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City Winter Garden
Should the need arise for a little time out amid some greenery, head to the City Winter Garden for the company of some other non-natives. The botanical gardens were founded in 1893 and contain cacti, palms and other sun-loving plants foreign to Finnish soil. There's also a cafe for some hot coffee.
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Ehrensvärd Museum
You can ramble around the crumbling fortress walls at the southern end of Susisaari island, and there are several museums including the Ehrensvärd Museum which preserves an 18th-century officer's home. Three museums relating to Suomenlinna's military history can be visited with a combination ticket, the most interesting is the Submarine Vesikko.
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Hietalahden tori
At Hietalahden tori there is a market hall and a popular flea market on summer evenings and weekends.
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Hietaniemi Beach
In summer, join the locals sunning themselves on Helsinki's small islands and beaches. The closest city beach is Hietaniemi, a small and very popular curve of sand west of the centre.
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Hotel & Restaurant Museum
The Hotel & Restaurant Museum, with everything you wanted to know about Finnish bars and restaurants.
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Inventory Chamber Visitor Centre
At the bridge connecting the two main islands - Iso Mustasaari and Susisaari - is the Inventory Chamber Visitor Centre with tourist information, maps and guided walking tours in summer.
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Iso Mustasaari Church
The church on Iso Mustasaari was built in 1854 and doubles as a lighthouse - the original gaslight beacon is now electric.
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Kaapelitehdas
Once a real kaapelitehdas (cable factory) and later Nokia's main factory, this is now a bohemian cultural centre featuring studios, galleries, concerts, theatre and dance performances, as well as the obligatory cafe and restaurant. Admission to most galleries and studios is free.
There are several museums here, including the Finnish Museum of Photography.
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Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
The Kiasma Museum of Modern Art is housed in a curvaceous and quirky chalk-white building. It exhibits a rapidly growing collection of Finnish and international modern art from the 1960s to the 1990s. The focus is definitely on the Finnish penchant for the offbeat. The cafe and beer terrace are also very popular in summer.
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Mannerheim Museum
This fascinating museum was the home of CGE Mannerheim, former president, Commander in Chief of the Finnish army and Civil War victor. Among the souvenirs from Mannerheim's life are hundreds of military medals, plus photos from 1907-08 when he travelled 14,000km (8,699mi) along the Silk Route from Samarkand to Beijing.
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Midsummer Bonfires
Seurasaari is the best place in Helsinki to see the midsummer bonfires, a popular local tradition on Midsummer's Eve.
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Museum of Photography
The building also houses three offbeat museums (free with the Helsinki Card): the Museum of Photography, covering art photography and photographic culture.
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National Gallery
The Ateneum houses Finnish paintings and sculptures from the 18th century to the 1950s. There's also a small, interesting collection of 19th- and early-20th-century foreign art, including a copy of Auguste Rodin's bronze The Thinker , and paintings by Van Gogh, Gaugin and Cezanne. The building itself dates from 1887.
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National Museum of Finland
The impressive Kansallismuseo looks a bit like a Gothic church with its stonework and tower. Built in 1916 and extensively renovated in 2000, the museum's rooms cover different periods of Finnish history, including prehistory and archaeological finds, church relics, ethnography and cultural exhibitions.
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Olympic Stadium
In the neighbourhood of the Opera House and City Winter Gardens is the Olympic Stadium, built for the 1952 Olympics, with a sports museum and a 72m-high tower offering good views over the city.
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Orthodox Uspensky Cathedral
East of the market, on Katajanokka island, you can't miss the magnificent Orthodox Uspensky Cathedral . The red-brick exterior supports 13 gilded cupolas ('onion domes' designed by a Russian architect of the tsar) representing Christ and his disciples.
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Pihlajasaari island
Pihlajasaari island is the pick of the many islands, with several secluded bays and beaches, including a nudist beach.
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Senaatintori
From the market square walk up the cobbled Sofiankatu to Senaatintori, Helsinki's majestic central square. Surrounded by early 19th-century buildings, the square was modelled after St Petersburg's.
CL Engel's stately Tuomiokirkko, finished in 1852, is the Senate Square's most prominent feature and the steps are a favourite meeting place.
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Seurasaari Open-Air Museum
West of the centre, Seurasaari Island is an open-air museum with 18th- and 19th-century traditional houses, manors and outbuildings from around Finland. Guides dressed in traditional costume demonstrate folk dancing, and crafts such as spinning, embroidery and troll-making. Midsummer Eve is especially festive.
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Sibelius Park
At lovely Sibelius Park you'll find a steel monument to the great Finnish composer. The organlike cluster of steel pipes is said to represent the forest.
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Sports Museum of Finland
The sports museum, Urheilumuseo, in the 1952 Olympic Stadium, houses Finland's 'sporting hall of fame', and looks at the triumphs and defeats of its sporting heroes. Sport is a subject close to the heart and national identity of Finns and this is the place to see some of that pride on display.
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Statue Of Havis Amanda
Check out the fountain and mermaid Statue Of Havis Amanda , designed by artist Ville Vallgren in 1908 and regarded as a symbol of Helsinki.
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Submarine Vesikko
Three museums relating to Suomenlinna's military history can be visited with a combination ticket (adult/student around €6 .50/2) - the most interesting is the Submarine Vesikko.
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Suomenlinna Island
An ideal day or half-day trip from Helsinki is to pack a picnic and take the regular ferry to the island fortress of Suomenlinna. A great deal of Helsinki's history was shaped here - the World Heritage Listed fortress was founded by the Swedes in 1748 to protect against the Russians but following a prolonged attack, Sveaborg was surrendered to the Russians in 1808.
