Summer fun in the city

Summertime in Helsinki is jam-packed with events and destinations which don’t require a hefty pocketbook.

HSS Nuuksio-53

However cliché the statement may be, summer is when Helsinki – and all of Finland – comes to life. The summer is short but full of a dizzying array of events and activities.

We have collected a few tips for things to do and see in Helsinki and its environs in the summer either free of charge or for a small admission fee. Feel free to share your own tips in the comments!

Bustling Helsinki Day

Helsinki Day is on Sunday, 12 June. The day means that the city will be full of free events from morning until night, and there really is something for everyone! Early risers can head to the Viikki Research Farm to watch the cows being milked. Walking and paddling tours of Helsinki will be available. The stage on Esplanadi will be hopping all day with live music and children’s performances. See the full programme and pick out your favourites.

To admire a parade of wooden ships and a floating exhibition, head to Helsinki’s shores and Suomenlinna on Saturday, 18 June. The MeriViapori 2016 event starts at the Halkolaituri pier on Pohjoisranta, goes around the Market Square and via Merisatama, ending at the guest harbour on Suomenlinna, where the public can properly view the boats.

Traditionally, Helsinki is empty on Midsummer. If you can’t make your way to the countryside along with most city-dwellers, you can get into the right mood at the Midsummer bonfires on Seurasaari island. And the deserted city itself is quite the experience!

Feel the thrill of the game at Helsinki Cup, the international youth football tournament, which last year involved more than 1,200 youth teams from all around the world. The tournament will be played 11–16 July.

Fancy a smoke sauna?

Helsinki has 26 public beaches, and you can find even more if you head out of the city. If you’d rather not dip into the sea, there are a number of outdoor pools available, the newest of which opened in Leppävaara, Espoo, this spring.

The public pools also have saunas. For an exotic experience, visit Kuusijärvi lake in Vantaa, which boasts a public smoke sauna.

Nature nearby

If a forest experience is your thing, head to Espoo’s Nuuksio National Park. Nuuksio offers a full range of marked trails for hikers, from a two-kilometre trail to the full 110-kilometre hike which goes around the whole park. Nuuksio also has bike and horse riding trails. The Finnish Nature Centre Haltia, which has all of Finnish nature under one roof, is also located in Nuuksio.
Nuuksio is approximately 30 kilometres from central Helsinki. Public transportation can take you there in approximately one hour. The Haltia website has more detailed instructions for both drivers and people taking public transportation.

Helsinki is surrounded by a chain of islands which are perfect for a sunny summer visit. Previously a military zone, Vallisaari island has just been opened to the public. Ferries run frequently to the islands of Vallisaari, Suomenlinna, Lonna, Pihlajasaari and Uunisaari. More information on these islands and the ways to get to them are available on the Visit Helsinki page.

Lunch on the playground!

Finnish school children get nearly ten weeks of summer holiday. The lunch provided at Helsinki’s playgrounds (link in Finnish) helps parents cope with the long school break. All children under the age of 16 are entitled to a free soup or casserole lunch until the end of July at most playgrounds. Lunch is served at noon and the children must bring their own utensils.

The playgrounds also provide supervised activities for school children throughout the summer. Playgrounds offer many other fun things for children, for example, the Linnunrata playground (link in Finnish) in Suutarila, in northern Helsinki, houses sheep, chickens and a rabbit through the summer.

Two playgrounds in Espoo have an Angry Birds theme. The Oittaa Angry Birds park is by a lake, so kids can jump in the water after visiting the playground. Just like all other public playgrounds, the Angry Birds parks are free of charge.The playgrounds in Espoo do not however serve lunch.

The Skidit Festari is a children’s festival in the Kallio district of central Helsinki, held on 30 July. The programme features music, circus, theatre, food and much more for children and their families. Tickets for the festival are available through Tiketti.

This May, the Children’s Town exhibit reopened at the Helsinki City Museum in Sederholmin talo house on the Senate Square after a long renovation. The museum invites children of all ages and their families to experience the history of Helsinki first-hand. In the Children’s Town, children can play in boutiques and workshops from 18th-century Helsinki, sit at a school desk in a 1930s primary school class and visit a grandma’s home from the 1970s – all free of charge.

Gardens at their peak

During the summer, don’t forget the University’s own museums, the University of Helsinki Museum (closed 20 June-29 July), the Observatory on Tähtitorninmäki hill and the Natural History Museum.

The summer sees the University’s gardens at their peak. Visit the Kaisaniemi Botanic Garden or the Kumpula Botanic Garden to see them in all their splendour.

More information about events and sights in Helsinki and the Greater Helsinki Area:

Visit Helsinki

Visit Espoo

Text: Tiina Palomäki / FLAMMA

Translation: University of Helsinki Language Services