Self-guided Sightseeing Tour #9 in Helsinki, Finland

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Tour Facts

Number of sights 30 sights
Distance 10.3 km
Ascend 0 m
Descend 0 m

Experience Helsinki in Finland in a whole new way with our self-guided sightseeing tour. This site not only offers you practical information and insider tips, but also a rich variety of activities and sights you shouldn't miss. Whether you love art and culture, want to explore historical sites or simply want to experience the vibrant atmosphere of a lively city - you'll find everything you need for your personal adventure here.

Activities in HelsinkiIndividual Sights in Helsinki

Sight 1: Helsingin Saalem

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Salem Church in Helsinki is a Pentecostal church located in Helsinki, Finland. Salem Church was founded in 1928. Today, Salem Church is the largest Pentecostal church in Finland with approximately 3,500 members. The congregation meets at the Salem Temple in Näkinkuja, Hakaniemi. Since October 2022, branch president has been Stefan Sigfrids. Salem Church is a member of the Pentecostal Church of Finland.

Wikipedia: Helsingin Saalem-seurakunta (FI), Website, Website

228 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 2: Hakaniemi Market Hall

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Hakaniemi Market Hall --Jisis 18:13, 6 September 2008 (UTC) / CC BY-SA 4.0

The Hakaniemi market hall is a market building at the Hakaniemi market square in the district of Kallio in Helsinki, Finland. It was built at the start of the street Hämeentie in 1914.

Wikipedia: Hakaniemi market hall (EN), Website

123 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 3: Life at the Hakaniemi Marketplace

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Market Life in Hakaniemi is a sculpture relief made by Aimo Tukiainen at the Hakaniemi metro station in Helsinki. The work, made in 1961, is the oldest of the works of art on the Helsinki metro. It is also the only one that was not designed for the metro: the work was originally located on the outer wall of the Postipankki office building on Siltasaarenkatu. After the change of ownership of Postipankki, Torielämä in Hakaniemi was transferred to the ownership of the Helsinki City Transport Department. The work is made of metal by welding and it shows market stalls seen from a bird's eye view. Lamps are placed inside the work to illuminate it in the dark.

Wikipedia: Torielämää Hakaniemessä (FI), Website

238 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 4: Memorial to Women in Times of War

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The Wartime Woman's Memorial is a monument created by sculptor Heikki Häiväoja in Kallio, Helsinki. It is dedicated to the activities of Finnish women during World War II and was erected in 1996. The memorial is located along Porthaninrinne near the junction of Second Line, in the block of the Kallio office building.

Wikipedia: Sodanajan naisen muistomerkki (FI), Website

291 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 5: Ilolanpuisto

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Ilolanpuisto Park is located in the Kallio district of Helsinki. It is built on a slope that rises north from Eläintarhantie towards the Second Line. To the west, the park is bordered by Castréninkatu and to the east by the Kallio office building. The park was designed by Harald Carstens in 1966. It covers an area of approximately 1.9 hectares and is seamlessly intertwined with Tarja Halonen Park. Between the park areas lies the massive building complex of the Helsinki City Theatre. The name Ilolanpuisto derives from the villa plot called Ilola. The northwestern part of Ilolanpuisto Park has been built as a playground.

Wikipedia: Ilolanpuisto (FI)

294 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 6: Tarja Halosen puisto

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Tarja Halonen Park is a small park next to the Helsinki City Theatre in the Kallio district of Helsinki. The park was named after President Tarja Halonen when she turned 70 in December 2013. Halonen, who loves theatre and hails from Kallio, "could not have imagined a better gift than a park named after her next to the Helsinki City Theatre".

Wikipedia: Tarja Halosen puisto (FI)

239 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 7: Tokoinranta

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Tokoinranta is a park in Kallio, Helsinki, on the shore of Eläintarhanlahti Bay. In the south, the park borders Eläintarhanlahti and in the north Eläintarhantie. In the east it ends at Hakaniemi. To the west, the park borders the old villa area of Linnunlaulu and the main railway.

Wikipedia: Tokoinranta (FI)

179 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 8: Torch / Memorial to Miina Sillanpää

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Torch / Memorial to Miina Sillanpää Valokuva: Matti Mattila, Patsas: Aimo Tukiainen / CC BY 2.5

Torch, or Miina Sillanpää Memorial, is a monument dedicated to politician Miina Sillanpää in Tokoinranta, Helsinki. The sculpture was made by sculptor Aimo Tukiainen and it was unveiled on 4 June 1968, the 102nd anniversary of Sillanpää's birth.

Wikipedia: Soihtu (Miina Sillanpään muistomerkki) (FI), Website

362 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 9: Paasivuoren puistikko

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Paasivuoren puistikko Photo: Htm. The statue seen in the park is Johannes Haapasalo's Nyrkkeilijät (1932) (The Boxers). Puistossa oleva veistos on Johannes Haapasalon Nyrkkeilijät (1932). / CC BY-SA 3.0

Paasipuisto, formerly Sirkuspuisto, is a small rectangular park in Siltasaari, Helsinki. It is bounded on one side by Saariniemenkatu and on three sides by Paasivuorenkatu. The park is otherwise surrounded on all sides by high-rise apartment buildings, except for the view of Hakaniementor from the east end.

Wikipedia: Paasivuoren puistikko (FI)

899 meters / 11 minutes

Sight 10: Burgher's house

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Burgher's houseJennifer Boyer from Maryland, USA / CC BY 2.0

The Spraymaster's House is a wooden building in Kruununhaka, completed no later than 1818, which is the oldest stationary wooden house in the Helsinki city centre. Alexander Wickholm, who worked as a spray master, bought it as an apartment for his family in 1859. The building is one of the offices of the Helsinki City Museum, and it has been restored to showcase the home life of a family of civil servants in the 1860s. The property includes a one-storey main building and a courtyard building, but at one time there was also a stable, barn, wagon shed and woodshed on the plot. These buildings were demolished in 1905 and replaced by a three-storey stone house. The courtyard building has been used as a sauna, baking room and living rooms. Originally, the main building was painted with red soil, but when Wickholm bought the house, it had already been painted ochre yellow.

Wikipedia: Ruiskumestarin talo (FI), Website

201 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 11: Museum of Civil Defence

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Museum of Civil Defence Sakari Kiuru / CC BY 3.0

The Helsinki Civil Defence Museum is a museum of the Helsinki City Rescue Department along Siltavuorenranta in Kruununhaka. The museum presents the history and present of civil defence and was built in a civil defence shelter during World War II. The exhibition spaces include a home from the Continuation War and objects from the civil defence industry. The Helsinki Civil Defence Association is responsible for the maintenance of the museum and organises safety training for associations, groups and school classes visiting the museum on request.

Wikipedia: Helsingin Väestönsuojelumuseo (FI), Website

458 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 12: Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden

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Kaisaniemi Botanical Garden is located in the Kluuvi district of Helsinki, in an area called Kaisaniemi. Along with the Kumpula Botanical Garden, it is one of the two botanical gardens of the University of Helsinki. In addition to the Botanical Museum, both gardens belong to the Botany Unit of the Finnish Museum of Natural History, headed by Docent Marko-Tapio Hyvärinen. Botanical gardens maintain a scientific collection of living plants for research and educational purposes.

Wikipedia: Kaisaniemen kasvitieteellinen puutarha (FI), Website

266 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 13: Freemason's Grave

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A Mason's Tomb may refer to:Masonic Tomb (Helsinki), a tomb and grave memorial located in Kaisaniemi Park in Helsinki Mason's Tomb (Tampere), a monument in Hatanpäänpuisto, Tampere.

Wikipedia: Vapaamuurarin hauta (FI)

854 meters / 10 minutes

Sight 14: Kiasma

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Kiasma Valtion taidemuseo / Kuvataiteen keskusarkisto / Petri Virtanen / CC BY-SA 3.0

The Museum of Contemporary Art building Kiasma was designed by American architect Steven Holl, who won the architectural competition for the museum's design in 1993.

Wikipedia: Kiasma (rakennus) (FI), Website

269 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 15: P. E. Svinhufvud

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The statue of P. E. Svinhufvud is a statue of the President of Finland P. E. Svinhufvud in front of the Parliament House in Helsinki, created by sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen. The statue dates from 1961. The statues of Svinhufvud and K. J. Ståhlberg, sculpted by Aaltonen, are placed on opposite sides of the lawn along Mannerheimintie in front of the Parliament House, Svinhufvud at the southern end and Ståhlberg at the northern end.

Wikipedia: P. E. Svinhufvudin patsas (FI), Website

107 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 16: Parliament House

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The Parliament House is the seat of the Parliament of Finland. It is located in the Finnish capital Helsinki, in the district of Etu-Töölö.

Wikipedia: Parliament House, Helsinki (EN)

131 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 17: K. J. Ståhlberg

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The statue of K. J. Ståhlberg is a statue of Finland's first President K. J. Ståhlberg, created by sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen in front of the Parliament House in Helsinki. The statue dates from 1959, and it was the first monument to Finnish presidents erected in Helsinki. The statues of Ståhlberg and P. E. Svinhufvud, sculpted by Aaltonen, are placed on opposite sides of the lawn along Mannerheimintie in front of the Parliament House, Ståhlberg at the north end and Svinhufvud at the southern end.

Wikipedia: K. J. Ståhlbergin patsas (FI), Website

70 meters / 1 minutes

Sight 18: Kyösti Kallio

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The statue of Kyösti Kallio is a statue of President of Finland Kyösti Kallio in a park north of the Parliament House in Helsinki, created by his son, sculptor Kalervo Kallio. The statue dates from 1962.

Wikipedia: Kyösti Kallion patsas (FI), Website

250 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 19: The Bear

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The bear is a sculpture made of grey granite on the steps of the National Museum of Finland. Emil Wikström's sculpture was unveiled in 1918.

Wikipedia: Karhu (Kansallismuseo) (FI), Website

434 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 20: Villa Hakasalmi

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Villa Hakasalmi, also known as Villa Karamzin, is an architecturally and historically important 19th-century villa located in the Etu-Töölö district of central Helsinki, Finland. The villa is situated in a prominent position on Mannerheimintie, next to Finlandia Hall and opposite the National Museum.

Wikipedia: Villa Hakasalmi (EN), Website

404 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 21: Töölönlahden puisto

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Töölönlahden puisto Yehia Eweis / CC BY-SA 4.0

Töölönlahti Park is a public park located on the southern shore of Töölönlahti Bay in the centre of Helsinki. It borders Hesperia Park to the west, the main railway line to the east and Töölönlahdenkatu to the south. The park was completed in summer 2016 on the site of the former Töölö freight rail yard, a few years after the Helsinki Harbour Railway and VR's warehouses had been demolished. Töölönlahti Park, as well as the Zoo area north of Töölönlahti Bay, can be counted as part of Helsinki Central Park.

Wikipedia: Töölönlahden puisto (FI)

399 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 22: Spring / UKK Monument

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The Urho Kekkonen Memorial or Lähde is a monument dedicated to President Urho Kekkonen (1900–1986) in Helsinki's Hakasalmi Park, next to Finlandia Hall. A design competition was held for the monument in 1997, which was won by sculptor Pekka Jylhä with his proposal Lähde. The work was unveiled on the centenary of Kekkonen's birth on 3 September 2000.

Wikipedia: Urho Kekkosen muistomerkki (Helsinki) (FI), Website

408 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 23: Hesperian puisto

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Hesperia Park is a park located on the western shore of Töölönlahti Bay in Helsinki, belonging to the districts of Etu-Töölö and Taka-Töölö. It borders Mannerheimintie in the west, Finlandia Hall in the south and the Finnish National Opera and Ballet in the north. On the beach, however, the park extends in a narrow strip all the way to Helsinginkatu, on the other side of which is the Zoo park area. South of Töölönlahti is the Töölönlahti Park, opened in 2016. The entire Töölönlahti park zone can be counted as part of Helsinki Central Park.

Wikipedia: Hesperian puisto (FI)

377 meters / 5 minutes

Sight 24: Memorial to Risto Ryti

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The Risto Ryti Memorial or Years of Responsibility is an official monument to the fifth President of Finland, Risto Ryti, located in Töölö, Helsinki. The abstract sculpture is located at the eastern end of the Hesperia esplanade, on the Mannerheimintie side, on the border between Etu- and Taka-Töölö. It was erected in 1994.

Wikipedia: Risto Rytin muistomerkki (FI), Website

361 meters / 4 minutes

Sight 25: Lauri Kristian Relander

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The Relander Memorial is a monument to Finland's second President Lauri Kristian Relander created by sculptor Matti Peltokangas in Etu-Töölö, Helsinki. The memorial is located on the Hesperia esplanade, east of Runeberginkatu. The monument dates back to 1996.

Wikipedia: Relander-muistomerkki (FI), Website

181 meters / 2 minutes

Sight 26: Olaus Petri Church

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Olaus Petri Church is a church building in Helsinki, located in the Etu-Töölö district of Minervakatu. The church belongs to the Olaus Petri Parish in Helsinki, which is part of the Diocese of Porvoo. Before 2007, the congregation was part of the Church of Sweden.

Wikipedia: Olaus Petri kyrka, Helsingfors (SV)

237 meters / 3 minutes

Sight 27: Kristuskyrkan

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Kristuskyrkan is a Christian church in Helsinki, Finland, located in the central district of Etu-Töölö at the corner between Fänrik Ståls Street and Apollonkatu Street. It was built at the beginning of the twentieth century and it is part of the Swedish Methodist Church of Finland.

Wikipedia: Kristuskyrkan (EN), Website

572 meters / 7 minutes

Sight 28: Temppeliaukio Church

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Temppeliaukio Church is a Lutheran church in the Töölö neighbourhood of Helsinki, Finland. The church was designed by architects and brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen and opened in 1969. Built directly into solid rock, it is also known as the Church of the Rock and Rock Church.

Wikipedia: Temppeliaukio Church (EN), Website

827 meters / 10 minutes

Sight 29: Pyhän Nikolauksen kirkko

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St. Nicholas Parish in Helsinki is an Orthodox religious community operating mainly in Helsinki. The congregation has 2,400 members (2012). You can belong to a community without a domicile in Finland, and approximately 30 per cent of its members are other than Finnish citizens. The parish does not belong to the Finnish Orthodox Church but to the Russian Orthodox Church, i.e. the Moscow Patriarchate.

Wikipedia: Pyhän Nikolauksen seurakunta Helsingissä (FI)

680 meters / 8 minutes

Sight 30: Kartta

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Kartta Teos: Perttu Saksa, kuva: Abc10 / CC-BY-SA-3.0

The map is a memorial to President Mauno Koivisto, designed by visual artist Perttu Saksa, at Hietaniemi Cemetery in Helsinki. It is black diabase with gilded lines. Germany won the design competition for the grave monument.

Wikipedia: Kartta (veistos) (FI)

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