The mean annual temperature in efficient, elegant Helsinki
hovers around 43°F (6°C), but this does not mean visitors
need expect a chilly welcome. The funky Finns, known for their hip
and happening sense of style, design and association with high
technology, know how to warm hearts and minds in their modern,
cosmopolitan capital.
The city, spread across a cluster of promontories and
peninsulas, is 450 years old, its clean, wide avenues lined with
buildings echoing centuries of architectural excellence from Gothic
through to art deco and cutting-edge contemporary. It all fits
together in total harmony with nature, which invades the urban
environment with green spaces, when it is not blanketed in snow.
Trees, flowers, hares, squirrels, pheasants and even the odd elk
are often spied in the myriad parks in the centre of the city, the
whole surrounded with crisp, unpolluted air and the bright blue
Baltic waters.
Despite the cold climate, the invigorating outdoors beckons in
Helsinki even in the middle of winter. Recreation takes the form of
skating, skiing, ice-fishing, sailing, cycling, soaking in saunas,
or, during the short-lived summer, sunbathing. After action, sit
tucked in a rug outside one of the many street-side bars sipping
hot ‘gloggi’ (spiced wine) and watch the wintry world
go by. The city is also ideal for walking, the sights all
concentrated in the central area beneath the towering
cathedrals.
The great outdoors is also the setting for Helsinki’s
numerous festivals and fairs, like the May Day Carnival, October
Herring Festival, the Helsinki City Marathon, annual Samba carnival
and the midsummer festival, to name but a few. Events do move
indoors when it comes to the city’s rich cultural life,
featuring some of the world’s finest orchestras and choirs,
rock concerts, film festivals, the Finnish National Opera and
Ballet performances, and the output of countless theatre and dance
troupes.
Whether visited as a snowy winter wonderland or scenic
sun-splashed cityscape with almost permanent daylight, Helsinki is
a unique destination that will delight the heart of any
traveller.
The mean annual temperature in efficient, elegant Helsinki
hovers around 43°F (6°C), but this does not mean visitors
need expect a chilly welcome. The funky Finns, known for their hip
and happening sense of style, design and association with high
technology, know how to warm hearts and minds in their modern,
cosmopolitan capital.
The city, spread across a cluster of promontories and
peninsulas, is 450 years old, its clean, wide avenues lined with
buildings echoing centuries of architectural excellence from Gothic
through to art deco and cutting-edge contemporary. It all fits
together in total harmony with nature, which invades the urban
environment with green spaces, when it is not blanketed in snow.
Trees, flowers, hares, squirrels, pheasants and even the odd elk
are often spied in the myriad parks in the centre of the city, the
whole surrounded with crisp, unpolluted air and the bright blue
Baltic waters.
Despite the cold climate, the invigorating outdoors beckons in
Helsinki even in the middle of winter. Recreation takes the form of
skating, skiing, ice-fishing, sailing, cycling, soaking in saunas,
or, during the short-lived summer, sunbathing. After action, sit
tucked in a rug outside one of the many street-side bars sipping
hot ‘gloggi’ (spiced wine) and watch the wintry world
go by. The city is also ideal for walking, the sights all
concentrated in the central area beneath the towering
cathedrals.
The great outdoors is also the setting for Helsinki’s
numerous festivals and fairs, like the May Day Carnival, October
Herring Festival, the Helsinki City Marathon, annual Samba carnival
and the midsummer festival, to name but a few. Events do move
indoors when it comes to the city’s rich cultural life,
featuring some of the world’s finest orchestras and choirs,
rock concerts, film festivals, the Finnish National Opera and
Ballet performances, and the output of countless theatre and dance
troupes.
Whether visited as a snowy winter wonderland or scenic
sun-splashed cityscape with almost permanent daylight, Helsinki is
a unique destination that will delight the heart of any
traveller.
