Helsinki, Finland — Nick C. Bumstead

Intro Text

Artek
Artek Helsinki offers a design experience in two stories. Artek’s own collection of furniture, lighting and accessories can be discovered in its entirety. Highlights include product launches straight from the trade fairs, Artek Helsinki specials, which are only available at the store, as well as a workshop, where Alvar Aalto’s Stool 60 can be customised on site by clients. Carefully selected products by like-minded companies, many of which are exclusively distributed by Artek in Finland, complete the offering. Store offers an enlarged book and magazine selection. Artek Helsinki also offers interior design and upholstery services along with a large selection of home textile, including carpets, fabrics and curtains. Welcome to spend time and meet friends, get inspired, explore changing exhibitions and most of all furniture and lightning. Tax Free and Export Service Artek is one of the Global Blue Tax Free Shopping stores in Helsinki. When paying for your purchases ask the shop staff for a Tax Free Form. We offer international shipping.

Vogue: "This legendary Finnish furniture company founded by much-loved designers Alvar and Aino Aalto, has its flagship store in the centrally-located neighbourhood of Kluuvi. Spread across two floors, the shop boasts classics such as the stool 60, the floor lamp A 805, the chair 611 and Aalto vases, along with items from other acclaimed Finnish and international designers. As for their international roster, marvel at the works of Swiss design house Vitra, Swedish String Furniture and French Serge Mouille, along with lots more."

Visit Finland: "Founded in 1935 by Alvar and Aino Aalto, Finland’s most famous architect couple, together with Maire Gullichsen and Nils Gustav-Hahl, Artek is the pre-eminent interior design house of Finland. The two-storey store provides stylish interior design ideas that combine classics with novel pieces. Today, Artek continues to produce and sell many of Aalto’s classic, world-renowned designs – like the Stool 60 design with its distinctive L-shaped legs. Consuming mindfully has always been at the heart of Artek, so alongside creating new pieces, Artek hunts down old items and brings them back to life. Their vintage collection is available at Artek 2nd Cycle, a short walk from the Artek flagship store."

Iittala
Visit Finland: "Glassware company Iittala has a collection of timeless and essential objects for the home, comprised of early designs by luminaries Alvar and Aino Aalto and Kaj Frank, and modern pieces from some of the most talented Finnish and international designers working today. Iittala’s global flagship store is located on Esplanadi, at one of Helsinki’s most prestigious addresses. The store showcases beautifully Iittala’s glass art objects as well as the whole product line. Iittala gets its name from the small village where the original glass factory was established in 1881. With over a thousand secret colour recipes, Iittala’s mastery of pigment is completely unique."

Baltic Herring Market (Stadin Silakkamarkkinat)
Fare Magazine: "The Stadin Silakkamarkkinat (“the Baltic herring market”) is one of Helsinki’s longest traditions. Dating back to 1743, the market was established under Swedish rule, and is comprised of a line of fishing boats clustered in the small harbor at Kauppatori. The fishermen have traveled from all across Finland, especially from its furthest reaches—like the autonomous island of Åland. They sell fresh, seasoned, pickled, and marinated herring, as well as spreads, smoked lamprey eel, and svartbröd, the famous dark and densely sweet bread that originates from Åland."

Hakaniemi Market
Farmers Market first Sunday of every month.

Fare: "Kahvisiskot (“coffee sisters”) is one of the torikahvila at Hakaniemi Market square, beside the new market hall. Raija Kaattari, 64, set up Kahvisiskot (“coffee sisters”), with her sister Päivi in 1975, and has run the torikahvila

for 42 years."

NYT: "A less touristy atmosphere, hop on a tram to Kallio, a residential neighborhood just to the north, where Hakaniemen Kauppahalli, the Hakaniemi Market Hall, reopened last year after a long restoration. Inside the two-story, red-brick building, which first opened in 1914, stroll the airy aisles where vendors sell fresh fish and meats, seasonal vegetables, delectable cakes and pastries, hearty rye loaves and edible souvenirs like smoked reindeer, salty licorice candies and bags of locally roasted coffee beans."

Venue Report: "A favorite weekend stop for Terhi to grab breakfast and groceries, Hakaniemi Market is filled with various vendors for all your shopping needs. Whether you are on the hunt for fresh pastries, handicrafts, or decor for your home, you will find authentic Finnish goods at this bustling market. Local vendors can be viewed on their website and are open Monday-Saturday so cater to your weekly shopping lists."

Culture Trip: "Hakaniemi Food Hall, built in 1914, is located in the Hakaniemi neighborhood, also next to the Hakaniemi market Square. This charming food hall has two floors; the ground floor is home to local food merchants, such as the well-known Reini meat shop, and the second floor has 28 specialty non-food stores, including a small Marimekko store. There is a pleasant cafe on the second floor, where you can sit down for coffee and cake and relax after a day of shopping. The Hakaniemi Food market Hall is easily accessible by tram, bus and subway."

Shopping for Smoked Seafood at the Old Market Hall | ©Nick C. Bumstead

Old Market Hall (Vanha Kauppahalli)
Guardian: "My favourite thing to do in Helsinki is get a fish plate from a stall in the authentically Finnish Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall) on the harbour front. I go there after a heated-pool swim and a quick dip in the icy Baltic at the Allas sea pool."

NYT: "The 19th-century Old Market Hall, is a natural first stop for many visitors disembarking from the hulking cruise ships that dock along the bustling harborfront."

Culture Trip: "The lovely and recently renovated Old market Hall is the oldest food market hall in Helsinki, serving loyal customers since 1889. This beautiful market hall building was designed by Finnish architect Gunnar Nyström. It is strategically located just next to the Helsinki market Square, close by the sea. The Old market Hall is very popular with tourists, especially in the summer. If you want to sample some Finnish gourmet delicacies, or have lunch in the lovely surroundings, then this is the place for you."

Visit Finland: "Opened in 1889, is the oldest and most iconic one, and the perfect place to get started. Located by the Market Square right by the Baltic Sea, the Old Market Hall serves everything from seafood, fine cheese and sweet treats to specialties such as reindeer meat. The Old Market Hall is a great place to enjoy affordable lunch. The salmon soup and fish sandwiches are a must-try! This is also the place to get picnic treats before catching a ferry to Suomenlinna."

Text

Lingonberry Caramel Cake and Coffee at Way Bakery | ©Nick C. Bumstead

Way Bakery
Anders & Kaitlin: "A perfect day for us in Helsinki would start at Way Bakery, sitting outside in the sun with a table full of treats and coffee. Way serves our favorite baked goods in town – we feasted on lemon sugar donuts (sprinkled with salt and pepper for a savory kick), canelés, cookies, and all kinds of cakes. In the afternoon, they also serve delicious pasta and natural wine. Our favorite was the rigatoni with pumpkin and spicy sausage, but the gnocchi with gorgonzola and walnuts was also really tasty."

Vogue: "A bakery and a natural wine bar, Way has developed a great concept combining the the finest bottles with the tastiest baked treats in town. Situated in Helsinki’s hip area of Kallio, Way offers everything from a nutritious breakfast and brunch to a hearty pasta lunch - accompanied by a refreshing glass of natural wine, of course. If you don’t have time to sit down, buy a bottle and save it for your next picnic at one Helsinki's lush parks."

Suitcase Mag: "Rub shoulders with Helsinki’s hipster crowd at this bakery-come-natural wine bar on the edge of Karhupuisto Park, Kallio’s most popular patch of green. Founded by the brains behind the city’s legendary Good Life coffee roastery, the neighbourhood café is known for its chunky sourdough, freshly rolled egg pasta dishes and delectable organic wines."

84 Rooms:"All-day trendy café-bakery, great breakfast, pastries, pasta, and wines in the evenings. One of my favorite bakeries in Helsinki. Their sourdough bread is probably the best in the city. They do breakfast, brunch, and evenings. It’s a bit hipster, quirky, modern style and you feel like being in New York or London."

NYT: "An all-day cafe and artisan bakery with minimalist design and sunny sidewalk tables where locals linger over granola bowls (€7) and thick focaccia squares topped with burrata (€11.50). For brunch, consider the ever-changing selection of special pastries displayed atop the stainless-steel counter, which recently included frosted rhubarb-strawberry financiers and raspberry-and-mascarpone-filled maritozzi buns (from €6.50). Or order my go-to: the bread plate with chewy sourdough, thinly sliced cheese, a generous schmear of salted butter and a jammy soft-boiled egg (€11)."

Finnish Art at Ateneum | ©Nick C. Bumstead

Text

Text

WOM Chef Helena Puolakka: "There’s really a sense of belonging. Ekberg is wonderful. For me, it’s the place to go for afternoon tea. Or just for fika, with a cup of Café au lait, a cinnamon bun or other nice pastry. It's a really lovely spot. Ekberg is special in the sense that it's a place for local people. You know you have generations of the same families going there. It has all the elements of being in Central Europe when you sit there. The table service is great, and the menu has been the same forever when it comes to pastries and sandwiches, and there’s really a sense of belonging somewhere when you are there."

In the Mood for Food: "To stay on the “sweet tooth” topic, you would miss something if you don’t take a break at Café Ekberg to drink a tea with one of their delightful pastries. It’s also the oldest pastry shop of Helsinki, as it was established in 1852."

Temppeliaukio Church | ©Nick C. Bumstead

Temppeliaukio Church
Amigo: "Spectacular church built into solid rock. See from the outside, walk around the the rock garden and make sure to go inside. Entrance fee 8 euros."

T Magazine: "In 1961, the architect brothers Timo and Tuomo Suomalainen designed a Lutheran church for a rocky building site in Helsinki’s wealthy Töölö neighborhood. Rather than create a structure that would sit atop the granite outcropping, surrounded by elegant apartment blocks, the brothers chose to view the plot itself as a religious space and sank the Temppeliaukio Church (better known as the Rock Church) almost entirely into the landscape. A cavelike entrance opens off the street into a spacious chapel topped with a copper dome and surrounded by rugged stone walls. At once earthy and ethereal, the church, which still hosts regular prayer services and chamber concerts, has become an icon of Finnish Modernism’s intimate relationship with the natural world."

Wallpaper: "'This round iconic church, built directly into solid bedrock, is one of my favourite spaces in Helsinki. I love the light, the organ and the violet-blue pews, which I used to think felt so out of place there. I used to live around the corner and often hung out on the rocks above the church; from there, you see its sculptural form from a new perspective.'"

Oodi Helsinki Central Library | ©Nick C. Bumstead

Oodi Helsinki Central Library
Vogue: "Contemporary architecture."

Suitcase Mag: "One of the city’s most striking architectural feats, Helsinki’s Central Library opened in 2018 as a living room for its citizens. Replete with over 10,000 books to borrow (a system that’s managed and co-ordinated by robots), as well as an urban workshop space offering free-to-use 3D printers, sewing machines and a music studio, Oodi is an ode to Helsinki’s mission of being a city that uses design as a force for social good."

NYT: "The new central library in a monumental, three-story, curved-wood building. Head to the top floor — an open-plan, glass-enclosed reading space nicknamed 'book heaven.'"

Guardian: "I love Oodi, Helsinki’s central library. It’s both a library and a living room, where families play in the kids’ area, students work and visitors relax in the cafe. You can borrow things other than just books; I borrowed a power drill to hang some paintings at home – more sustainable than buying one."

Amos Rex
Suitcase Mag: "Protean contemporary art space Amos Rex is one of the Finnish capital’s newer museums, having opened in 2018 after the complete reconstruction of a 30s cinema, which included the addition of a spaceship-like subterranean annexe. More than just an exhibition space, the museum’s courtyard also moonlights as a skatepark, drinking terrace and meeting place for the city’s sun-seeking cool crowd."

NYT: "A new museum (known as the Amos Anderson Art Museum before it moved to its current location) that opened in a functionalist building from the 1930s on Lasipalatsi Square. Today the square is dominated by futuristic, undulating domes — each with a spherical skylight for the museum’s subterranean galleries below."

T Magazine: "Before his death in 1961, the entrepreneur Amos Anderson accumulated 438 paintings and sculptures, mostly by contemporary Finnish artists; together, they became the basis of what is now the most significant private art collection in Finland. In 2018, the Amos Anderson Foundation expanded with a contemporary art space set in the Lasipalatsi, or “Glass Palace” — a jewel of functionalist design built in 1936 in Helsinki’s central Kamppi neighborhood as a temporary visitors’ center for the Olympics. Rather than forcing flexible display spaces into a protected building, the Helsinki-based firm JKMM Architects restored the original structure and installed new subterranean galleries under an existing open plaza. Inside, an undulating ceiling is punctuated by periscope-like windows, carefully placed to frame key elements of the surrounding neighborhood. At street level, the rooftop creates a whimsical urban playground, open to the city at large."

View of the Port of Helsinki (Helsingin Salaam) from Allas Pool | ©Nick C. Bumstead

Kosmos
Wallpaper: "‘A family-run institution since 1924, Kosmos used to be a cultural hub for artists, writers, and politicians alike. When I return to Helsinki, I gravitate towards these kinds of unapologetically old-school restaurants – those which feel untouched by trends and where traditional Finnish food, art, and design converge. It feels very Kaurismäki-esque, similar to Elite and Sea Horse (also in town).’"

Fare: "Kosmos, like its peers, is a time capsule. It bears all the charm and hallmarks of the belle époque—including tastes and traditions otherwise forgotten. The menu remains unchanged. They still make rye bread from the same 75-year-old levain, and serve up a list of favourites that run even deeper: vorschmack with duchess potatoes, fried Baltic herrings with mashed potatoes, whitefish roe, blinis, reindeer fillet, and schnitzel. There’s also the curious, if controversial, seasonal option of roast horse fillet with chanterelle sauce and buttered swede mash. The restaurant was opened in 1924 by Swedish-speaking Finnish restaurateur Yrjö Teodor Lindfors, and it bears the hallmarks of the belle époque and the early golden period of Finnish design: the interior space designed by then-rising architecture student Alvar Aalto, furniture crafted by Einari Kyöstilä, and the stunning Hellenic motifs of the wooden booth panels carved in dark wood by Eino Räsänen."

Kuurna
Anders & Kaitlin: "Kuurna is an industry favorite – and not only because they’re one of the few restaurants open on Mondays. This cozy eatery serves a two- or three-course menu, but no matter which one you pick, the pepper steak is the must-order dish here. We also enjoyed a daily special of pierogi-style pork dumplings, served in chicken broth, with cabbage, fried mushrooms, and spring onions."

Vogue: "Located in Kruununhaka, one of Helsinki’s most architecturally beautiful areas, Kuurna is a charming bistro boasting a menu that changes fortnightly, combining seasonal European flavours. Working together with local producers, Kuurna solely works with Finnish seafood and meat and aims for all the ingredients to be locally sourced. At Kuurna, you’ll also be able to taste a variety of wines, ranging from classic to natural wines, produced by small and more renowned wineries."

Michelin: "This small, family-run bistro in the peaceful Kruununhaka neighbourhood is a hit with the locals, who come here to enjoy flavoursome Finnish dishes crafted from regional ingredients. Square black tables are spread over two dimly lit rooms – where empty wine bottles act as vases – and you’ll be warmly welcomed in by Laura, Tom and the whole team. The menu changes every three weeks, in line with the latest seasonal produce available, and is often supplemented by daily specials that are chalked up on the blackboard. If it’s on the menu, the peanut swiss roll with potato skin ice cream is a must-try!"

Tallinn, Estonia

Shop | Design

Shop | Markets

Eat | Lunch

See | Art

See | Parks & Castles

Eat & Drink | Coffee & Pastries

See | Architecture

Recreation | Pools & Saunas

Eat | Dinner

Day Trips

Latest Posts