Групові – Daria Skidan

Christmas Tour

Before Christmas, Helsinki, like its residents, slows down, stops the hustle and bustle and dresses up in festive clothes. You should plunge into this magical atmosphere and learn something new at the same time.

This time, instead of the city's history, we'll talk about Christmas food, postcards, and songs. Learn the history of wishes for Christmas and New Year. Follow the evolution of the Finnish Santa Claus-Joulupukki - from the evil goat to the good grandfather. Let's take a look (though mentally) into the head of state's kitchen – what does the presidential family savor at Christmas? I will not ignore the Finnish Christmas traditions, in particular those related to the sauna, because what holiday is there without a sauna?

Christmas in Finland is a family holiday, when everyone goes to their families, often to other cities or towns. Almost all establishments will be closed, but we'll be in time for the Christmas market with its decorated Christmas trees, wooden kiosks and scents of cinnamon and mulled wine.

Helsinki's modern city center

Apart from the historical center, there are many other places in Helsinki that deserve our attention. In particular, the Kamppi district, the church in the Rock and the House of Music. During the tour, we will talk about " Kalevala“, Finnish presidents, Nobel laureates, pike, batons and sandwiches named after members of Parliament. We'll finish our walk in the Oodi library.

Psst! With a Ukrainian passport, you can enter the church in skala for free! The usual price is 8 euros.

Helsinki's historic center

This excursion, with which one as usual getting started acquaintance with by city. Only with that, if you already visited others routes, she fine add-ons purchased items knowledge. We talk about history Helsinki how capitals of Russia, let's remember important ones historical ones shapes and collapse it attention on outstanding architectural features facilities. Excursion completed on Senatskaya Street square footage.

Архітектура югенд

A brief but very bright flash of popularity of the Art Nouveau, or Jugend, architectural style occurred precisely during the period of active development in Helsinki. Today, there are about 600 Southend buildings preserved here, and there were even more. Art Nouveau is an ode to beauty, an endless number of details that you want to consider, a combination of strict granite and sophisticated aesthetics on the facades. Southend-style houses have their own names, characters, and even personalities.

We'll take a fresh look at familiar buildings in the city center, pop into an Art Nouveau cafe, and finish our walk on Katayanokka Island,a unique Yugendu nature reserve.

Район Eira: міська романтика, що лікує

Eira, an area named after the Norse goddess of healing, is actually healing with its beauty. Both centrally located and remote enough to maintain its own peace of mind, it welcomes us with fabulous Art Nouveau homes, stories of love and death, wealth and poverty, narrow cozy streets and a seaside promenade.

Eira is a place where you will want to come back again and again, and also bring your own guests, because such Helsinki is impossible to hide from people. The tour ends near the Carusel cafe.

Район Lauttasaari: острів щасливих людей

Lauttasaari Island has been voted the best area in Finland to live in the Corona 2020, which means it's really cool and definitely has a lot to see! The focus of this tour is on nature, architecture and stories about the island's inhabitants. We will climb the hill and bird-watching tower to see the best views, walk along the path along the sea, find a natural curiosity-the "devil's cauldron", stop for coffee at the cute summer cafe Buffetti and find out where the Finnish police rest.

The tour ends at the beach of Casinonranta, so bring your bathing suits and towels and stay to enjoy the island!

Мис Kivinokka: оазис спокою та зелені

Hidden between Kulosaari and Herttoniemi metro stations, Cape Kivinokka is a true treasure of Eastern Helsinki. This is a nature reserve where locals come to relax in summer cottages, work in the gardens and watch birds. We will see various forms of urban gardening, check out the village right in the capital, learn the history of the magic manor, and also talk about Finnish maniacs, bats and the oldest pop orchestra in Europe.

The tour ends where it starts-at the entrance to the garden society.

Район Kalasatama: від порту до хмарочосів за 20 років

If everything is stable in the historical center, then the Kalasatama area is changing just before our eyes. Kalasatama, formerly a major port, now has ambitions to become an alternative center of the capital. It has the sea, interesting places, history, jobs, food establishments and modern apartment buildings – everything you need to be happy.

We will see how the area has changed over the past 20 years, how much art is woven into everyday life, what modern technologies make life more comfortable for residents, and how the former slaughterhouse has become the city's living room. Part of the tour takes you through the Germanni district. We will finish our walk in Teurastamo.

Район Arabia: там, де почався Гельсінкі

This tour is about nature and history. Let's see where Helsinki was founded, talk about the founder of the city, his turbulent life and all his wives. Let's climb the hill where the monument to another Swedish king stands, and make sure that in Helsinki monuments were erected and streets were named not only in honor of Russian emperors.

We will cross at least three bridges, see the waterfall and rapids of the Vantaa River. Follow the nature reserve path to the bird-watching tower, and through the reeds to the hidden cabin for the biordwatchers. Let's talk about the most songbirds, alien species of flora and fauna in Finland, as well as about sheep that freely graze here in the summer.

Finish the walk on Verkatehtaanpolku-across the street from the meeting point.

Район Jollas: красиво жити не заборониш

The Jollas area is a true oasis of nature in the city, surrounded by ultra-modern private houses. Here you can find pine forests, sandy beaches and calm coves, inviting you to walk and relax. No wonder the capital's Bohemians liked to relax here in the summer. Unfortunately, only ruins remain, but, fortunately, there are also fascinating stories.

It was here, in the quiet and safe Jollas, that one of the most scandalous murders in Finland took place. Nothing reminds us of this today, but we will remember. We will pass by the old manor house and explore the "worm" island, where the water rescue service is now based.

The tour ends at Jollaksenaukio Square.

Острів Kulosaari: прихована перлина Гельсінкі

Kulosaari is an absolute gem of Helsinki that often goes unnoticed and undervalued even by locals. This is a maze where all roads lead to beauty. The Will Island neighborhood, designed and built by renowned architects, gives the impression of a real work of art. In the southern part of the island there is a casino with the best view that you can imagine-a view of the sea.

We'll talk about floating trams and local favorite teachers, successful filmmaking careers and broken hearts, the first Finnish townhouses and the arms trade. There are plenty of stories on this island!

We'll finish in Kramerinlehto Park, and then we'll go back to the metro together.

Район Puu-Käpylä: деревʼяна ідилія

Puu-Käpylä (wooden Käpylä) was built in the early 20th century as cheap housing for those who had just moved to the capital from the villages. However, over the past 100 years, the population has changed significantly. Now hipsters, celebrities and wealthy pensioners live here, and a wooden house with a garden is no longer a way of survival, but a conscious choice for enjoying life. In addition, these houses are simply charming, and very soon it begins to seem that we are somewhere far away from the city, and not just 6 km from the center.

We will talk about those who created and saved this area, about the highest person in Finland, about the rich and poor who lived in the neighborhood, about a talented artist who 100 years ago drew postcards that are still sent to each other at Christmas, and many other interesting things. The tour ends at the Käpylän Kylätalo District Club at Pohjolankatu 3, Helsinki.

Район Olympiakylä: спорт, інтриги, розслідування

Helsinki hosted the Summer Olympic Games in July and August 1952. This event has become a driving force for progress in many areas, especially in construction. The Olympic Stadium, Vantaa Airport, Linnanmyaki Park, Sokos Vaakuna Hotel and other important objects have appeared. To accommodate athletes, they did not build hotels, because tourists in such numbers were not expected in the coming years. A practical decision was made in Finnish: to build a residential area where athletes will live first, and then ordinary residents will live for a long time.

Why there are two Olympic villages, what shoes athletes ran in at the Games, what happened to the Olympic flame and the flag that the Dove of Peace flew to the opening, where the oaks in memory of the wife of the Argentine dictator came from in Helsinki, and much more – you will learn on the tour. The tour ends at the Kumpula outdoor pool at Allasti 1, Helsinki.

Головний вокзал Гельсінкі: багато разів побачити, один раз почути

About 400,000 people pass, run and crawl through Helsinki Railway Station every day (we've all seen such characters). The station was built more than 100 years ago and witnessed major events and changes in the capital. However, usually very little attention is paid to it, everyone is in a hurry somewhere, and we will stop and take a closer look.

It is worth paying attention to how the architect Eliel Saarinen thought out every detail for his time and for the future. The station hides the Presidential Waiting Room, accessible only to a select few. In the center of the station, magnificent lamps of one of the best Finnish lighting designers hang in plain sight. And not all the classics of Finnish painting need to go to the Athenaeum-the original stunning landscape of Kohli can be seen in the open to all restaurant at the station.

There are many stories about the railway station, and I have selected the most interesting ones for you. The tour ends at Sokos Vaakuna Hotel.

Porvoo: старе місто, яке змогло

Porvoo is the second oldest city in Finland after Turku. This is the city of Phoenix, which was revived every time after numerous fires, destruction and forced displacement, managing to preserve its unique identity to this day. Helsinki doesn't have an old town or a medieval church, but Porvoo does.

We will talk about the poet and writer Johan Runeberg, his wife Fredrika and the cake that bears his name. find out where the oldest candy recipe is made in Finland, and which restaurant is named after the pig. Let's look into the church and decipher its symbols. We will find the devil's staircase and the house from which, due to the rashness of one hostess, a fire started that destroyed almost the entire city.

The tour ends at the old bridge on Jokikatu Street.