My Best Helsinki Hotels & Travel Services
 
After you land in Helsinki, you will want to find a place to rest. After a long and detailed investigation, we have conclusively determined
that the best place
to do so is in a hotel. (Busses are too crowded, trains are too hectic, sidewalks are too cold, and floating in the sea,
while restful, can leave you in places
you did not intend to go.) Happily, Helsinki has a broad selection of hotels for every taste and every
budget. We hope you find this list useful.

                                                             

Below, some of the many hotels in Helsinki.
The star rating system reflects an internet  
consensus and does not necessarily reflect
our independent opinion.



The hotels we like, in different price ranges,
are mostly located pretty close to the very
center, shopping,
restaurants, the Esplanade,
the Market Square, Senate Square, etc.

Lower down on the page, we have good links to lists of  HOSTELS & APARTMENTS  & a link for  MORE HOTELS  and Helsinki TRANSIT &
HELP WITH THE LANGUAGE


 

   
New Boutique Hotel:
HOTEL  KLAUS  K
Bulevardi 2, 00120 Helsinki

Good, central location.
New York's "own"  top chef, Markus Samuelsson
(Aquavit, NY Times 3-star),
is acting as a  consultant
at Klaus K 's Restaurant
ILMATAR.


The new kid in town- the "lifestyle" hotel:
(a part of the PalaceKämp chain):

HOTEL GLO
Kluuvikatu 4, 00100 Helsinki
Located "behind" Kämp, between Pohjoisesplanadi
(North Esplanade) & Aleksanterinkatu (Alexander Street).
Very central location. Personally, for the money, I need
better views. But the hotel is promising a "service package
yet unseen in Helsinki" ... So, we will see...
5-Star Hotels:
            

   
   
HOTEL  KÄMP
Pohjoisesplanadi 29, 00100 Helsinki

A Ritz-Carlton like hotel, in a
beautiful & restored historic
building, by the Esplanade
Park, in the very center. Kämp
has been on the Conde Nast

Traveler's "Top European
Hotels" -
list for many years. 
HOTEL  HILTON STRAND
John Stenbergin ranta 4,
00530 Helsinki

24 h room service. Good services.
In Hakaniemi, a bit outside the
center. Not convenient if you want
to be 
a short walk from main 
shopping & restaurants,
and want
to explore the neighborhoods

closest to the center by foot -
which we recommend.
                                                                             
                                                                                                                                                                                                                              
4-Star Hotels:
     

HOTEL  PALACE
Eteläranta 10, 00130 Helsinki

Our home away from home. We
love the harbor & sea views
, and 
the smaller size of the hotel. (The
hotel rooms occupy only the 9th
floor).
One of the best breakfast
spreads we have seen anywhere in
the world. There is something for
everyone, whether you are health
conscious, or a bacon & eggs
person (or reindeer & eggs
person)  - or  something in between.
HOTEL  TORNI    
Yrjönkatu 26,
00100 HELSINKI


Central location.
The Tower Bar, with terrific views
over Helsinki
is a "must", even if
you do not stay
at the hotel.

Yup, you guesssed it:
Torni = Tower in Finnish
HOTEL  GRAND MARINA
Katajanokanlaituri 7
00160 Helsinki


In historic Katajanokka seaside
neighborhood
a bit outside the
center,  but
"a couple of  tram
stops" from the the Market Square in
the pretty south Harbor & the
Presidential Palace & the Dome.

Mannerheimintie 50, 00260 Helsinki

In Töölö, a few tram stops from the
very center. Big hotel.
High floors
have good views. Close to the Opera,
National Museum, Finlandia Hall.


                                     
                                      
3-Star hotels:                                                


HOTEL  ANNA
Annankatu 1
00120 HELSINKI


Comfortable & practical hotel in a
good, central location.
Take a look at  (scroll down) Anna's
 terrific location page, with a map & a
good aerial shot of the neigborhood,
showing parts of the center and the
Railway Station in the background.
HOTEL  MARTHA
Uudenmaankatu 24
00120 HELSINKI

Good choice for a nice budget hotel.
Single rooms start at  98€.

Located it the cool Punavuori
*
neighborhood
(colloquially &
lovingly called "Rööperi") .

* Puna= Red
Vuori=Mountain
in Finnish.
HOTEL  LINNA
Lönnrotinkatu 29, 00180 Helsinki

In a gorgeous Art Nouveau (or
Jugend-style),  granite "castle". The
exterior & the interior design of the
public spaces are bustling with national
romantic motives, worth to take a look
at even if you are not a guest at the
hotel.
The hotel rooms are (unfortunately,
if you
ask us - but you are probably not)
designed in a modern, boutique-

hotel style. Neat, but not reflecting the
spirit of the building's public spaces.
Linna = Castle in Finnish.
HOTEL  ARTHUR
Vuorikatu 19, 00100 Helsinki

Central location, good prices.


We would love to hear
from fellow Helsinki travelers.

LET US KNOW WHICH HOTELS
YOU LIKE IN HELSINKI, AND WHY.  
Kaisaniemenkatu 7, 00100 Helsinki

Located on a heavily trafficed street, but
very close to the center and a short walk to
Aleksanterinkatu & the Esplanade.


Link to:


HOTEL LIST: Star rated hotels, provided by Helsinki
City Tourist Office

HOTEL LIST: Star rated hotels & hostels, by
Helsinki City Tourist & Convention Bureau.

 
    Link to:




                                                                                                                                       
APARTMENT HOTEL GELLA:  Offers apartments in
various sizes, from studios to 4BR apartments, scattered around town.

Be sure to find about all additional fees before booking an apartment. Is cleaning included? How often?
How often  will linens and towels be replaced with clean ones? Etc.

Language problems?


 


Finnish is considered to be one of the most
difficult languages for a non-native speaker
to learn, although it is also considered one of
the world's most beautiful sounding languages.  


FOR SOME USEFUL FINNISH WORDS & PHRASES:

SEE OUR ENGLISH - FINNISH WORD PAGE.

Because Swedish also is spoken in Helsinki, we
include some Swedish phrases as well.



 
TRANSIT & TRAVEL SERVICES - Different Modes of Transportation:   

 
  
Our favorite way to get around in the center area of Helsinki is to walk.
But sometimes you need to use something faster than our two feet. Here are a few possibilities:

   Helsinki City Transport: Maps, Timetables & Information Interactive map of the Helsinki area with surrounding cities
Check out the pupblic transportation  JOURNEY PLANNER, a terrific tool to plan your commute in Helsinki.
Makes getting from point A to point B as easy as pie.

Timetables, Route maps, Tickets, etc.
THE HELSINKI CARD -Take advantage of it.
The Finnish Tramway Society
Great way to get around: Biking!
Timetables, Route maps, Tickets, etc.
Bus Route Map, pdf

Check out: CITYBIKES

HELSINKI METRO:  
Route map, Timetables, etc.

LONG DISTANCE TRAVEL SERVICES:   
TRAIN: BUS:
  Helsinki_Kamppi_shopping.   Photo copyright Annu Lilja 2008 - Helsinki_Kamppi_Center.  Photo copyright Annu Lilja 2008 -


Helsinki
Bus Station, located
in the 
KAMPPI CENTER
is one of the most modern
and busiest in the world.

What is quite stunning, though, is that the Bus Station
has cleverly kept its STREET ADDRESS off its website.

So there is virtually no  effort to help non-locals find
them.
How about a street address for the different terminals,
CLEARLY POSTED on the front page of the web site?
Would that be too much to ask?

Quite startling. A business that caters to customers should
have all its contact info: Address, telephone number, location,
 etc, clearly available, easily accessible on its web site.

Your cab driver will know where it is- we hope. The locals
surely do. Most Finns are very friendly and love helping a
traveller. And most Finns do speak English - and love a chance
to practice it a bit.
Anywy,  the Bus Station is somewhere in the
 
Kamppi Center,
underground.
You'll figure it out - we hope.

General Kamppi Center web-page
Here is one link with info about the BUS STATION  
Or, maybe this helps?:
LOCATION on PDF-MAP              
  , has photos of
the bus terminals, etc.
Second link

MATKAHUOLTO bus travel services  
EXPRESSBUS services

    
                   
BOAT & FERRY SERVICES:

BOAT TERMINALS:
SILJA LINE           
          

VIKING LINE  & driving instructions
& map to Viking's terminal in Helsinki


Both SILJA LINE & VIKING LINE offer ferry services both
to Sweden
, & to the stunningly beautiful, autonomous, Åland
Islands
(part of the  the western Finnish archipelago) and the
Baltic Sea (Tallin) .
  Silja/Tallink also sails to = Pärnu, Riga,
Rostock
, etc.

See  Silja's   DESTINATIONS page.
See Viking's DESTINATIONS page.


AIRLINES, AIRPORTS:

Feel like flying?

Check out: FINNAIR  or  SAS.

All you need to know about

HELSINKI - VANTAA AIRPORT,
or other Finnish airports.
The Finnair bus from Helsinki-Vantaa airport to
the center of Helsinki (to the railway station, which
is the last stop) takes about 35-40 minutes each
way. To be on the safe side, reserve 1 hour each
way, since especially if the trip is to be made during
a rush hour.  Link to time table.

Free shuttle bus between terminals and parking
Cars, etc.:
Need to rent a car? Try: TIGER CAR RENTAL


 

                                                       
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