How to do Helsinki in Style: A Love Letter to the North

Let’s get one thing out of the way before we go any further: I love Helsinki. I love Finland as a whole, in fact, and somehow – through the weird twists and turns of a very twisty, turny life – it’s long been my most travelled-to country, with visits now well into the double figures. 

The Queen of the Baltic in her winter plumage

It’s a curious thing to watch a capital city you fell in love with decades ago gradually change, and also to see the world of European tourism and luxury travel change alongside it until they finally, gloriously harmonise. It’s stranger still to see a city you first encountered in a fairly punishing form become the darling of the high-end travel set. Settle down, dear reader – I’ve a story to share with you. 

Effortlessly walkable, eternally chic

My introduction to Helsinki was a masterpiece of twenty-year-old destitution. It was the golden era of Ryanair (remember those heady days, when a flight to Finland, timed well, could cost less than a sandwich?) and I arrived in the grip of a -28°C winter that felt less like weather and more like a personal affront. I spent that trip huddled in a coat that wasn't up to the task, watched a friend break his hand after an ill-advised punch at a slab of sea ice for no apparent reason whatsoever, and agonised with a trio of housemates over whether we could afford to split a single, eye-wateringly expensive beer. I caught pneumonia. We all had an absolute blast. 

Amid all the festivities in the frozen north, I fell hopelessly in love with Helsinki. A few years later and as a burgeoning proper grown-up, I spent years returning to the Finnish capital for long, honey-lit summers working at a school near a lake, watching the country shed its icy skin. I met my wife there, and I’m eternally grateful for the role it played in my life story. 

Seeing more people finally discover the Finnish capital’s particular brand of stoic charm is a joy. However, it’s the sortof city that benefits from the kind of insight we at The Last Concierge specialise in – the best spots aren’t necessarily the most obvious nor the most expensive, and much of Helsinki’s big-hitting allure comes from simply wandering around, soaking up the copious vibes and leaning into the city’s innate quirkiness. 

Let’s take a closer look and what not to miss for an upcoming trip. 

The Art of the Stay

Don’t do what I did twenty years ago and rock up to Helsinki in mid-February, completely clueless and in search of a hostel that might take you in for the night. Indeed, if you’re looking to skip the "splitting a beer in the snow" phase of Finnish travel, the city has developed a knack for high-end hospitality that manages to be opulent without ever losing its eccentric edge.

• Hotel Kämp

Hotel Kämp’s glamorous terrace bar

If Helsinki has a throne room, it’s probably found in Hotel Kämp. A landmark on the gorgeously romantic city centre Esplanadi since 1887, it’s the kind of place that feels like it’s holding a secret and yet gleefully doesn’t mind revealing its glittery undergarments on the first date.

It is undeniably heavy on the glitz (think marble floors that echo with history, gilded mirrors and silk throws that make you want to cancel your afternoon plans), but what saves it from being a museum piece is the clever infusion of contemporary Finnish graphic art and a bar that, come summer, spills onto the pavement with an elegant nonchalance that’s hard to resist. 

• Klaus K

Further into the whimsical heart of the city lies Klaus K, a hotel that takes its cues from the Kalevala, Finland’s 19th-century epic poem. It’s a wonderfully Finnish concept: why book a standard double room when you can book a room categorised by a particular emotional ambience? Depending on your mood, you can opt for Passion, Desire, Envy or Mystical, and I’ve made it something of a personal mission to eventually check out all four. 

The Sky suites offer a more literal elevation, featuring egg-shaped beds and private balconies, but the real showstopper is the Art Suite, a space covered in the vivid, larger-than-life cartoons of Katja Tukiainen. It’s very, very Helsinki, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

• Home Hotel Jugend

A striking hunk of Finnish architecture

Nestled in the Design District, Home Hotel Jugend (formerly GLO Hotel Art) is found inside a century-old castle that looks like it was plucked from the kind of slightly disturbing fairytale that this part of the world tells so well. It’s a striking bit of architectural theatre, but once you step inside, the medieval vibes give way to – of course –  the sharpest slices of Scandi modernism. The rooms are a masterclass in floating aesthetics; there are beds that hover above polished high-gloss floors and luxe faux fur throws everywhere, and it achieves what so many hotels fail to muster: a real sense of adventure coupled with brisk, Nordic practicality. 

• Hotel Indigo

For those who want to be immersed in the creative pulse of the city, Hotel Indigo on Boulevard is a playful introduction to what Helsinki has to offer. The lobby acts as a curated showcase for local designers, while the rooms are decorated with plentiful artworks and artefacts. It’s boutique yet thoughtful, and features the kind of spa-style bathrooms that actually make you want to visit in the thick of winter, just to feel that cocooning, blissful atmosphere turned up to eleven. 

The Culinary North

My love affair with Helsinki’s food scene is another defining aspect of my life. I remember fondly the first time I wandered through the market hall, stopping to buy a cup of tiny breaded sprats, dark rye bread topped with unctuous slabs of cured butterfish, and the omni-present Karelian pastries topped with mashed potato or rice pudding (they’re a hell of a lot nicer than they sound, I promise you). It led to me opening my own Finnish-inspired restaurant in Bristol, sadly torpedoed by a certain pandemic, but a whole lot of fun regardless. 

Here’s where to eat and drink in Helsinki, before I get lost too far in a web of misty-eyed memories. 

Honest, refined Finnish cookery at Vinkkeli

• Vinkkeli

Three of Helsinki’s most passionate restaurateurs are behind Vinkkeli. All dark wood and starched linen, the space is dedicated to seasonal and local fare – which is very much the standard of excellence across the city and region as a whole. You might find Baltic herring with something akin to tartar sauce followed by poached perch with spinach, and the wine list is excellent, featuring unusual and natural-leaning bottles that provide the perfect accompaniment to a long, slow dinner.

• Karl Fazer Café

Founded in 1891, Karl Fazer Café is arguably where any solid day of Helsinki exploration should begin. The striking Art Deco façade gives way to a cavernous dining room where you can fortify yourself with freshly baked breads and world-class chocolates; it’s a piece of living history that smells better than almost anywhere else in the city (although it has some major competition). 

• Kuurna

The intimate Kuurna offers space for just twenty diners and changes its menu every fortnight. If that’s not a pair of massive green flags for a contemporary restaurant in a European capital, I don’t know what is. Kuurna offers creative and contemporary cooking that celebrates local ingredients with zero pretension: think cold smoked fish atop malt bread, hunks of peppered steak and flourishes of wild flavour from additions like nettle gremolata. It’s a few steps from the waterfront and near the Uspenski Cathedral, and a great choice for a romantic evening elevated by truly spectacular flavours. 

• Johan & Nyström

No word of a lie: this beautiful café is the first place I ever tried ‘proper’ coffee, a couple of years before artisanal flat whites and single-origin roasts really started to take hold on the British high street. I remember it vividly; I ordered an espresso, couldn’t quite believe what I was tasting, and then hung around for most of the day getting progressively jitterier on all the caffeine I was ingesting.

Helsinki takes its caffeine very seriously (the Finns drink more coffee per capita than any other nation on Earth) and at the Helsinki branch of Johan & Nyström, the baristas treat coffee like a high-stakes science. The café’s various stations highlight different brewing methods, from aeropress to siphon and pour-over, and you can pair your sustainably sourced cup with a ham-and-pickle sandwich or bircher muesli. It’s the perfect early-morning haunt for the discerning palate.

• Trillby & Chadwick Detective Agency

An immersive realm of fun and flavour awaits

If you don’t find this speakeasy right away, don’t take it personally. There’s no sign, just a nondescript door on Katariinankatu Street that leads to a telephone booth. Place a call, and the bartenders will usher you into a dimly lit, jazz-filled sanctuary. The drinks menu is not for the faint-hearted and each cocktail gets a full-page biography, but it’s the kind of hidden gem that Helsinki does brilliantly and with real panache and style. 

• The Harbour

Not a restaurant, but simply a stretch of stalls along the waterfront near the market hall. It’s where you’ll find street food, Helsinki-style, and some of the tastiest affordable options for a light lunch.

My personal favourite is the makeshift tent cooking huge slabs of achingly fresh salmon on a massive sizzling planchette, unfussily served with a heap of veggies and a squirt of sweet mustard. I’m not sure the food stall even has a name, but you’ll smell it before you see it and I’d urge you to stop by and enjoy a hearty lunch staring out across the Baltic. That’s my idea of true luxury, right there. 

Finnish Finesse: Shopping and Design

The Nordic region is known for many things, and sleek design – whether kitchenware, fashion, furnishings and more – is central to its identity. Helsinki, being so very walkable and easy to navigate, is a fabulous place for retail therapy. 

Helsinki Old Market Hall — a slab of living history that comes with exceptional sandwiches

• The Design District

The ever-present spots and stripes of Marimekko

Helsinki holds its own among the heavy hitters of Scandinavia’s Nordic design belt. The Design District is a stunning showcase of Finnish finesse, encompassing 25 streets and over 220 designers. Among the highlights are Lokal, a homewares haven-meets-art gallery, and the iconic Marimekko, known for its iconic and addictively bold patterns that appear on everything from umbrellas to handbags.

• Old Market Hall

The waterside Old Market Hall has served customers since 1889, but a recent makeover has kept it remarkably fresh.

Stalls here sell everything from smoked meats to spices, regional pastries (it’s the best place to sample karjalanpiirakka, the aforementioned mashed potato or rice porridge in a thin rye crust) or a korvapuusti (cinnamon bun) while you watch the ships in the harbour. The open sandwiches with cured salmon or other denizens of the deep are also not to be missed. 

• Minna Parikka and Arabia Museo

For the fashion-forward, the Minna Parikka boutique is a must and not least for her signature "rabbit-ear" trainers. Meanwhile, the legendary ceramics company Arabia has its own district: an upmarket design mall that includes the Arabia Museo, telling the brand’s history through a century and a half of porcelain and clay. Honestly, it’s the kind of place you could spend a few hours and vicariously splash out on a lot of money, and a great insight into a truly dynamic design scene still flexing its muscles with well-deserved confidence. 

Finnish design, finessed and refined at Arabia Museo

Explore and Contemplate

Every European capital has its own unique identity, but I’d argue that Helsinki’s – once you scratch beneath the surface a little – has an identity that’s just that little bit more unique than its neighbours’. It veers from the downright bizarre (there’s a giant pink sculpture of a urinating alien near the port that still haunts my dreams) to the utterly dreamy, and some of your best experiences in the city will likely come from those unexpected discoveries you’ll uncover simply by pounding the pavement.

Here are a couple of unmissable spots to seek out:

• Kamppi Chapel of Silence

Located in the busy Narinkka Square, this chapel offers an unexpected respite from the city's hum. It’s magnificent: with its curved wooden façade and warm interior made from thick oiled alder planks, it’s an ecumenical masterstroke of architecture and flashes of the divine. It’s a place to simply be for a moment, letting the soft, filtered light calm your journey through the capital.

Reverence, silence and architectural prowess

• Design Museum

Housed in a stunning Gustaf Nyström building, this museum showcases a dizzying collection of objects and drawings. The museum is responsible for documenting the DNA of Finnish design, and its archives are an essential stop for anyone wanting to understand the "Utopia Now" manifesto behind the Finnish aesthetic.

• Suomenlinna

The windswept beauty of Suomenlinna

The Finns are a people deeply comfortable with silence and solitude, which is perhaps why one of the capital’s key tourist attractions is a 17th century fortress accessible only by a 20-minute boat ride from the harbour. 

Suomenlinna is both beautiful and beautifully odd – there are historic buildings on the island, but they’re not the main attraction. Rather, locals and visitors alike head there to uncover the wild and jagged edges of the outcrop, hidden beaches and vantage points from which to watch the ever-changing waters. It’s a truly special place across all seasons, and one no visit to Helsinki is complete without. 

Helsinki remains a city of quiet shifts and sudden brilliance. Whether you’re there for the winter bite or the endless summer sun, there’s a good chance you’ll do exactly what I did and fall head over heels in love. Just, you know, check the weather forecast before you go and dress appropriately. 

Plan your trip to Helsinki here.