Helsinki

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Helsinki is the capital and biggest city of Finland, situated on the coast of the Baltic Sea in the southern part of the country. A little over one million people live in the metropolitan Helsinki region and as of January 2010 about 1880 of these are registered CouchSurfing members.

Helsinki in CouchSurfing

The Helsinki group

There are about 2200 members in the group, some of them from the city of Helsinki and it's surroundings and some of them people who've visited or who are planning to visit Helsinki. Join to meet the people of Helsinki and take part in the events and activities arranged there.

CS Events in Helsinki

Everybody is welcome to the Helsinki CS weekly meetings at Cafe Talo on Thursday nights! The address is Hämeentie 2, it's next to Hakaniemi metro station and opposite the Hakaniemi market hall, a place worth visiting if you haven't been there yet. There are also lots of irregular meetings with different themes ranging from ice skating to sauna and galleries to gaming. Check out the Events listing and the Helsinki group for more information.

Your Local CS Ambassadors

If you have any questions that are not answered in the Helsinki group, nor this wiki page for Helsinki, you may want to ask the nearest CS ambassador. Feel free to contact any one of the Helsinki city ambassadors Janna, Krista, Gali, Linda, or Daniel if you need help. There are also several travelling nomadic ambassadors more or less based in Helsinki, they should also be able to help you even though they might not be quite as familiar with the city.

Helsinki Couch Requests

The Helsinki-Couch Request group is a group for guests who are looking for a last minute couch and for hosts in Helsinki who don't mind helping people at short notice. Keep in mind that this group is a last minute option. If you are looking for a couch you should first try using the "CouchSearch".

Helsinki CS FAQ

For Frequently Asked Questions and also some answers see Helsinki_CS_FAQ.

Getting to Helsinki

The Helsinki-Vantaa airport (IATA code HEL) has good direct connections with major airlines to most of Europe, several major Asian cities and several locations in North America. The airport is located 20 km north of the city centre, from the airport you can take the local bus 615 to the city centre for 4 €.

Several budget airlines fly to Helsinki: AirBaltic connects Helsinki with the Baltic countries and eastern Europe, Air Berlin with Germany and central Europe, Easyjet flies to Helsinki from London Gatwick and Blue1 has pretty reasonable prices from most of Europe to Helsinki. Ryanair gets you to Tampere, only two hours from Helsinki by train or bus.

From Stockholm in Sweden you can take an overnight ferry (resembling a shopping mall, complete with nightclubs and cinemas) into Helsinki. There are two operators to choose from, Tallink Silja and Viking Line, the differences between these two are minor.

From Tallinn in Estonia there are some 10-15 ferries to Helsinki every day, ranging from fast catamarans that do the trip in 1.5 hours to slower ferries (3 h, 15 €) with cabins, restaurants and (liquor) shops.

From St. Petersburg in Russia the most popular way of travelling to Helsinki is by train (about 6 hours one way) but busses are another option if you want to save a little money.

Other towns in Finland have regular connections to Helsinki by either train or bus.

Getting around

Public transport: anywhere you need to go in the metropolitan Helsinki region (including Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen), punch in your destinations into Journey Planner. The tourist tickets (valid for anywhere between 1 and 7 days) are good value for money if you're planning on using public transport more than twice a day, public transport includes all busses, trains, trams, metro and even a ferry to the Suomenlinna fortress island.

Free city bikes are available during summer months (May to September) with a 2€ coin deposit you get back when you return the bike. Pickup spots in many areas around downtown, including the main Railway Station. Apart from some downtown areas Helsinki is an extremely bike-friendly city.

If you're driving a car the traffic in Helsinki isn't bad at all, just be wary of the one-way roads in the old and central parts of town. After 6 pm you might be able to find free roadside parking near the city centre, in Kamppi or Kruununhaka. Ask your CS host about parking where they live.

Tips

Eating
- Unicafe (university student cafeteria) is your best bet for a cost-effective and healthy meal. For 6 € you get a full meal with several options, including vegetarian. Two drinks (water, milk or juice), salad and bread are included in that price. Finnish students eat for 2.50 € (for comparison, one cup of coffee with a bun will set you back about the same amount).
- Kaisaniemi metro station has several plain-and-unatmospheric-but-inexpensive cafes and a food court with a couple of 7.90 € buffet options.

Internet
- Free wifi is available at several cafés and bars in downtown Helsinki: Cafe Java and Cafe Kiasma between the railway station and the main bus station, most of the Robert's Coffee cafes and McDonald's' around town, Cafe Talo where the weekly meeting are held. The Esplanadi park and some public transport trams and busses also have free wifi.
- Public libraries have public-use computers (advance reservation recommended), the most central library is just opposite the main Railway Station in the post office building (Kirjasto 10). Computer facilities at public libraries, free wifi with your own gear

GSM: you can get a prepaid SIM card from any R-Kioski, very useful (if you have an unlocked phone, that is) as there are really no public telephone booths left in the country and practically every CS host would carry a mobile (and would appreciate you having one, as Finns tend to get fretted up over any delays).

If you are used to talking to people in public places (markets, metros, trains, streets) and you are used to getting a nice response, you might not get the same response in Finland. Many people in Finland are reserved in public, they do not talk to strangers without a reason and will feel a little awkward and insecure in these situations. It's nothing personal. However people are very helpful if you ask them for directions or help: where is this place? or, where can I find a cool place to hang out?

Women usually pay for their own drinks and insist on paying their own share even if a man offers to pay for everything.

Easy couches

If Helsinki seems all booked up, try the neighbouring cities of Espoo, Kauniainen (tiny city of its own inside Espoo) and Vantaa, all part of metropolitan Helsinki. Connections within the Helsinki metropolitan area are generally good and you can get to the centre within one hour from anywhere in this area, with some places in Espoo (Otaniemi, Tapiola, Leppävaara) actually a lot closer to the Helsinki city centre than further away parts of Helsinki proper.

Boroughs and districts

Kallio

Kallio is the place with most happy hours and cheapest beers around the downtown area. Your best bet for 2€ beer (downtown will set you back at least 4-5€) and 5€ pizza.
Cafe Taikalamppu: atmospheric cafe, popular amongst artsy high-school students and other bohemians in the area.
Kallio Church: landmark of the area, and a "sight" to see if you're into churches.
Pasifico: a little bit more expensive than bars in Kallio usually, reggae, soul etc.

Punavuori

Close to the centre of town, with plenty of trendy people, bars, happenings, and the Design District.
9bar: nice small cafe/bar, tasty food (pastas & woks from 8€, 12 cl wine from 4€).
Iso Roobertinkatu: UFF (for cheap second-hand shopping), Stupido (record store), DTM (a hetero-friendly gay club), Rosegarden (electronic music), Stage (rock & heavy etc), Swengi (karaoke bar, surprisingly popular with young people), Beatroot (cafe/bar).

Kaivopuisto

Park, seaviews & foreign embassies, with the most expensive apartments in the country.
Free summer concerts featuring local acts as well as surprise foreign guests are very popular.

Suomenlinna

The fortress island all tourists are expected to visit, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Very popular picnic spot for the locals in the summer months.
About a thousand inhabitants, some museums, a naval academy, parks, a tiny beach.

Viikki

University campus area, farms, bird watching, nature walks.

Tapiola

In Espoo but only 10-15 minutes by bus from the centre of Helsinki.
Interesting primarily from an architectural perspective, it was designed as a garden city in the 1960s.

In Case Of Emergency

Police stations

If you are unlucky enough to land yourself in trouble or for whatever the reason you need to contact a local police station, there's a list of all Police stations serving the Helsinki Area. Details, addresses and contact numbers can be found at: Police. Of course if out of hours your personal safety is at risk do not hesitate to call 112.

Hospitals

Again, should you need to get yourself medical attention, here is a list of hospitals in Helsinki with 24/7 phone health service number.

Embassies & Consulates

All foreign embassies in Finland are located in Helsinki. You can find the list here.

Hostels and Hotels

Always make sure you are aware of ways to get to your host's home, but also out of it as well, should you need to. Also, if you find yourself without a host, there are several hotels and hostels in town. You can find a list of hostels in town here. Hotel bookings can be made, for example, here.

Immigration Advice

If you have trouble with immigrations, the Finnish Immigration Service will give you information and advice.