I really love Hietaniemen Uimaranta (which is normally called “Hietsu” as the official name is pretty long…) – it is sandy beach next to downtown Helsinki and perfect for sunny summerdays. You can just enjoy sun and swim but you can also play beach-volley, chat with friends or visit cafeteria. You can also ffind showers and changing rooms. What there are not are sunbeds and umbrellas so people are just lying in their own towels. Not having rentable sunbeds is very Finnish thing – we want beaches to be for everyone, not just for ones who have money. However, I would like to be able to rent sunbed for a day… There are not that many people as in many other European beaches near downtowns. Also the location of the beach is just perfect – so near downtown!

Every time I visit (and I visit often) I am surprised how many foreigners there are – maybe enjoying beach life is not in Finnish DNA? How to get there? You can walk – it is a bit more than kilometre from Railwaystation. The address is Hiekkarannantie 11. When walking there you should also enjoy big cemetery called Hietaniemen Hautausmaa next to beach. Map below shows that area as green area by the sea near the beach.

After rainy day sun just started shining, maybe I’ll next take my bike and head towards Hietsu!

Anna