Helsinki: getting there, HSL tickets, areas, Suomenlinna, saunas and what applies in 2026

Helsinki lends itself to a city break with architecture, art museums and sauna. From the airport the train takes you to the centre in about half an hour. The sea fortress of Suomenlinna has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, and Finnish sauna culture has been intangible cultural heritage since 2020. MyHelsinki, the city's tourism website, counts at least 60 public saunas.

Since July 2026 the “Aalto Works” have also been World Heritage, and five of the 13 buildings are in Helsinki. A new price list has applied to local transport since 2 June 2026; the single ticket from the airport to the centre costs €4.50 in the app.

It gets harder in late autumn and winter if you need a lot of daylight: at the winter solstice it is light for less than six hours. In addition, the National Museum and the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum stay closed until spring 2027.

Getting there and from the airport into the city

Among foreign destinations from the main German airports, Helsinki ranked 38th in 2025: 675,734 passengers from Germany travelled with Helsinki as their final destination. They boarded mainly in Frankfurt (222,987) and Munich (214,912). Demand was highest in July and lowest in January (source: Federal Statistical Office, year 2025; airports and months: own analysis).

Anyone who only changes planes in Helsinki is not included in these figures. A second Destatis table counts passengers by next landing point. According to our own analysis of this table, 795,494 passengers boarded flights to Helsinki at the same airports in 2025. On balance, around 119,800 therefore flew on from Helsinki (own calculation; anyone who came to Helsinki via other hubs is netted out).

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (HEL): everything under one roof

Finavia, the operator, gives the distance to the centre as 20 km. All gates are in the same building, with Schengen flights handled at gates 5 to 36. To get to the tracks you go down under the terminal, and to get to the bus you go out on the arrivals level (as of September 2026).

Train I or P: about 30 minutes to the Central Station

According to the timetable for Tuesday, 6 October 2026, the commuter train P from the airport takes 29 minutes to the Central Station, and the I train 33 minutes. On weekdays, twelve trains an hour leave for the city between 6:00 and 21:00 (from 5 October 2026, own analysis of Fintraffic's open timetable data).

Because the airport belongs to fare zone C and the Central Station to zone A, you need an ABC ticket. It costs €4.50 in the HSL app, €4.80 at the machine on the platform or contactless with a bank or credit card at the card reader. Children aged 7 to 17 pay €2.25 (price list since 2 June 2026).

There is a gap at night. In the night to Tuesday, 6 October, no train runs from the airport into the city between 1:22 and 4:52. In the night to Saturday, 10 October, the last train leaves the airport at 2:22 and the first again at 5:04 (own analysis).

Bus 600 and taxi

HSL trunk line 600 takes about 40 minutes to the centre, according to Finavia, with the same ABC ticket from the app or machine at the bus bay. At the taxi rank on the arrivals level, cars of Finavia's four contract companies wait around the clock, and their prices are posted there. For around €40 to 45 you are in the centre in about half an hour, according to MyHelsinki, if you board at lanes 1 to 4 (as of September 2026).

Ferry from Travemünde

Without a flight you can travel with Finnlines: the shipping line connects Lübeck-Travemünde with Helsinki daily (as of September 2026). On this route the Port of Helsinki counted a total of 166,500 passengers in 2025.

Getting around: one ticket for everything

Metro, tram, bus, light rail, commuter train and the Suomenlinna ferry: the same HSL ticket applies everywhere (as of April 2026). Single tickets for adults are available in the app, at machines and contactless; you find the card readers in vehicles and at stations. For the metro and ferry you buy the ticket before entering the paid area, and in bus, tram and train you hold the card to the reader when boarding (HSL, as of September 2026).

A single ticket for two zones, such as AB, costs €3.30 in the app and €3.50 at the machine or contactless. The day ticket AB costs €10.60, each further day €5.30; children aged 7 to 17 pay half for day tickets. There are no day tickets on the HSL card (prices since 2 June 2026). You stop buses with a hand signal. HSL city bikes are found at almost 500 stations, but only from April to October (as of September 2026).

Helsinki Card or day ticket?

The Helsinki Card is valid for 24, 48 or 72 hours from first use and brings free or reduced admission. Prices for adults, valid until 31 December 2026, each from:

• Digital, without local transport: €51 / €62 / €73
• CITY, with local transport in AB: €62 / €78 / €94
• REGION, with local transport in ABC: €64 / €81 / €99

Only with REGION do you get to the airport, and for bus and train the card must be printed out. For comparison: an HSL day ticket ABC for three days costs €25.60, and Ateneum, Kiasma and Amos Rex at the ticket office together €68 (own calculation).

Where to stay: the areas compared

Helsinki was founded in 1550 in what is now Koskela; because of better access to the sea, the centre moved about a century later to Kruununhaka. The “Good for” column mainly follows MyHelsinki.

A “—” means: the sources name no drawback, and for Kruununhaka and the Design District no stop either. According to MyHelsinki, Helsinki has at least 600 Art Nouveau buildings; in Katajanokka they line the whole of Kauppiaankatu (as of September 2026).

Sights: times, prices and rules in 2026

Suomenlinna: World Heritage without admission

The sea fortress from the 18th century has been on UNESCO's World Heritage List since 1991 and is also a district with around 800 residents. You pay nothing for the fortress itself. Only the museums, apart from the Customs Museum, and the church from June to August charge admission (as of September 2026).

The HSL ferry, line 19, leaves from the east side of the Market Square and takes about 15 minutes. According to the fortress administration, it runs daily from roughly 6:00 to 2:00, in winter at least once an hour. Holders of the Helsinki Card CITY or REGION travel free (as of September 2026). Otherwise, according to HSL, an AB ticket is enough: €3.30 in the app, and €3.50 at the machine or contactless. There are no tickets on board; for the return trip you pay at the machine at the pier, by app or contactless (HSL, as of September 2026).

In addition, a water bus runs from early May to the end of September, where HSL tickets are not valid (2026 season). For the Blue Route to the King's Gate, about 1.5 km long, the administration reckons 1 to 1.5 hours there and back.

Cathedral, Uspenski Cathedral and Rock Church

From Senate Square you climb 46 steps up to the Cathedral, consecrated in 1852 to plans by Carl Ludvig Engel. Until 31 October 2026 admission costs €8, and nothing under the age of 18. From 1 November to 31 May you pay the €8 voluntarily at a self-service till, and the crypt is then closed.

The Uspenski Cathedral on the highest hill of Katajanokka is, according to the parish, the largest Orthodox church in Northern and Western Europe, consecrated in 1868. It was built with bricks from Bomarsund, a fortress on Åland destroyed in the Crimean War. Admission costs €5 from age 18, and younger visitors are free. From 1 September to 30 April it is open Tuesday to Friday from 9:30 to 16:00, Saturday from 10:00 to 15:00 and Sunday from 13:00 to 16:00. It is closed on Mondays, and services may change the times (as of September 2026).

The Rock Church at Temppeliaukio costs €8 from age 18, and nothing with a Helsinki Card or Finnish Museum Card. It is open daily, and the times are posted weekly on its website. Visitors cannot enter during funerals, baptisms and weddings or on Sundays for the 10:00 service, and large suitcases and rucksacks are admitted only with restrictions (as of September 2026).

Art museums: Ateneum, Kiasma, Amos Rex

All three are near the Central Station: the Ateneum right next to it, Kiasma 300 m away, Amos Rex in the Lasipalatsi near Kamppi metro station. Ateneum and Kiasma cost €23 at the ticket office, €21 online, €13 reduced. Under 18 and with a Helsinki Card, admission is free (as of September 2026).

Both open Tuesday to Sunday at 10:00 and close at 17:00 at the weekend. The Ateneum stays open late on Wednesdays and Thursdays until 20:00, Kiasma on Tuesdays and Fridays. On the other days it closes at 18:00, and both stay closed on Mondays (as of September 2026).

For a change of exhibition Amos Rex closed on 7 September 2026; from 14 October the building is open again with “The Other Side of the Mountain”. Normally it is closed on Tuesdays and otherwise open from 11:00, until 20:00 on Mondays and Wednesday to Friday, and until 17:00 at the weekend. Admission costs €22, €20 online, and €5 for 18- to 29-year-olds (as of September 2026).

Aalto Works: World Heritage since July 2026

Since July 2026, 13 buildings by Alvar, Aino and Elissa Aalto have counted as World Heritage under the name “Aalto Works”, Finland's eighth site on the list. Five are in Helsinki, including Aalto House of 1936 and Finlandia Hall of 1971. The renovated hall shows the exhibition “Visions of Alvar Aalto”, Monday to Friday from 10:00 to 18:00 and Saturday from 11:00 to 18:00 (as of September 2026).

You can enter Aalto House in Munkkiniemi only with a guided tour, Tuesday to Sunday, in groups of up to 15 people. It costs €32, and the Museum Card is not valid here. The tram stops 300 m away at the Laajalahden aukio stop (as of September 2026).

Sauna: from free to €29

Four public saunas compared (as of September 2026):

• Löyly (Hernesaarenranta 4): smoke sauna and wood-fired sauna right by the sea, mixed and with swimwear only. Two hours cost €29, with towel, shampoo and shower gel included.
• Allas Pool at the Market Square: five saunas, warm-water and sea-water pools, Monday to Friday from 6:30. Two hours cost €19, from Friday 14:00 and on public holidays €24; a towel costs €8.90 extra.
• Kotiharju (since 1928): Tuesday to Sunday from 14:00 to 20:00, admission €16, towel €4.
• Sompasauna: according to MyHelsinki, open around the clock and free, run by volunteers.

Once a year the Löyly saunas close for a few days for maintenance, in 2026 from 4 to 7 October.

Oodi, City Museum and what is closed at the moment

The central library Oodi has around 100,000 books, nine living trees and two cafés. It is open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 21:00, at the weekend from 10:00 to 20:00, and, like every library in the city, it charges no admission, according to MyHelsinki. The City Museum (Aleksanterinkatu 16) is always free, Monday to Friday from 11:00 to 19:00, at the weekend until 17:00 (as of September 2026).

The National Museum is being renovated and reopens in April 2027. The Seurasaari Open-Air Museum is open only from 15 May to 15 September each year, and the next season begins on 15 May 2027.

Day trip to Tallinn

Tallinn is 87 km away; according to Tallink the crossing with MyStar or Megastar takes about two hours. Tallink Silja and Eckerö Line depart from West Terminal 2 (Tyynenmerenkatu 14), Viking Line with the Viking XPRS from the Katajanokka Terminal (as of September 2026). In 2025 the Port of Helsinki counted about 7.5 million passengers on this route.

Best time to travel: climate in Helsinki month by month

The basis is the 1991 to 2020 normals of the weather service FMI at the Helsinki Kaisaniemi station (3 m), which has measured without interruption since 1844. The hours of sunshine come from the station at the airport (47 m), because the FMI does not report them for Kaisaniemi.

July is the warmest month, but it then exceeds 25 °C on average on only five days. August is the wettest, April the driest. In January and February it stays below zero all day on 14 days each; in mid-February the FMI measures a mean snow depth of 20 cm. At the winter solstice the day is less than six hours long, at the summer solstice almost 19 hours. According to MyHelsinki, in southern Finland the northern lights can be expected on average on only one night a month.

Costs

All amounts come from the operators themselves, the taxi price from MyHelsinki. Flight, hotel and ferry prices are not listed.

Tourist tax: none so far

Finland has not levied a tourist tax so far. The Ministry of Finance is preparing a law that is to come into force in 2027; from the beginning of 2028 municipalities would then be allowed to charge a tourist tax on paid overnight stays. It is to be paid by the accommodation providers, as a moderate share of the overnight price (as of May 2026).

VAT and price level

Since 1 January 2026 overnight stays, restaurant meals, transport tickets and museum admissions have carried 13.5 per cent VAT instead of 14 per cent. The price level for restaurants and hotels in 2024 was 126.8 according to Eurostat, and 112.1 in Germany (EU = 100). For alcoholic drinks Finland reached about 2.4 times the German value (own calculation).

Practical information

The currency is the euro, and you get by with a credit card almost everywhere. Tipping is voluntary according to Visit Finland and is rarely expected. You can drink tap water without worry. Compared with Germany, clocks in Helsinki are an hour ahead; daylight saving time ends on 25 October in 2026. The emergency number for ambulance, fire brigade and police is 112, and every street has a Finnish and a Swedish name.

What applies to entry, safety and health is currently set out by the German Foreign Office.

Who this is not for

• Anyone who needs daylight in winter: at the winter solstice it is light for less than six hours, and in December the sun shines on average for only 24 hours, spread across the whole month.
• Anyone who wants to avoid frost: in January and February the mean daily minimum is below −5 °C, and on 14 days each it stays below zero all day.
• Anyone who wants to eat and go out cheaply: the price level for restaurants and hotels is above Germany's, and for alcohol about 2.4 times (Eurostat, 2024); large art museums cost €22 to 23.
• Anyone who wants to find everything open in autumn: Seurasaari opens only on 15 May 2027, the National Museum in April 2027; the water bus to Suomenlinna runs only from May to September.
• Anyone looking for dry weather: from August to January every month has at least 1 mm of precipitation on 9 to 12 days.
• Anyone who lands in the middle of the night: on weekdays no train runs into the city between 1:22 and 4:52, according to the timetable for 6 October 2026. In P2, taxis without a Finavia contract set their own prices, according to MyHelsinki.