A rainy day in Helsinki taught me the right way to visit Finland. Here’s what to do in port — plus a one-week Finland itinerary worth extending your trip for.
August is winding down and in early September, and multiple Hidden Gem Travel clients are off to Italy and France. In fact, I’ll be in both countries in December attending two incredible travel industry conferences meeting hoteliers, tour companies, service providers, and many more. It’s at these conferences that I build the relationships that greatly benefit my clients making it time very well spent. More on this to come!
Onto the topic of this newsletter which is the nordic country of Finland. While it was a rainy day when I was in the capital city Helsinki last month, I had a memorable day leaving me wanting to explore more.
What did I do to dry off? I had lunch in the historic market hall at 11:30 in the morning, which was delicious including traditional salmon soup, and open-faced, shrimp sandwiches and local draft beer. And of course sweet treats with a Finnish coffee later.
Helsinki made me realize Finland deserves a trip of its own. It’s unique in many ways and delightful! Read on for the scoop…
Sauna Is Not a Spa Treatment… it’s the Culture
This is the thing to understand about Finland: sauna isn’t just an amenity. Helsinki has undergone a genuine seaside sauna renaissance over the last decade, which means visitors can now experience it properly without knowing a Finn with a lakeside cabin. Finnish sauna culture was added to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2020.
Löyly, on Helsinki’s southern waterfront, is an architectural showpiece — a sculptural wooden building with three wood-heated saunas, including a traditional smoke sauna, plus a restaurant, terrace and direct access to the Baltic Sea for a cold dip. TIME named it one of its World’s Greatest Places in 2018. The public saunas are mixed-gender, so swimsuits are required (as opposed to the Finnish tradition of wearing nothing at all).
The alternative is Allas Pool, right next to Market Square in Helsinki’s central harbor — an outdoor complex with five saunas, a heated swimming pool kept at about 27°C year-round, and a seawater pool for a more bracing swim.
One popular way to experience it is to alternate the heat of the sauna with a cold swim or plunge, then repeat. Finns call the steam — and the sensation created when water is thrown over the hot sauna stones — löyly. “Steam” is the closest English translation, but it doesn’t quite capture the full meaning.
💎 Hidden Gem Tip: Do the sauna even if the weather is beautiful. After several days of sightseeing and walking, it’s an exceptionally Finnish way to slow down and reset.
Get the Salmon Soup
Finnish food is quietly excellent, and a traditional dish is creamy salmon soup — lohikeitto — which is exactly the right thing on a cold, wet Nordic day. Have it with a local draft beer. Have shrimp sandwiches too, open-faced which is popular across Scandinavia.
I enjoyed this very lunch at the Old Market Hall (circa 1889) which is next to the Market Square along the South Harbour. It’s the oldest indoor food market in Finland.
After lunch, the Design District is genuinely worth wandering — a walkable cluster of shops, galleries, studios and museums in a city closely associated with Finnish design icons including Alvar and Aino Aalto, Artek, Iittala and Marimekko.
As you stroll, you’ll notice all of the beautiful flowers everywhere. Stop for a moment to enjoy them.
Finland Is Different From Its Scandinavian Neighbors
Finland is a Nordic country, but it is generally distinguished from Scandinavia, which traditionally refers to Denmark, Norway and Sweden. Finnish also belongs to a completely different language family from Swedish, Danish and Norwegian: Finnish is a Uralic language, while the Scandinavian languages are North Germanic. One important nuance: Swedish is also an official language of Finland, and roughly 5% of Finns speak it as their native language.
A cruise day gives you a taste. A week gives you the country. If Helsinki grabs you the way it grabbed me, here’s the trip I’d customize for you:
Days 1–3: Helsinki and the archipelago. Spend two full days exploring Helsinki — the Design District, Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral, Temppeliaukio Church, a public sauna and an island excursion such as Suomenlinna. On your third day, make the easy trip to Porvoo which is Finland’s second-oldest town, about an hour away, with cobbled streets and rows of red wooden storage barns along the river.
Day 4: Turku and the archipelago coast. Finland’s historical capital, about two hours from Helsinki by train, built along the Aura River. Turku Castle dates to the 1200s. From here the Turku archipelago opens up — thousands of islands, and an archipelago route that’s one of the most scenic drives in Northern Europe. Note that the full 250-kilometer Archipelago Trail deserves several days of its own, so save that for a longer summer trip.
Days 5–7: The Lakeland or Lapland. This is the fork in the road. Finland’s Lakeland is the summer answer: forests, thousands of lakes, and the lakeside cabin-and-sauna culture that is the actual Finnish soul.
While beautiful in summer, Lapland is the winter answer: the Arctic Circle, the Northern Lights, husky sledding, and Rovaniemi.
💎 Hidden Gem Tip: Helsinki and Tallinn, Estonia (last week’s newsletter topic) are only about two hours apart by ferry across the Gulf of Finland. If you’re extending in either direction, pairing the two capitals is one of the easiest and most rewarding add-ons in the region.
Ready to Plan?
A cruise day in Helsinki is a wonderful introduction to the country. If Finland is calling — the Lakeland in summer, Lapland in winter, or simply a proper stay in Helsinki — I’d love to design it for you.
To travel is to live… here’s to 2026 being an unforgettable and amazing year for new travel adventures! Let’s go…
Frequently Asked Questions
What should you do in Helsinki on a cruise day? A sauna is the single most distinctively Finnish thing available to you, and Löyly and Allas Sea Pool are both centrally accessible. Beyond that: the harbor market square, Senate Square and Helsinki Cathedral, the Design District, and a bowl of salmon soup. The city center is compact, walkable and accessible from the port area.
Where can visitors experience a Finnish sauna in Helsinki? Löyly, on the southern waterfront, has a traditional smoke sauna and a wood-burning sauna with direct sea access, and is mixed-gender with bathing suits required. Allas Sea Pool, next to Market Square, has multiple saunas and pools including a seawater pool. Both are open to visitors; advance booking is recommended at Löyly.
Is Finland part of Scandinavia? Finland is a Nordic country, but it’s culturally and linguistically distinct from Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. Finnish is not related to the Scandinavian languages and is mutually unintelligible with them. This difference is one of the things that makes Finland so interesting to visit.
How many days do you need in Finland? Two to three days covers Helsinki and its archipelago well. A full week lets you add Turku and the archipelago coast plus either the Lakeland in summer or Lapland for Northern Lights and Arctic experiences in winter.
What is Finnish salmon soup? Lohikeitto — a creamy soup of salmon, potatoes, leek, and dill. It’s a Finnish staple and it’s exactly right on a cold or rainy day. Try it with local draft beer.
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