HELSINKI
The mean annual temperature in efficient, elegant
Helsinki hovers around 43°F (6°C), but this does not
mean visitors need expect a chilly welcome. The funky
Finns, known for their hip and happening sense of style,
design and association with high technology, know how to
warm hearts and minds in their modern, cosmopolitan
capital.
The city, spread across a cluster of promontories and
peninsulas, is 450 years old, its clean, wide avenues
lined with buildings echoing centuries of architectural
excellence from Gothic through to art deco and cutting-edge
contemporary. It all fits together in total harmony with
nature, which invades the urban environment with green
spaces, when it is not blanketed in snow. Trees, flowers,
hares, squirrels, pheasants and even the odd elk are
often spied in the myriad parks in the centre of the
city, the whole surrounded with crisp, unpolluted air
and the bright blue Baltic waters.
Despite the cold climate, the invigorating outdoors
beckons in Helsinki even in the middle of winter.
Recreation takes the form of skating, skiing, ice-fishing,
sailing, cycling, soaking in saunas, or, during the
short-lived summer, sunbathing. After action, sit tucked
in a rug outside one of the many street-side bars
sipping hot ‘gloggi’ (spiced wine) and watch the wintry
world go by. The city is also ideal for walking, the
sights all concentrated in the central area beneath the
towering cathedrals.
The great outdoors is also the setting for Helsinki’s
numerous festivals and fairs, like the May Day Carnival,
October Herring Festival, the Helsinki City Marathon,
annual Samba carnival and the midsummer festival, to
name but a few. Events do move indoors when it comes to
the city’s rich cultural life, featuring some of the
world’s finest orchestras and choirs, rock concerts,
film festivals, the Finnish National Opera and Ballet
performances, and the output of countless theatre and
dance troupes.
Whether visited as a snowy winter wonderland or scenic
sun-splashed cityscape with almost permanent daylight,
Helsinki is a unique destination that will delight the
heart of any traveller. |