Day trip to Helsinki (in photos)
From the archive. Published August 28, 2018. Details may have changed since.
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01 Helsinki Cathedral, a major tourist attraction in Senate Square in Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
02 Traditional architecture on a street in downtown Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
03 A street musician in downtown Helsinki, Finland. © Special to Cruiseable -
04 The Finnish National Theatre in central Helsinki dates to 1902. © Special to Cruiseable -
05 A miniature horse along a tourist thoroughfare in Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
06 A tiny house with solar heating on display in Helsinki, Finland. © Special to Cruiseable -
07 The 24-ton Sibelius Monument by Eila Hiltunen, dedicated to Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, is the centerpiece of Sibelius Park in Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
08 A view from below Sibelius Monument in Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
09 Vendors at Market Square, a central square in Helsinki at the eastern end of Esplanadi and bordering the Baltic Sea to the south. © Special to Cruiseable -
10 The Havis Amanda mermaid statue and fountain, also known as Manta, in the southern part of Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
11 Locals at an outdoor restaurant in Helsinki, Finland. © Special to Cruiseable -
12 Senate Square, a major tourist attraction, in Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
13 The Helsinki tram network is one of the most advanced public transportation systems in the world. © Special to Cruiseable -
14 The Helsinki skyline on a summer day. © Special to Cruiseable -
15 A chapel in central Helsinki. © Special to Cruiseable -
16 Uspenski Cathedral, an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, was built in1862-1868. © Special to Cruiseable -
17 Detail of Helsinki Cathedral in Finland. The church was built from 1830-1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. © Special to Cruiseable
During our cruise on Viking Sun, the second newest ocean ship from Viking Ocean Cruises (after Viking Orion) this month, our second stop was Helsinki.
Like much of Scandinavia, the capital of Finland was unseasonably warm during our visit, with a high of 78 degrees F. My companion and I spent the morning meeting with an online friend and stopping in at Arilyn, an augmented reality startup headquartered in Helsinki.
We spent the afternoon on an included Viking excursion, taking in such sites as:
• Senate Square, a sprawling collection of buildings in the neoclassical style dominated by Helsinki Cathedral, the Government Palace, the main building of the University of Helsinki and the National Library of Finland. A statue of Alexander II (1894) stands in the middle of the square.
• Market Square, a bustling marketplace just a block away, where vendors hawked keepsakes and fresh fruit and veggies
• Sibelius Monument, an interesting sculpture in Sibelius Park dedicated to Finland's best-known composer, Jean Sibelius.
All in all, a fun, engaging outing. As with Stockholm, everyone we met spoke English. We'll be back some day!
Related
- A day in Old Stockholm (Visual List)
- Whimsical sculpture garden in Denmark (Visual List)
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