Helsinki Itinerary: The Perfect 3 Days in Helsinki for First-Timer’s

Don’t spend three days in Helsinki without reading this comprehensive itinerary. In it, you’ll find the details of Helsinki’s top attractions, activities, and dining options to make the most of your limited time in the Finnish capital.

Helsinki is a city of opposites. Modern architecture sits elegantly alongside classic Nordic heritage. The Finnish love of traditional saunas and heavy metal music somehow makes perfect sense. Located along the shores of the Baltic, Finland’s capital is an ultra-aesthetic hub of creativity enveloped in forest and surrounded by the sea. Helsinki is spattered with sleek cafés and world-class museums that will keep you busy and caffeinated for three days, and I’ve created this itinerary to show you exactly how to spend your time exploring.

Its thriving art scene, admiration of coffee, and rich history initially prompted me to spend four days exploring the Finnish capital. After Luke and I had spent a few days in Tallinn, we boarded a ferry with zero expectations and set out to discover the best of Helsinki. By the end of our time, we were both in love with Finland. Armed with this 3-day Helsinki itinerary, I have no doubt you will be too.

when to visit Helsinki ↴

Helsinki experiences four distinct seasons, though summer is easily the most popular for tourists. I recommend visiting during the summer since the temperatures are warm and the crowds in Helsinki aren’t quite as frustrating as other more popular European destinations. However, if you are particularly crowd-sensitive, consider visiting during one of the two shoulder seasons: autumn or spring.

Spring (April through May)| Spring, though a shoulder season, is a great time to visit Helsinki. The city’s gardens bloom and the temperatures are comfortable ( between 41°F and 59°F). There are also fewer people to contend with at the city’s major attractions.
Summer (June through August) | Despite it being the most crowded time of the year to visit, summer is arguably the best time to travel to Helsinki. The weather is mild, with long days and temperatures ranging from around 15°C to 25°C (59°F to 77°F). Though you may have to contend with some crowds, you can enjoy Helsinki’s many green spaces, alfresco dining, and outdoor markets in the summer.
Autumn (September through early November) | Helsinki is surrounded by nearby forests, so foilage in the autumn is a sight to see. The temperatures start to lower and the weather is similar to the springtime.
Winter (mid-November through March) | It’s unsurprising that Scandinavian winters are frigid, albeit beautiful. If you’re willing to brave colder weather, you can head to Helsinki in the wintertime. Just know that the temperatures take a plunge and stay constantly below freezing from mid-November through late March. However, visiting Helsinki in the winter also presents an opportunity to enjoy the Christmas markets and ice skating. The city looks magical in the snow, so as long as you’ve wrapped up warm, there really is no losing.

how to get to Helsinki ↴

Of course, your first point of order is figuring out how to get to the city. Flying is the most common choice for international visitors. Helsinki-Vantaa Airport serves as the primary air travel gateway and is located about 18 kilometers from the city center. Major airlines, such as Finnair and British Airways, offer routes to Helsinki. Budget carriers like Lufthansa and Ryanair offer affordable flights to Helsinki from various European cities. The airport has access to an underground train station, which runs directly to the city center using the I or P train lines. You can buy an HSL card (public transport card) or pay for a single ride. You’ll need a contactless card or cash to buy a ticket on the train.

If you happen to be in nearby Tallinn, Estonia, you can ferry to Helsinki in under two hours. It’s easy, affordable, and perfect for day-trippers.

how to get around Helsinki ↴

The best way to truly immerse yourself in Helsinki's charm is by strolling through its streets on foot. Helsinki’s compact size and pedestrian-friendly layout make it an ideal city to explore on foot. Walking around the city’s streets is the best way to stumble upon chic cafés, hidden gem eateries, and small concept stores.

While a majority of Helsinki’s sights are easy to visit on foot, the city’s public transportation is easy to use and an affordable alternative. Buses run regularly and have pretty comprehensive coverage. However, I didn’t use many buses in Helsinki. Instead, I opted to utilize the public trams, which are a symbol of the city. Helsinki’s trams are the most convenient and scenic way to see the city.

Helsinki's metro system is your go-to option to visit destinations beyond the tram lines. The metro connects key areas of the city, including Kamppi district, Töölö Bay, and Itäkeskus. Purchase a single ticket or opt for a day pass for unlimited rides across the metro and tram networks. You can pay per ride or you can buy an HSL card. HSL cards can be purchased, topped up, and used on all forms of public transport.

Helsinki residents get around by bicycle. If you’re visiting in the summer (and are an experienced rider), I recommend renting a bike as an alternative mode of transport. You can pedal through Helsinki’s charming neighborhoods and its many green spaces. Rental shops throughout the city offer hourly and daily rental rates.

where to stay in Helsinki ↴

best areas to stay in Helsinki

Kluuvi | Kluuvi is the center of Helsinki and the best place for first-timers to stay. Kluuvi makes an ideal base for travelers who want to be close to Helsinki’s main attractions. It’s well-connected to the rest of the city thanks to its ample access to public transportation. Some of Helsinki’s best restaurants and shopping can be found in Kluuvi.
Punavuori | If you’re interested in vintage shopping, trendy restaurants, and contemporary art, Punavuori will likely be your favorite area of Helsinki. Punavuori was one of my favorite areas of Helsinki, teeming with art galleries, concept stores, and fashion boutiques.
Kamppi | Known for its modern buildings and hip bars, Kamppi is a great area for travelers in Helsinki looking for nightlife. Kamppi is filled with live music venues and dance clubs, making it a great area of Helsinki for a night out. It also has a reputation for being LGBTQIA+ friendly.

best hotels in Helsinki

Bob W Helsinki | Apartment-style accommodation for travelers who need a bit more room.
Hotel Helka | Bright and airy, Hotel Helka lives in a former women’s shelter from the late 1920s.
Scandic Grand Central Helsinki | A modern hotel housed inside one of Helsinki’s iconic Art Noveau buildings.
Hotel F6 | A design hotel located 4 minutes from Market Square. with an airport shuttle and a Finnish homestyle breakfast.
Scandic Simonkenttä | Simonkenttä exists inside a contemporary building designed with sustainability in mind.

We love using Booking.com to book the best places to stay around the world.

where to eat in Helsinki ↴

Yes Yes Yes | A fully vegetarian restaurant with a creative cocktail menu.
Ekberg 1852 | Ekberg prides itself on being Scandinavia's oldest café and bakery. It’s an ideal spot for a light lunch or a breakfast pastry.
Café Regatta | An iconic café in Töölö district of Helsinki.
Levain | I was so happy that we stumbled upon Levain, which is coincidentally one of the best bakeries in Helsinki.
Fishmarket | Located inside the Stockmann store, this classic Helsinki market is known for serving traditional Finnish soups.

3-day Helsinki itinerary ↴

Three days in Helsinki is enough time to get a taste of Finnish culture, explore its urban, artsy side, and take advantage of the city’s proximity to the outdoors.

day 1: breakfast at Ekberg 1852, Design Museum, Amos Rex, lunch at Hakaniemi Market, Huvilakatu, sauna, dinner at Restaurant Savoy

Start your first day in Helsinki with a breakfast pastry at Ekberg 1852. Ekberg is the oldest bakery in Finland and still serves traditional Finnish pastries. If you’re anything like me and love café hopping, Helsinki is the perfect city for you. The Finnish capital is teeming with coffee shops to try, including Kaffecentralen, which is only a 7-minute walk from Ekberg and serves fantastic coffee.

Walk (10 minutes from Ekberg or 16 minutes from Kaffecentralen) to the Design Museum. The museum researches, collects, documents, and displays Finnish design. Exhibitions feature iconic Finnish pieces including the Angry Bird games, Fiskars scissors, and 1950s interior design elements. I left impressed by the number of brands I didn’t know were Finnish and in awe of the thoughtfulness behind the design of commonplace items like chairs.

Another can’t-miss museum in Helsinki is Amos Rex, an extraordinary art museum housed in an ultra-modern building. Even the museum’s entryway is art; an example of 1930s Finnish modernism called “Lasipalatsi: (glass palace). The exhibits at Amos Res showcase experimental, contemporary art. In 2018, architects expanded the museum to include subterranean exhibition spaces that bubble up from the earth and are visible from the outside of the museum space.

From Amos Rex, take the M2 to Hakaniemi Market for a classic Finnish lunch. Hakaniemi Market is a traditional Finnish food market that runs 6 days a week. Here, indoor and outdoor stalls sell fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, and cheese. The market is a great way to taste Finnish foods without the high markup prices at Helsinki restaurants.

After lunch, jump on a southbound tram to Huvilakatu, known for its colorful Art Noveau buildings and regarded by many as Helsinki’s most beautiful street. I’d say it’s relatively similar to Copenhagen’s Nyhaven. Despite being a popular photo spot today, it’s said that the buildings were originally received with a less than enthusiastic response by residents who didn’t love the boldly painted facades. Stroll along the street before making your way to a local sauna.

Going to the sauna is a revered Finnish activity, and Helsinki has no shortage of them. Part social activity, part wellness routine, the sauna is a quintessential Finnish experience you must make time for on a trip to Helsinki. Finnish women have even been known to give birth in a sauna! One of the city’s most well-known saunas, Löyly, is only a 13-minute walk from Huvilakatu, so for the sake of this itinerary’s efficiency, I recommend partaking in this Finnish tradition there.

Some of the other Helsinki saunas I recommend are:

Allas Sea Pool
Burger King Sauna (as shown in the 48-Hour Travel Man Helsinki episode with Paul Rudd)
SkyWheel Sauna
Lähteen Sauna
Sauna Saari
SkyWheel Helsinki (there is a VIP sauna carriage that’s definitely Helsinki bucket list material)

There is only one way to finish your first day in Helsinki: dinner at Restaurant Savoy. The Savoy opened in June 1937, and immediately people took notice of its interior details: various natural wood elements, bold textiles, and the inclusion of plants. Recently, the dining hall was re-designed and refurbished to preserve its original design elements while modernizing the eatery.

day 2: breakfast at Engel Café, free walking tour, Museum of Finnish Architecture, Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, dinner at Yes Yes Yes, Ateljee bar

For the second day of your Helsinki itinerary, fuel up at Engel Café. Engel is a classic Helsinki café that was once frequented by poets, academics, and the political elite. You can enjoy breakfast here with views of Helsinki’s Cathedral. The café is near Senate Square, the meeting point for your next itinerary activity: a free walking tour with Green Cap Tours.

During my trip to Helsinki, I took a fantastic free walking tour with Green Cap Tours. The tour took approximately 2 hours and covered many of the city’s major landmarks. Although you walk the entire time, Helsinki’s terrain is relatively flat. You’ll learn all about what foods Finns eat, funny things to say in Finnish, and all kinds of interesting trivia. Book your spot in advance online and bring some cash as a tip at the end for your guide.

One of the first things I noticed about Helsinki while on the Green Cap walking tour was the city’s amazing architecture. Helsinki’s buildings are sights in and of themselves, and there is plenty to admire. The cityscape is dominated by Art Nouveau-style buildings, a majority of which are located in the Ullanlinna and Katajanokka districts of Helsinki.

I recommend spotting the following architecture:

Scandic Grand Central Helsinki Hotel
Central Railway Station
Helsinki University Library

True architecture enthusiasts can also visit the Museum of Finnish Architecture, a collection of Finnish architectural exhibits. The museum is closed on Sundays and Mondays, so plan accordingly.

If you visit the Museum of Finnish Architecture, you’re only a short (19 minutes) walk to the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma, another fantastic museum. Visiting means you’ll have to backtrack to my suggested dinner location, but the contemporary art is worth the extra steps (or the tram ride). The Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma features exhibit after exhibit of colorful and thought-provoking works. It remains one of my favorite art museums I’ve ever visited.

Yes Yes Yes is a trendy restaurant that’s entirely vegetarian! Don’t let the millennial pink branding put you off: the food here slaps. Every dish here is an unexpected culinary combination, from the set plate of halloumi fries, forest berries, lemon yogurt, and asparagus to the coconut pannacotta with lime and lemongrass. There’s also a curated wine list and creative cocktails.

Enjoy a nightcap on the top of Hotel Torni at Ateljee Bar, the city’s most iconic rooftop bar. Ateljee Bar has two floors: on the 12th floor you can enjoy afternoon coffee and a curated wine list, and on the 13th floor there’s a cocktail and champagne bar. Please note: the 13th floor is only accessible via a narrow, spiral staircase.

day 3: breakfast at Levain, Suomenlinna Fortress Island, café regatta, Sibelius Monument, dinner at Shelter

Start your third day in Helsinki at Levain, widely regarded as one of the best cafés in the city. I can personally vouch for the avocado toast with sesame seeds, which is divine, and the pancakes with seasonal jam and fresh fruit. Take the green tram from Levain (25 minutes) to Helsinki’s South Harbor to catch the ferry to Suomenlinna Fortress Island.

In the second half of the 18th century, the Suomenlinna sea fortress was built as a military stronghold at the entrance of Helsinki’s harbor. Suomenlinna has defended the Kingdom of Sweden, the Russian Empire, and the Republic of Finland over the years. Its defensive walls stretch over six separate islands using local rock. In 1973, the area was converted for civilian purposes. Since then, Suomenlinna’s buildings have been renovated to serve as apartments and workspaces for the islands’ 850 inhabitants. Today, Suomenlinna is one of Finland's most popular tourist attractions.

Back on the mainland, it’s time for a second coffee! I can’t think of a more special place to enjoy a coffee than Café Regatta. Famously open every day of the year, the iconic red shed has sat on the coastline in Töölö district since 1887. In the 1950s, it was turned into a rustic café and immediately became a local favorite. Grab a coffee before making your way to the Sibelius Monument, which is also located in Töölö.

The Sibelius Monument is a sculpture dedicated to the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. The sculpture’s namesake famously said, “Pay no attention to what the critics say. A statue has never been erected in honor of a critic.”

I recommend spending your final meal in Helsinki at Shelter, an upscale restaurant with a seasonal set menu.

day 4 (optional): day trip to Tallinn

Less than two hours across the Baltic Sea sits Estonia’s fairytale capital, Tallinn. If you have an extra day in Helsinki, I highly recommend taking a day trip via ferry to visit. I’ve written an entire blog post dedicated to Tallinn and why it’s worth visiting so you can plan a dreamy day trip or city break.