the city changed dramatically after Russia's victory over Sweden in the Finnish War, which resulted in Finland being annexed to Russia as the Grand Duchy of Finland in 1809.

In order to reduce Swedish influence in the country, Tsar Alexander I moved the capital from Turku to Helsinki. Åbo Academy, Finland's only university, also moved here in 1827 and eventually became the University. This move strengthened the new role of the city, and in the following decades the city grew and developed at an unprecedented pace; all the prerequisites for the birth of the modern capital of Finland - Helsinki were created. These changes are best seen in the business part of the city, which has been rebuilt in neoclassical style and is somewhat reminiscent of St. Petersburg. Just like in other cities, the progress of science and technology was a key factor behind the rapid development.

Although the first half of the 20th century was a difficult and disruptive time for Helsinki, the city continued to develop. The modern post-war urbanization of the 1970s tripled the urban population, and this made the city one of the fastest growing centers of the European Union in the 90s of the 20th century.

How to get to Helsinki

It can be reached both by air, land and water.

Vanta Airport is located 19 km north of the city center. A taxi from the airport to the city center costs 30 euros and takes about 30-40 minutes. There are also special taxi buses for eight people that can take passengers anywhere, the cost of such a trip can vary from 40 to 50 euros. Bus 615 runs regularly between the airport and the train station square in the center of Helsinki.

By land, the city can be reached both by train and by bus. The railway station is located in the city center and is connected by special passages to the subway. The capital is located at the intersection of three main railway lines, trains from its station leave for Turku in the west, Tampere in the north and Lahti in the northeast. Bus routes connect the Finnish capital with Sweden, Norway and Russia. Helsinki's main bus station is located between Kamppi metro station and Mannerheim Street. Local and regional routes also depart from this station.

When to go

The summer tourist season runs from mid-June to mid-August and is characterized by long days and cool nights. It is worth saying that spring and summer in the south of Finland begin a month earlier than in the north. Although many of Helsinki's establishments and attractions are reducing their opening hours at the end of tourist season, this time also offers many advantages: the period of mosquito activity can be avoided, especially in the north; enjoy the picturesque foliage of trees in autumn and enjoy skiing in winter. Spring here is short, but magical: snow melts and ice breaks, and nature explodes with life, making the transition from winter to summer in almost one day.

You can expect warm (but not hot) days in Helsinki from mid-May. Summer nights are short and never too dark, while in winter the days are very short and only last a few hours.

Transport

The capital has a very convenient transport network, including bus, tram, metro, ferry and taxi routes.

Guests of Helsinki can purchase a 1-, 2- or 3-day all-in-one pass that allows unlimited travel on buses, trams, metros and ferries, as well as one guided bus trip to the main attractions. This ticket also allows you to visit about 50 museums in the city. The cost of such a ticket (Helsinki Kortti) for an adult is 25 euros for 1 day, 35 euros for 2 days and 45 euros for 3 days, for children from 7 to 16 years old - 10, 13 and 16 euros for 1, 2 and 3 days respectively. Tickets can be purchased at travel agencies and hotels.

You can also purchase a tourist ticket for 1, 3 or 5 days. With this ticket, you can travel within Helsinki on all forms of public transport, except for regional buses. A ticket for adults for 1 day costs 5.40 euros, for 3 days - 11 euros, for 5 days - 16 euros. A ticket for children costs 2.70 euros for 1 day, 5.40 euros for 3 days, 8.10 euros for 5 days. Children under 7 travel free. Tickets can be purchased at tourist offices and metro stations.

Metro / bus / train

The Helsinki City Transport Office is located at Rautatientori metro station and is open Monday to Thursday from 7:30 am to 7:00 pm and Friday from 7:30 am to 5:00 pm. The transport system of the city operates daily from half past six in the morning until half past two at night. A ticket for one trip with the right to transfer costs 2 euros for adults and 1 euro for children, a ticket for a tram costs 1.8 euros, without the right to change.

Ferry

Ferries depart from the South Esplanade (Eteläesplanadi) and head to the islands of Suomenlinna (Suomenlinna) and Korkeasaari (Korkeasaari).

Taxi

All taxis in Helsinki carry a yellow TAKSI/TAXI badge. Landing fee - 5 euros, then - according to the meter, depending on the mileage. Rates depend on the time of day, they are higher in the evening - from six to ten in the evening, on Saturdays - after two in the afternoon, and on Sunday - from ten in the evening to six in the morning.

Automobile

It is not recommended to travel around Helsinki by car due to the limited number of parking lots, it is better to walk or use public transport. However, for the outskirts of the city, the car fits perfectly. You can rent a car at the airport or in the city center.

Bike

Bicycle rental prices range from 10 to 15 euros per day. A deposit of EUR 16 is required and a passport must be presented.

Nightlife in Helsinki

IN last years the city is experiencing a significant increase in leisure opportunities at night. Friday and Saturday evenings are the busiest times, so if you plan to go to a club, it's better to be there as early as possible, because then they may not let you in. Mostly people gather in the bars of popular hotels, for example, in the Scandic Hotel Continental.

Almost all theatrical performances are in Finnish or Swedish. However, the language of music is universal, and Helsinki's cultural landscape is rich in musical events at any time of the year. The main concerts are held in Finlandia Hall. Operas are performed in their original language at the Finnish National Opera.

Some nightclubs have small casinos. If you want something more serious in this regard, go straight to Casino Rey.

The best source of information about what is happening on this moment events - a small magazine "Helsinki guide", which can be found in most hotels and travel agencies.

Holidays

Finns know how to have a good time, so they take the holidays seriously. One of the most noisy and fun festivities in Helsinki, especially for students, is the Vappu holiday, celebrated on the night of April 30 to May 1. Each area of ​​the city welcomes the arrival of spring in its own way; the main event takes place in the market square along the esplanade, where crowds of people gather on April 30 to watch the statue of Amanda Havis wear a white cap specially made for the occasion. The cap is a symbol of the transition to a new stage of life; all graduates of Finnish lyceums receive it. From this moment, the general fun begins, taking the form of a grand party on the streets of Helsinki.

The festival takes place in the capital of Finland in late August - early September. This festival, founded in 1968, is dedicated to Finnish and international art and its various types. Every year about 300 thousand people come here to enjoy a full program of classical and contemporary music, dance, theater programs, film and art exhibitions. One of the most famous moments of the festival is the Night of Art, when the city streets, parks, churches and galleries fill with dance groups, orchestras and street singers. Within the framework of this festival, there is also a Children's Festival.

The Helsinki City Marathon attracts thousands of runners from all over the world in August. Perhaps one of the reasons for such popularity is that the marathon course runs along picturesque places along the sea coast in the city and beyond.

The Baltic herring fair is the oldest tradition of the city, its history goes back about 200 years. At the fair, the main Scandinavian product is presented to visitors in different forms, and the number of dishes and serving amaze the eye and taste.

shopping

Finland is famous for its creative attitude to interior design. Here you should buy ceramic and glassware, hand-knitted clothes, wood products and rugs. Textiles and jewelery also carry the special spirit of Finland, and toy stores are filled with educational toys for all ages. Souvenir abundance is represented by reindeer leather products, dolls in national costumes, baskets, spicy liquor made from yellow cloudberries, gooseberries and stone berries. And, of course, here you can buy everything you need to go to the sauna.

Most Famous places for shopping are located in the center of Helsinki - these are the Esplanades, Market Square, Aleksanterinkatu, Iso Roobertinkatu and Bulevardi streets.

Most shops are open Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 17:00 and Saturday from 9:00 to 14:00. Sometimes, especially in summer, shops on Saturday are open until four days. In stores with EUROPE TAX-FREE SHOPPING signs, residents of countries outside the European Union can buy goods, with the expectation that when leaving the country they will be refunded value added tax (usually 16%). The amount for which purchases are made must exceed 40 euros.