We fly from Stockholm to Helsinki even though we are aware that overnight ferry is a popular mode of transport. We planned for a day trip to Tallinn by ferry, also overnight Stockholm - Helsinki ferry usually departs at around 4:45pm and arrive the next day at 10:30am. Ferries to Tallinn depart before 10:30am and we have an overnight train on the other day we have in Helsinki. The other factor in play was possibility of sea sickness.
Getting out of Helsinki Airport to our accommodation in Helsinki was easy. We each bought an ABC zone ticket, €4.10 per person and ABC zone single ticket is valid for 90 minutes, enough time for us to get a tram transfer from city center to the hotel. Up till this point, we haven't seen any snow fall yet in this trip. A lot of rain but no snow.
We went to Talliin the next day on arrival in Helsinki but we have till evening the day after to roam around Helsinki. Prior to the trip, we only have 4 items in things to do - Suomenlinna, Uspenski Cathedral, Helsinki Cathedral and Porvoo. We managed 3 out of 4 as Porvoo is an hour away by train.
We got a day ticket on arrival back from Tallinn, the validity of the ticket is 24 hours so it would end right when we need to get to the train station the next day.
Helsinki Cathedral
Helsinki Cathedral is located in the centre of Helsinki at Senate Square. It was originally built from 1830 to 1852 as a tribute to the Grand Duke of Finland at the time, Tsar Nicholas I of Russia. So it was previously known as St Nicholas's Church but the name was changed in 1917 after the independence of Finland.
It was the nearest stop to get to Suomenlinna ferry from our hotel in Helsinki so naturally, we walked over to have a look before walking towards Suomenlinna ferry.
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| After Suomenlinna |
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| Before Suomenlinna |
Uspenski Cathedral
Not far from Helsinki Cathedral, at the hill on the Katajanokka district lies the Uspenski Cathedral. This is the main cathedral of the Orthodox Parish of Helsinki. The red brick facade is striking and noticable even when you are standing around Senate Square.
Suomenlinna
Suomenlinna is a sea fortress, founded in 1748 is one of the most popular attractionsin Finland and is a world heritage site. Getting to Suomenlinna is one of part of the fun as it is only accessible by water. At the time of our visit, part of the water surface was covered by ice, despite cold, it was fun looking at the ship cutting through the ice.
The ferry schedule is not very frequent, so best to take a note of the return ferry time as not to wait too long, like us. There are eateries in Suomenlinna but we just got a bun and a banana from a store to tie us through lunch time.
On return from Suomenlinna, we wandered around the city before grabbing an early pizza dinner then went back to the hotel to collect our bags. We took an overnight train to Rovaniemi.
Side note: I'm told Milky bar Milo is good...
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