Helsinki attractions

Helsinki’s Ateneum Art Museum (Konstmuseet Ateneum), built in 1887, showcases Finnish paintings and sculptures from the 18th century to the 1950s. There’s also a small collection of 19th- and early 20th-century international art, including a copy of Auguste Rodin’s The Thinker and paintings by Van Gogh, Gauguin, and Cézanne.

Located on Korkeasaari island, Helsinki Zoo is home to 150 animal species and more than 1,000 species of plant. Opened in 1889, the zoo is geographically divided into three sections that house bears, tigers, and lions. Today, the zoo is best known for its conservation work, particularly with endangered snow leopards.

Just as its name suggests, the Helsinki City Museum is solely focused on the city of Helsinki. The museum, located in the oldest part of the city, explores the city’s past and present through the daily lives of Helsinki residents and features eclectic displays that include everything from plastic bags to candy wrappers.

With marine life from regions as diverse as the tropics and the Baltic Sea, an ocean tunnel where sharks swim above you, and hands-on experiences including a lab and a discovery pool, SEA LIFE® Helsinki delivers all the educational fun you’d expect from a SEA LIFE aquarium. Feedings let you watch critters from archerfish to piranhas, sharks, and rays enjoying a meal.

Admire Helsinki from above without leaving the ground at the Flying Cinema Tour Of Helsinki—a state-of-the-art virtual cinema experience that offers birds-eye views of all the city’s landmarks. You’ll soar over the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress and hover over Helsinki Rock Church, all from the comfort of your moving seat.

Famous for its 1950s wooden roller coaster—the Vuoristorata— Finland’s oldest amusement park still packs a punch today. Popular with adults and children alike, Linnanmäki Amusement Park has over 40 rides, from gravity-defying roller coasters to nostalgic carnival rides, along with games arcades and a concert stage.

Travel back a few hundred years at Seurasaari Island, an open-air museum outside the center of Helsinki. Here you'll see houses, manors, and outbuildings from rural Finland in the 18th and 19th centuries, and learn about crafts such as spinning, embroidery, and troll-making from guides dressed in traditional costumes.

Helsinki City Hall (Kaupungintalo) was designed as a hotel by German architect Carl Ludvig Engel in 1833. Today, modern glass structures have replaced many of the classical interiors, but the imperial blue-and-white facade remains, making the building a highlight of city tours. The city hall is a working administrative center, but occasionally hosts various events and exhibitions.

The state-owned Design Museum—Designmuseo in Finnish—is devoted to Finnish design from the mid-19th century onwards. Located in the heart of the Helsinki Design District near Esplanadi Park, the museum hosts visiting exhibits and permanent collections presenting the history of Finnish applied art and design.

The National Library of Finland is a cultural institution, as well as an architectural highlight of Helsinki. Established in 1640, it’s known for being one of Finland’s largest and oldest scholarly libraries, where visitors can explore rare manuscripts, maps, and a vast collection of over three million books. It also boasts impressive interiors, with its ceiling murals, marble pillars, and grand reading halls.

The Helsinki Art Museum, HAM for short, is home to the art collection of Helsinki and its residents. Its collection comprises approximately 10,000 pieces of mostly Finnish art from the 20th and 21st centuries. Permanent and temporary exhibitions are housed at the museum’s Tennis Palace complex in Kamppi.

Helsinki Central Library Oodi—also known as Oodi—is a modern architectural gem in the heart of the city. Visitors flock here not only to explore its extensive collection of books, but also to take photos of its incredible architecture, which includes a wooden facade and double helix staircase. The building also has a café, event spaces, and even a library robot to transport books.

Set in the once home of Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim—the commander-in-chief of Finland’s defense forces during World War II, and the country’s president from 1944 to 1946—this museum looks back at the life of the well-known leader. Exhibits include preserved rooms and artifacts such as military medals, photographs, and antiques.

Housed in a 19th-century building, the Museum of Finnish Architecture (Arkkitehtuurimuseo has less of a cutting-edge feel than you’d expect in Helsinki’s Design District. But the exhibits are fascinating, whether covering Finnish architecture’s journey to its heyday in the 1970s or exploring the work of modernist icons such as Alvar Aalto.

Built in the early 1930s, Submarine Vesikko was a prototype for Germany’s Type II U-boats, which were later used by the German Navy in World War II. In 1935, Vesikko was bought by Finland and was later used to defend Finland from the Soviets in the 1939 Winter War. It now functions as a museum, with visitors able to board and explore.

Everything old was once new, and the Helsinki Museum of Technology (Tekniikan Museo) tells the story of how Finns and technology shape each other over time—past, present, and future. Items from its 18,000-strong collection are displayed as long-running themed exhibitions in a riverside industrial building, with a fun interactive zone for kids.

The oldest photography museum in Europe, the Finnish Museum of Photography has focused on supporting the culture and specialized art of photography in Finland since its opening in 1969. Its work is supported by the City of Helsinki and the Finnish Ministry of Education, and the museum’s collection holds roughly 2.5 million pictures.

Part of the Suomenlinna Fortress UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Military Museum’s Manege is a former horse training school that's now a military museum. Displays and mockups cover the four wars Finland has fought since gaining independence from Russia. Head to the Artillery Manege next door to learn about the Finnish Defence Forces after WWII.

Helsinki’s Urho Kekkonen Museum Tamminiemi was the home of three Finnish presidents, including President Urho Kekkonen for 25 years. Today, the former residence is a museum dedicated to Finnish political history, and explores the lives of the presidents who lived here. You can take guided tours and see temporary exhibits.

One of six museums in Helsinki’s Suomenlinna Fortress, the Ehrensvärd Museum occupies the Commander’s House in the fort’s main bastion. It's named after Augustin Ehrensvärd, a Swedish admiral who founded the fortress, and it recreates an 18th-century upper-class home, with period dress, furniture, portraits, weapons, and model ships.

One of Finland’s quirkier museums, the Hotel and Restaurant Museum features exactly what you’d think: Museum displays cover the arrival of restaurants in Finland, the evolution of Finnish food, and the country’s complicated relationship with alcohol, which includes a long period of Prohibition in the 1920s. More modern elements include an interactive model kitchen, piped scents, film screenings, and workshops.

Once just a small fishing port, Helsinki is now the capital of Finland. Today, the Port of Helsinki welcomes more than 300 cruise ships carrying nearly half a million passengers annually and serves as a departure point for ferries to Tallinn, Estonia; Stockholm, Sweden; and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Found within the island fortress of Suomenlinna in Helsinki, the Military Museum of Helsinki is an entry point for travelers into Finland’s military history. The museum, also known in Finnish as Sotamuseo, is the central museum of the Finnish Defence Forces, and its collection details the country’s eventful history of war and weaponry.

Kamppi Chapel, or the Chapel of Silence, provides a serene escape in Helsinki's busy city center. Its minimalist and modern curved wooden design is a big draw for architecture enthusiasts. Open to all, regardless of faith, the Lutheran chapel hosts no traditional religious ceremonies like Sunday services or weddings. Instead, it offers a peaceful haven for anyone seeking tranquility when exploring the city.

Helsinki’s Uspenski Cathedral is considered the largest Orthodox church in Western Europe and is the city’s most important vestige of Russian influence on Finland’s culture and architecture. Built in the 19th century, the church impresses with its intricate brick exteriors, soaring spires, and a clutch of precious icons, including the Kozelshchyna icon of the Mother of God—stolen in 2010 but recovered a year later.

Esplanadi Park—known by locals as Espa—is the vibrant green heart of Helsinki. This pretty outdoor space links the city center to the market square, making it a favorite gathering place and meeting spot for locals. Perfect for picnics, romantic strolls, or catching live concerts, it offers year-round charm, providing a serene escape from the city's hustle and bustle.

Hakaniemi Market Hall has been a beloved foodie hub for locals since 1914. This two-story space showcases an enticing variety of local produce, baked goods, fish, and meat. It also sells artisanal gifts, textiles, jewelry, and flowers. Along with shopping, locals come here to eat, as there are cafés and restaurants on-site that make perfect breakfast and lunch stops.

In a pastel-colored wooden villa on Iso Mustasaari, part of Helsinki’s Suomenlinna island group, the Suomenlinna Toy Museum (Suomenlinnan Lelumuseo is Instagram heaven. Vintage toys, including a myriad of teddy bears, deck the shelves; the café dishes up colorful cakes, ice cream, and candy; and the gift shop sells bears, cards, and more.

Reopened beneath Lasipalatsi Plaza in 2018, Amos Rex is one of Helsinki’s most notable art museums. Specializing in Finnish art from the 20th and 21st century, the museum is renowned for its boundary-pushing contemporary art and unique architecture, which features futuristic dome-like portals.

The Iittala & Arabia Design Centre showcases two top Finnish design brands, Arabia, known for ceramics and particularly its Moomin range, and Iittala, famed for its timeless Nordic homewares. The center comprises a brand museum, a gallery with regularly changing exhibitions, and a store. Both brands, which date back to the 19th century, are now owned by the same group, Fiskars.