Finland & Norway Trip Day 1 - Helsinki

We travelled to Helsinki via Finnair as it is a direct flight and the price is very competitive. This is my first time taking Finnair and I find that their service is good, unlike what was stated in some reviews, and the 12 hours journey was pretty comfortable. Finnair also attempted to stage an "Aurora show" by changing the colour of the the cabin lights to different colours (green, blue, purple etc - common colours of Aurora) when we are approaching Helsinki, which got us anticipating to see the Aurora even more.

From the airport, we took a train to the Central Railway Station, and then walked to Hotel Arthur to deposit our luggage. It's a ~15mins walk from the Central Railway Station, but we realise later in the day that if we would have taken Bus 615 from the airport, the bus stop is just a 5mins walk to the hotel. 

Since we intended to travel around Helsinki today, we bought the 1 day transport ticket in order to save some costs and hassle. This 1 day transport ticket allows you to travel on buses, trains, trams in Helsinki, and also the ferry to & from Suomenlinnan without having to buy subsequent tickets.

From Hotel Arthur, we walked to Market Square for some food, coffee and to see what kind of local products Helsinki offers.

The ferry to Suomenlinnan, a famous sea fortress, departs near Market Square. After checking the ferry schedule, we decided to head to the nearby Uspenski Cathedral and Senate Square first to see these famous landmarks in Helsinki, before taking the ferry to Suomenlinnan.

Uspenski Cathedral

Senate Square

Taking the ferry to Suomenlinnan

Suomenlinnan

Suomenlinnan

Suomenlinnan

If you are looking for Mr Mine, Suomenlinnan is the place to go.

After spending a few hours exploring Suomenlinnan, we head back by ferry to Market Square, and board Tram 2 to Sammonkatu for our next destination, Temppeliaukio Church, more commonly known as Rock Church.

From Temppeliaukio Church, we took Tram 2 back to Central Railway Station. Due to the high standard of living in Helsinki, most of the food are really expensive. After some walking around the city centre, we finally settled down at Cafe Bar No. 9 for our dinner. The food is pretty good, and not very expensive. 

Address: Uudenmaankatu 9, Helsinki 00120, Finland 

After filling up our stomach, we headed back to Hotel Arthur to call it a day.

P/S: You can find the Tram 2 & Tram 3's (which can take you to almost all attractions in Helsinki) routes here.

Up next: Finland & Norway Trip Day 2 - Hotel Arthur, Porvoo, Helsinki