The 8 Best Walking Tours in Helsinki, Finland

Helsinki is an easy access point to Finland for many foreigners, but it is a popular travel destination in itself too. As a capital city, Helsinki has a vast variety of museums, galleries, plays, restaurants and shops that attracts Finns to explore their capital city time after another. Helsinki is easy to master on foot but the public transportation is top notch quality and super simple to use. Main attractions in Helsinki include Ateneum Art Museum, Kiasma Modern Art Museum and Main Cathedral but visitors can also make easy finds from design boutiques to chic speakeasies – and multiple Instagrammable spots.

There is no better way to get a true flavour of a destination than through its food. This two-hour walking tour from Easy Travel introduces visitors to the city’s magnificent Old Market Hall, which has been selling cheese, fish, vegetables, spices, cakes and more to Helsinki’s residents since 1889. The tour also calls at a nearby restaurant, a wine and beer store and a sweet shop stocked with Finnish treats you can buy to take home. Along the way, learn about Helsinki’s history and current food trends while sampling Finnish treats, including smoked reindeer meat, sparkling wine and Finland’s unofficial national drink, filtered coffee with milk. Just make sure you go hungry.

From the Russian Empire style of Senate Square to the striking modern-day buildings in Kamppi, Helsinki is an architectural dream. There are more than 30 different styles of architecture to see in the city, often serving as a visual representation of Finland’s fascinating history. A guided walking tour is the best way to see the most interesting examples. This three-hour tour with an actual local city planner takes you around the main architectural sights in the city.

As an international icon of gay culture, the Tom of Finland persona is recognised around the world. However, this walking tour gives visitors the chance to learn about the artist behind this famous character, Touko Laaksonen. Touring the streets once walked by Laaksonen himself when he lived in the capital city, the tour will reveal what life was like for a gay man during the Second World War and beyond. The tour will also delve into how society in Finland has changed since then and how a stamp decorated with Laaksonen’s art became the country’s best-selling stamp of all time.

It’s impossible to truly appreciate Finnish culture without visiting a sauna, something nearly all Finns like to do at least once a week. On this three- to four-hour tour, you’ll walk through the city centre and soak up the history behind the city’s main tourist attractions, including the Esplanadi, Helsinki Cathedral, the Parliament buildings, the Skywheel and the spectacular Uspenski Cathedral. Soothe any tired muscles afterwards with a visit to the Allas Sea Pool, where you’ll learn all about Finland’s love of saunas. Then you’ll get the chance to try it for yourself before a dip in the refreshing sea water, no matter what the weather. Don’t forget your swimwear and towel.

“If you are visiting Finland, it is an absolute must to visit nature too,” says Canadian wilderness guide Jeff Meneses, who established tour company Taiga Times with his Finnish partner Kiia. Their eight-hour day trip for a group of eight or less includes transport to and from Helsinki city centre, a walking tour of the Liesjärvi National Park and a traditional lunch cooked over a campfire. On the way you’ll encounter unusual plants and animals, and forage for (and eat) wild berries. “In mid-July and August, we eat blueberries right off the bush, then in later months we make lingonberry jam over the fire,” says Meneses. “In late summer and autumn, we go mushroom hunting but every season offers a new perspective in the forest.”

One of the largest sea fortresses in the world, Suomenlinna is just a ten-minute ferry ride from Helsinki’s Market Square and is possibly the most historically important place in Finland. Founded in 1748, it is now a UNESCO Cultural World Heritage site, spread over six islands. A walking tour is the best way to explore the site, especially if you’re short on time. Tours run by authorised Suomenlinna guides lasting an hour take place at least once a day year-round. The tour takes visitors around the fortress islands and guides them through the main sights. It also delves into the history of this fascinating destination, including the dry dock, which was once one of the largest in the world. The ticket price also includes free admission to the Ehrensvärd Museum on Suomenlinna.

Take a walk on Helsinki’s eerier side with a ghost tour run by the City Museum. There are three walks to choose from, but all will give you a glimpse of Helsinki’s lesser-known history. Discover Helsinki’s alternative history, full of notorious legends, ominous spirits and eerie stories. Keep your eyes peeled for the restless opera-loving soul in the Alexander Theatre, the ghost of the former owner of the Burgher’s Home in Kruununhaka or even the headless colonel of Vironkatu who has been spotted riding the elevator with his head under his arm.