Helsinki walking tour with a city planner
Recommended by 99% of travelers
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Helsinki, Finland
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Group discounts
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Get a fresh perspective on Helsinki on this quirky small-group tour, led by a city planner. Discover bizarre traditions, such as picnicking on graves, famous Finns, such as architect Alvar Aalto, and curios, such as a church built inside a giant granite rock, a statue that seagulls hate, and a 19th-century Bohemian hangout. Leave with an understanding of the city that you won’t get from guidebooks or everyday organized tours.
- Off-the-path walking tour of downtown Helsinki, led by a city planner
- Packed with cultural insights, from food to history, from religion to soccer
- Numbers are capped at just eight travelers, for more guide interaction
- Great choice for visitors who’ve already seen the big-ticket sights
What's Included
- Local guide
- Food and drinks
- Transportation to/from attractions
- Gratuities
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Aleksanterinkatu 9, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Meeting point address: Aleksanterinkatu 9B, 00100, Helsinki. The meeting point is the corner of Aleksanterinkatu street and Kluuvikatu street, in front of Aleksanterinkatu no 9B, Nanso Clothing Store (outside). Guide will be waiting for you at this point.
End point
- Asema-aukio 3, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Itinerary
1
Senate Square
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
2
Helsinki Cathedral
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Not Included
3
Presidential Palace
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
4
Uspenski Cathedral
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
5
Old Market Hall
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
6
Esplanadi Park
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
7
Johan Ludvig Runeberg Statue
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
8
Swedish Theater (Svenska Teatern)
5 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
9
Helsinki Central Railway Station
10 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Helsinki Music Centre (Pass By)
10
Central Library Oodi
15 minutes • Admission Ticket Free
Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma (Pass By)
Finlandia Hall (Pass By)
Parliament of Finland (Pass By)
Amos Rex (Pass By)
Mannerheimintie (Pass By)
Ateneum Art Museum (Pass By)
Finnish National Theater (Suomen Kansallisteatteri) (Pass By)
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Reviews
5.0
based on 178 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Michael_C, Jun 2026
Excellent tour guide with delightful presentation on not only the buildings and architecture, but the history and culture of both city and country. It was very well done and a wonderful opening to understanding this place and people.
Maree_M, Nov 2025
Emek was an amazing guide. His knowledge of history, politics, Finland and Helsinki in general was very extensive. He provided a very thorough tour explaining the architecture through the ages and how Helsinki grew. I would thoroughly recommend this tour and Emek as a guide.
JaneAnn_K, Oct 2025
A great history of Finland and Helsinki. Our guide, Emek, was knowledgeable and interesting. Wear comfortable shoes.
Cara_B, Sep 2025
A nice overview of Helsinki history, architecture and current affairs. Emek was personable and knowledgeable.
James_K, Sep 2025
Emek has an encyclopedic knowledge of Helsinki, Finland, and the region in general. Also, a great sense of humor. Emek had narratives to tell but handled every comment and question fully. We enjoyed the tour immensely and recommend unreservedly.
Krish_K, Jun 2025
Guide was very nice and explained the history of Helsinki with great attitude. It’s a great experience.
Lauren_T, Apr 2025
Interesting look into current and past society through major buildings. No major walking issues. Guide very knowledgeable.
Jennifer_B, Aug 2024
Thoroughly enjoyed the tour with Emak, his knowledge of the founding and development of Helsinki and Finland was obvious and he was easy to talk with and he engaged with everyone in the group. I would highly recommend this tour
Megan_C, Aug 2024
We loved this wander through Helsinki learning about its history and seeing some interesting places. Kids 16 & 13 loved it too.
Daniel_G, Jun 2024
Our tour guide was excellent. He was a former lecturer at the university, spoke excellent english, and was extremely knowledgable about every topic we expressed interest in . He could address the history, cultural mores, Finnish language structure, political situation, etc. with equal ease. He was also extremely easy to be with and had a great sense of humor. We had a great tour of the city and came away with a much greater understand of the Finland.
Ekaterina_K, Jun 2024
The entire tour was very educational. Our guide, Emek, was very personable and very knowledgeable and passionate about Helsinki, Finland and Finnish language. We all learned a lot and I would highly recommend this tour.
Semir_K, Jun 2024
The Helsinki city tour with Emek was an eye-opening experience. His extensive knowledge of the city's architecture and insightful commentary on daily Finnish life, including current political issues, added depth to the tour. The leisurely pace allowed us to fully appreciate both historic and modern sites without feeling rushed. I definitely learned new things about Helsinki that I'll carry with me, making it a highly memorable and informative tour.
Martine_G, May 2024
Excellent tour given by Emek. He shared a lot of information about different aspects of Helsinki, from history to culture, language and the finnish way of living. We learned so much on this tour. It was nicely paced and we truly enjoyed the quick visit to the public library. Highly recommend this tour to get a good overview of the city! You will not be desappointed. Thanks again for this amazing tour!
Susan_Z, Apr 2024
Emek was super great - very knowledgeable and friendly. I would recommend this tour over and over again.
Melanie_B, Dec 2023
This tour was a wonderful way to start our visit to Finland. Emek was an entertaining and knowledgeable guide, who tailored the tour to suit our interests - something he could do easily because of his deep understanding of Finnish history and culture, and its impact of the urban design and architecture of Helsinki. It was a real joy - many thanks, Emek.
Tarik_T, Oct 2023
A really enjoyable walking tour of the city by an outstanding guide who was funny, knowledgeable, informative, interesting and very professional. The perfect walking tour for getting acquainted with this lovely little city and a massive thanks to our excellent guide Emek.
Brian_H, Sep 2023
The best city walk we have ever had! Very friendly guide, has all the knowledge about history and the city itself. Highly recommended!
Paul_H, Sep 2023
Walking through Helsinki with Emek Ataman was like a university seminar: Not only a wide range of knowledge on his part, but intelligent and lively discussion of how and where it fits with Helsinki's and Finland's history. Sometimes, guides have a canned routine that's full of information, but doesn't allow for discussion and questions that reflect the audience's background and interests; this was the opposite, and I felt he responded well to my questions and made them part of the narrtive.
Jeaneen_C, Apr 2023
The meeting spot was easy to find. The amount of walking was also easy due to numerous stops to observe and learn as we went along. Emek was very informative and answered all of my many questions. After the tour, I actually shared some of the info from the tour with a local at lunch and they were surprised by all I learned and was able to share. I HIGHLY recommend this tour.
ian_s, Jan 2023
Emek is a great guide. He is a walking encyclopedia. He knows all the answers to any Finnish question you may have. I learnt a lot in a couple of hours. I highly recommend people to take this tour
Mark_M, Oct 2022
Wandering through the streets of Helsinki with a guide who has grown up here and continues to live in Helsinki. Even though at times wondering why (in the middle of winter). Easy paced and informative. For first time visitors to Helsinki, a great way to be introduced.
Craig_B, Jul 2022
Exceptional tour around Helsinki. Emeks knowledge of Finnish history and culture was astounding. His approach was humorous and entertaining. This was one tour that will stay with us for a long time.
Nataliya_D, Mar 2022
The tour was very informative. Our tour guide was friendly and very familiar with the culture and history of Finland.
Mathilde_S, Mar 2022
Emek is an amazing guide with a wealth of knowledge on Finnish culture and architectural history. We learned so much so as to really appreciate the city surroundings. He answered all our questions with thoughtful enthusiasm. Even our reluctant 20 year old son became engaged with the 3 hours tour as Emek adapted his tour to all our mutual interests.
Federico_F, Sep 2021
Great experience! I received insights that only a local can share. I suggest this tour to anyone staying for a short trip like me
Anush_A, Sep 2021
What a great tour! Very relaxing and nice walk through the highlights of the city without any rush. The guide was great and had a lot of knowledge about the Finnish culture and history. Just a pleasure! Highly recommend.
Leslie_V, Aug 2021
What a tour! Emek is so kind and knowledgeable about Helsinki - This is the best tour I took while I was here. I am *that* person that asks 500 questions and Emek answered them all and gave great advice about other places to visit and where I could find a specific book I was looking for (and I did find it!) and how to get back to the train station! Of all the places we went, I loved the Library the best - if Croatia had libraries like that I would never leave - I would just move in!
Thank you Emek for being such a wonderful guide in such a vibrant city and sharing with us all the quirky things as well as the history with us. You made me truly fall in love with Helsinki!
Alastair_M, Jan 2020
Emek was a great tour guide. He was really relaxed and flexible, adapting and reponding to the interests of our small group. He was incredibly knowledgeble and we learned so many interesting facts about local culture and history. We usually take the tip-based free tours but this one is well worth the fee. Really nice guy.
Laura_S, Jun 2019
I had an amazing tour with Emek. He's really knowledgeable about the history of Helsinki and Finnish culture as well as really friendly. It was really an interesting way of kicking off my Finland tour and helped me get an understanding of the layout of the city.
He showed me a lot of the highlights that you'd expect to see, but he spent a lot of time talking about this history, architecture and the significance of the buildings. He also showed me some things that I wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't have pointed them out.
It's definitely worth taking a couple hours to do this tour, even if you're not a big urban planning or architecture fan. You'll learn a lot!
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Attractions in Helsinki, Finland
- Helsinki Swedish Theatre Tours & Tickets
- Helsinki Senate Square (Senaatintori) Tours & Tickets
- Market Square (Kauppatori) Tours & Tickets
- Helsinki Central Station Tours & Tickets
- Design Museum (Designmuseo) Tours & Tickets
- Kamppi Chapel (Chapel of Silence) Tours & Tickets
- Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Kirkko) Tours & Tickets
- Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma Tours & Tickets
- Helsinki Music Centre (Musiikkitalo) Tours & Tickets
- Ateneum Art Museum (Konstmuseet Ateneum) Tours & Tickets
More attractions near Helsinki, Finland
- Suomenlinna Fortress Tours & Tickets
- Sibelius Monument Tours & Tickets
- Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Kirkko) Tours & Tickets
- Helsinki Cathedral (Tuomiokirkko) Tours & Tickets
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- Helsinki Central Library Oodi Tours & Tickets