I am arriving via RCLs Jewel on 8/26. I was unable to reserve a seat on the HOHO bus via their website, so I need some suggestions. Any and all will be greatly appreciated. I%26#39;d like to visit these spots if possible in the short time I wll have there: Temppeliaukio Church, Senate Square and the Olympic Stadium and perhaps take a tour via a sightseeing boat.
Please offer which stop I should start with and end with from the dock and if there is any public transportation I should take.
I%26#39;d also like to stop at Kauppatori at the end of my travels (don%26#39;t want to carry a lot of stuff during the day).
Are Golla bags cheaper in Helsinki than the U.S.?
Almost forgot, please let me know of a post office, internet cafe, self service laundromat and a local soap shoppe along the way.
Thanks! Deb
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You are aiming for precisely the typical tourist circuit. Your best bet is the HOHO if you can get tickets on the day. You could do it by public transport but getting oriented and the inevitable loss of time due to unfamiliar circumstances will eat into your few hours here. How many do you have, by the way?
I wouldn%26#39;t bother with the Olympic Stadium unless you have some special interest in it. It%26#39;s just an old sports ground.
Few things are cheaper in Finland than the US.
The main post office is on Mannerheimintie opposite the railroad station. There are coin-op internet points inside the station.
Laundromats are not a Finnish thing.
Your special interest in local soaps is most likely to find a niche in the craft stalls in Kauppatori.
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Thanks John. I was patiently awaiting your response.
So, in the event I still can%26#39;t get tickets before my trip nor when I arrive, should I try to use public transportation? Just want to know my options. I will be in port approximately 8 hours.
Maybe I%26#39;d like to change my itinerary to: Temppeliaukio Church, Senate Square and a boat trip to Suomenlinna Fortress and ending Kauppatori, internet cafe. How should this route be travelled? I%26#39;d also like to maybe insert a little lunc in between (suggestions?)
I thought the Golla bags would be cheaper where they%26#39;re made, than in the States.
Thanks! Deb
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Even though Golla is a Finnish brand, their goods are made abroad, I believe mainly in China nowadays. You can find store locator at www.golla.fi, Stockmann department store seems to sell some Golla products.
If the ship docks in Hernesaari, you can take local bus 14 B to Kauppakorkeakoulut stop on Runeberginkatu 23 and walk few hundred yards to Temppeliaukio church, from church walk back to Runeberginkatu to tram stop, take Tram 3T to Stockmann department store; corner of Mannerheimintie and Aleksanterinkatu.
Robert’s coffee downstairs of Stockmann’s has internet connection.
From Stockmann you can walk down Aleksanterinkatu to Senate Square; it is a block away from Kauppatori. Suomenlinna ferry leaves from Kauppatori and Senate Square. You can find hand made soaps (if that is what you are looking for) in Kauppahalli, Market hall next to Kauppatori.
From Kauppatori/Pohjoisesplanadi you can take local bus 16 back to Hernesaari.
Route planning using local buses/trams http://aikataulut.ytv.fi/reittiopas/en/.
www.maps.google.com is a good tool to locate points of interest on map.
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%26gt;Maybe I%26#39;d like to change my itinerary to: Temppeliaukio Church, Senate Square and a boat trip to Suomenlinna Fortress and ending Kauppatori, internet cafe. How should this route be travelled? I%26#39;d also like to maybe insert a little lunc in between (suggestions?)
Most of this has been covered. Pohjoisesplanadi (the street leading to Kauppatori) is a good bet for lunch. There are several restaurants offering Finnish fare there.
About Suomenlinna, there are two ways to get there: the dirt-cheap city ferry (departs from the ugly greenhouse on the Kauppatori quay) and commercial boats (also from Kauppatori quay) which cost more but take you to the parts of Suomenlinna you want to see, sparing you a couple of miles of walking. Take a boat going to Kuninkaanportti (King%26#39;s Gate).
Alternatively, you might take a boat tour from Kauppatori. These don%26#39;t actually land on Suomenlinna but sail past the points of interest. Iha-Lines serves a pretty good lunch, so you%26#39;ll be killing two birds with one stone.
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John, I just read somewhere that Karl Frazer Candy Store has a small buffet breakfast. Do you know if this is true? Is the breakfast good?
Panda Lakka Finnish Pralinen Candy. Could yyou tell me where I could fit these in between my itinerary above?
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Fazer (not Frazer) is a superb café owned by the company that also makes candy. I don%26#39;t know about a breakfast buffet but you could certainly have breakfast there. Try to sit in the dome section as the curious acoustics are amusing - sometimes you can nohow hear what the person sitting at the table with you is saying while the old lady across the room seems to be whispering in your ear.
I%26#39;m sure you can get Panda Lakka Finnish Pralinen Candy in the Stockmann department store, which has a huge candy section on the ground floor.
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John, I have my maps and everything almost together. I have one (I hope) last question. Could you possibly give me the type of public transportation (including numbers) that would take me from The Temppeliaukio Church to the Ferry stop to pick up the Suomenlinna Ferry?
Thanks again, Deb
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John forgot to ask. Do you suggest Suomenlinna or King%26#39;s Gate?
Deb
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%26gt;Could you possibly give me the type of public transportation (including numbers) that would take me from The Temppeliaukio Church to the Ferry stop to pick up the Suomenlinna Ferry?
Walk to Mannerheimintie from the church. From there you can take tram 3T or 4 to Kauppatori (market square).
%26gt;John forgot to ask. Do you suggest Suomenlinna or King%26#39;s Gate?
The King%26#39;s Gate is on Suomenlinna and it%26#39;s the terminus for (private) water buses. From there you can see most of the points of interest most conveniently.
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John, thank you again. My itinerary for Helsinki is complete. One more to go-and that%26#39;s for Oslo.
Deb
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