Fancy a nice walk in Helsinki? There are several options for that, now I am writing one very central one. If you want to walk only few kilometres and enjoy sea and our lovely park Kaivopuisto, this is “the walk” for you.  When walking you can also see many small nearby islands, for example Suomenlinna fortress which you can see below.

In many ways this walk offers many “best things” of Helsinki – sea, nature, nice parks and  smiling people. If you would like to have a cup of coffee when walking there are several options – some small kiosks as well as coffee shops Café Ursula and Café Carusel. The latters have sea view as well as good Finnish Pulla (Pulla is Finnish pastry – sometime I’ll write more of that) to enjoy with coffee. In summertime there is also a big terrace called Mattolaituri where you can enjoy sun and cold wine or beer.

This time my walk started at Telakkakatu near Eiranranta Beach. After that I headed east following the coastline. After Silja Line ferry terminal I headed to Tähtitorninmäki to enjoy colourful trees and ended my walk to Esplanadi in downtown. And how was Helsinki downtown today? It was very peaceful – some tourists, some locals. I think when something as dreadful happens as this weekend in Paris, one feels very safe in our smallish peaceful Helsinki. I know Paris or for example Rome offers things Helsinki doesn’t. But then – Helsinki is so far away from terrorist attacks. Also usually there are no long queues when visiting museums and getting from one place to another is so easy since not too many people in metros and trams. So I really welcome you to see our beloved capital!

Anna