Overnight layover in Helsinki..

Mabob · Post by **Mabob** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:12 pm

My husband and I are finishing our honeymoon with an overnight layover in Helsinki. We land late tonight and fly out tomorrow afternoon around 3:30pm. I would love to get out of the airport hotel and see something (and maybe get some yarn!), any recommendations? Husband wants to be at the airport 3 hours before departure... So, not a lot of time

**Sponsor:**

Pursuivant · Post by **Pursuivant** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 12:37 pm

Its July, everything is closed. In the night everything is closed anyways.

Mabob · Post by **Mabob** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 3:59 pm

Everything is closed all the time? Are stores open tomorrow morning?

inkku · Post by **inkku** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 5:11 pm

If you don't arrive too late tonight and the weather is nice, try to get to the seaside in South Helsinki. There are many very nice cafes there (Birgitta, Carusel, Mattolaituri, Ursula, etc). Most of them are open until 10pm to night. Or get there tomorrow morning.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Birgitta ... 2334794943
http://www.carusel.fi/in-english/
http://www.ursula.fi/yhteystiedot/

or go to Mattolaituri for morning yoga at 8.30am:
http://www.houseofeden.fi/frontpage/

another nice place is Toolo bay, there is for instance Blue Villa with a fantastic view (perhaps not so great as a cafe but you cannot beat the location). but they open at 10am only.
https://heyhelsinki.wordpress.com/tag/c ... en-huvila/

Or have a coffee are Cafe Engel with a perfect view to the Cathedral (which is better from outside than inside), the market place and a small port is around the corner
http://cafeengel.fi/en/yhteystiedot/

if interested in architecture, Finnnish Art Nouveau (Jugend) continue to Katajanokka. There is also a skywheel and a cafe on the shore next to it, a bit makeshift but the location is nice.
http://finnair-skywheel.com/en

two central yarn shops, both seem to open at 10am.
http://www.fiinaneule.fi/
http://www.snurre.fi/fi_FI

To arrive 12.30pm at airport, you should leave at around noon if taking a taxi, slightly more if Finnair bus.

Good luck!

tjawatts · Post by **tjawatts** » Sun Jul 05, 2015 10:39 pm

There is really no point to be at Helsink airport 3 hrs before depature. Unless you have lounge access and want to enjoy the sauna/spa in the international departures.

T

riku2 · Post by **riku2** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 2:53 pm

There is no spa in the finnair lounge anymore (it used to be in the non-schengen part of the airport which the airport authority incorrectly calls the "long haul" section. London and St Petersburg are not long haul destinations from helsinki!!)

arriving 3hours before check in is ridiculously early, I'm normally there 50mins before and still end up with half an hour in the lounge waiting for the flight to board.

riku2 · Post by **riku2** » Mon Jul 06, 2015 3:51 pm

I'm there 50 minutes before flights for the UK and USA. You save a lot of time by not queuing at the central security checkpoint in terminal 2 but the one on the left that almost everybody ignores.

For those reading this thread after 10th July 2015, there is a new train line with station at the airport. I would take that instead of the bus.

Mabob · Post by **Mabob** » Tue Jul 07, 2015 6:30 am

Thanks for all the responses! We are safely back at home. Unfortunately we did not make it out of the airport area to explore Helsinki

What ended up happening was: we had breakfast at the airport hotel and made the seemingly smart plan to check out, take our luggage to the airport where we would check in (unable to check in online although we tried numerous times) and drop off our luggage, and then we would take a bus to the city. We saw no flaw in this plan. However, when we arrived at the airport (after going to Terminal 1 as the brochure in the hotel says Icelandair flights are in Terminal 1, only to find we needed Terminal 2 and had to walk back to Terminal 2) we discovered that the Icelandair check in counter was not open, and would not be open until 2 hours before departure! So yes, there is absolutely no need to be at the airport more than 2 hours in advance. We debated walking back to the hotel to see if they had a secure place for our luggage so we could make the trip into the city, but my husband vetoed it. So we sat for 4-ish hours and waited for check in. Luckily I had my knitting and that kept me entertained! Well, knitting and free WiFi

Finland Forum

Find information about moving to, living in and life in Finland