Helsinki City Guide
Pale neoclassical facades by the water, ferry horns in the harbour and a sauna culture that is simply part of everyday life. That is Helsinki. From Senate Square you cross the harbour market into the old market hall. One ready-made day route ends with the ferry out to Suomenlinna.
Our walking tours of Helsinki
Ready-made routes from the station guide you through Helsinki, to the right spots from the very first step, with no planning needed.
Senate Square, harbour & Suomenlinna
From the neoclassical Senate Square and the white cathedral over the bridge to Katajanokka and the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral. On to the Kauppatori harbour market and the old market hall, then out by ferry to the island fortress of Suomenlinna. Back via the Esplanadi park avenue to the Ateneum art museum. And if you like, the Rock Church to finish.
Going out & nightlife
Ateljee Bar · Kallio · Savoy · Trillby & Chadwick · Finnische Nationaloper
Practical information for Helsinki
Public transport
Operator. HSL, Helsingin seudun liikenne in Finnish, Helsingforsregionens trafik in Swedish, is the transport association for the capital region. Member municipalities are Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa, Kauniainen, Siuntio, Kirkkonummi, Sipoo, Kerava, and Tuusula. Bus, tram, metro, commuter train, and the ferry to Suomenlinna all run under one shared zone fare, a single ticket is valid for every mode and allows transfers within the validity period.
Network. Metro, trams, buses and the ferry to Suomenlinna, all on the same fare.
Modes of transport. Bus · Tram · Light rail line 15 · Metro · Commuter train (Lähijuna) · Ferry
Operating hours. The day starts early on the HSL network. Metro line M1 starts on weekdays at 4.49 am in Kivenlahti and at 5.04 am in Vuosaari, at the central Rautatientori the first train rolls in at 5.18 am. Service ends everywhere around 11.15 pm at the terminal stations, at Rautatientori the last metro runs at 11.46 pm. On Saturdays the metro runs from 4.56 am, on Sundays only from 5.41 am, the closing time stays the same. Trams run longer. Line 3, which passes many sights, runs on weekdays from 5.32 am to 1.01 am from Olympiaterminaali, on Saturdays from 5.37 am to 1.04 am. Anyone still out after that switches to the night buses.
Night service. Helsinki has a genuine night network, and it runs on buses. The night lines carry an N after the line number and fan out from Rautatientori in front of the main station into the districts. Example, the 94N via Roihuvuori and Itäkeskus to Kontula. From Rautatientori it departs at 11.55 pm, then roughly every 30 minutes. On the nights from Sunday to Monday through Thursday to Friday it ends at 1.55 am, on the nights leading into Saturday and Sunday the line runs through to 4.25 am. Metro and tram no longer help by then. The last metro leaves Rautatientori at 11.46 pm, the trams disappear from the streets around 1 am.
Buying tickets. Four ways to get a ticket. First, the HSL app for purchase and route planning. Second, contactless payment directly at the card reader with a debit or credit card, valid for adult single rides, and bookable for up to ten companions at once. Third, ticket machines, which HSL is gradually phasing out but which remain in operation at major transport hubs. Fourth, paper tickets with a QR code at HSL and city service points as well as sales points, also available as advance orders for groups and companies.
App and payment. The HSL app sells all ticket types and shows connections along with the required zone. For adult single rides, contactless payment directly at the card reader is enough, accepted are debit and credit cards from Visa and Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Danske Bank's MobilePay. The contactlessly purchased ticket is valid for bus, tram, commuter train, ferry, and metro and allows transfers. For metro and ferry you must check in at the card reader before entering the paid area, for the metro usually at the top of the escalators to the platforms, for the ferry shortly before the jetty. Contactless payment doesn't yet work on the U-line buses.
Which ticket. Prices valid from 2 June 2026. Zone AB covers the city center. Adults pay 3.30 euros for a single ride via the HSL app, 3.50 euros contactless at card readers or at the ticket machine, the ticket is valid 80 to 110 minutes with the option to transfer. The AB day ticket costs 10.60 euros for the first day, each additional day up to 13 days in a row costs 5.30 euros extra. Three single rides via the app together cost 9.90 euros and are cheaper than the day ticket, four app rides cost 13.20 euros and are more expensive. Contactless the threshold is tighter, three rides cost 10.50 euros, just under the day ticket. For the route to the airport, zone C is additionally needed, a single ABC ride costs 4.50 euros via the app or 4.80 euros contactless, the ABC day ticket costs 12.80 euros for the first day, each additional day 6.40 euros. Children aged 7 to 17 pay half the adult prices, as do Kela pensioners and people with reduced mobility on the HSL card. Multi-ride tickets with 10 or 20 rides are only available in the HSL app, for zone AB they cost 29.70 and 56.10 euros respectively.
Fare zones. Yes. The city center lies in zone AB, an AB ticket is enough for that. Anyone going to the airport additionally needs zone C, so an ABC ticket, which according to HSL is valid for the roughly 30-minute train ride between the airport and city center. There are no single-zone tickets for A, B, or C, every ticket covers at least two neighboring zones.
Tip. The ferry to the Suomenlinna fortress island costs an ordinary fare.
Links
- HSL Tickets and fares
- HSL area and zones
- HSL contactless payment
- HSL Visitors
- HSL route maps and station maps
- Network map
Getting there
Main station
Location. An art nouveau building by Eliel Saarinen; the four stone figures at the entrance are the landmark.
Long-distance trains. From the terminus station, Intercity and Pendolino long-distance trains depart, among other destinations, toward Turku, Tampere, and further north to Oulu and Rovaniemi. Night trains with double-decker sleeper cars run to Lapland, plus car-carrying trains that take your own vehicle along. Transfer points for the airport train toward Helsinki-Vantaa are Tikkurila and Pasila.
Opening hours. The station isn't open around the clock. The waiting hall is accessible daily from 5 am to 2 am, the luggage locker building in the west wing from 6 am to midnight. The first long-distance train departs on weekdays at 5.03 am, the last at 11.13 pm as a night train to Rovaniemi.
Airports
Into the city. The train on lines I or P takes about 30 minutes to the main station, the station lies directly under the terminal. Bus 600 takes about 40 minutes to the city center. Taxis are available around the clock at the four-lane taxi rank in the arrivals area.
Local quirks
- The sauna belongs to the harbor. Public saunas like Löyly or Allas sit right on the water. After the löyly it's straight into the Baltic Sea.
- City bike only in the summer half-year. According to HSL, the city bikes of Helsinki and Espoo only run from April to October, in winter the stations stand empty. Anyone traveling in winter can't fall back on the bike-share system.
- Trams 2 and 3 as an unofficial city tour. HSL itself recommends tram lines 2 and 3 as a way to cover many of the city center's sights without an extra ticket, a normal tram ticket is enough for the whole loop.
Good to know
- Currency
- EUR €
- Emergency number
- 112
- Plug type
- C · F
- Time zone
- Europe/Helsinki
- Driving
- right
Speed limits. built-up areas 50 km/h, outside towns 80 km/h, motorway 120 km/h (summer) / 100 km/h (winter)
Finland automatically lowers speed limits every year for the dark season from late October to April, with rural roads sometimes dropping to 70 km/h instead of 80 km/h and motorways to 100 km/h instead of 120 km/h. Instead of a sign marking the end of a limit, each new sign directly shows the next applicable value, and on many stretches section control measures average speed over several kilometers.
Tipping. Tipping is uncommon and not expected. Service is included.
Tolls. No tolls and no vignette, neither on motorways nor at bridges.