4 Night Winter Getaway to Helsinki

After your flight lands in Helsinki (likely in the late afternoon or early evening,) check into your hotel and get settled. As you may be tired, stick with a fun dinner close to your hotel such as at Boon Nam. This trendy and colorful restaurant showcases the cuisine of Thailand through small bites that showcase ancient cooking methods to create food full of flavor. Choose one of the tasting menus for the entire table to enjoy family style or order a la carte off the menu. Don’t miss out on the amazing lobster dumplings!

Still have some energy left after dinner? Head to Chihuahua Julep. This speakeasy style cocktail bar does not allow cell phone use or photos, which adds to the fun and unique ambiance. This tiny bar is a bit hard to find and you need to ring the doorbell to get let in. Once you do, you will get to enjoy some amazing cocktails with fantastic conversation, since no one will be distracted by their phones.

After a delicious breakfast included as part of your hotel perks, put on some comfortable shoes and head out with your guide for a four-hour private walking tour of Helsinki. You’ll see all the highlights and learn about their history or cultural significance, including Esplanade Park, the Havis Amanda statue, Market Square, the Presidents Castle, Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral, Senate Square, Helsinki University, the Main Train Station, the Amos Rex Art Museum and the Chapel of Silence. You will stop at the halfway point to visit a popular coffee shop and enjoy a warm beverage and a sweet treat. After walking by the major monuments, you will step inside the Rock Church (also known as Temppeliaukio Church,) an open air church built directly into solid rock. After letting you take some photos of this unique church, your guide will explain the significance of this location and how it came to be. Next, you will hop on public transportation with your guide to visit the Sibelius monument. This stunning statue was created in honor of the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius. It consists of over 600 steel pipes grouped together at various heights to resemble a sound wave. The steel pipes make sounds when the wind blows - similar to a pipe organ. Pro tip: Crawl or lay under the monument for a really interesting view and listening experience. Afterwards, head back to the city center to continue your adventures.

On your way back into the city center, stop at Pizzeria da Chicco for a delicious late lunch. This spot (arguably) has the best pizza in Helsinki; the owner spent many years working in restaurants in Italy to perfect his craft. Don’t skip the tiramisu, it’s everyone’s favorite menu item!

After you grab a bite to eat, wander the Kamppi and Punavuori districts for art, cafes, boutiques, galleries and shopping. Consider making a reservation at the Helkatti Cat Cafe, the best cat cafe in Helsinki, to spend time with some adorable cats while enjoying a warm beverage and sweet treats. Don’t miss the Moomin Shops (several locations,) a famous animated character featured in comics in the '50s that gained major popularity worldwide in the '90s when the series and products went global. Diehard fans will love the amount of Moomin products available throughout Finland! C.Hagelstam Antikvariaatti and Divari & Antikvariaatti Kummisetä are great spots to look for rare books. Lokal Gallery is a hip contemporary art gallery with a store showcasing products from local designers & artisans. Papershop is a beautiful stop for stationary, paper goods and gifts. Lovia Collection for unique handbags Looking for furniture. Artek Helsinki offers contemporary Scandinavian furniture. Sustainable design is a growing trend in Helsinki and a great spot to discover carefully sourced vintage design gems, colorful table centerpieces, and tableware is the Iittala Store on Esplanadi. Relove is a second-hand clothes store with carefully selected clothes, many from well-known designer brands, in an aesthetically pleasing, light-filled space. It also has a cafe serving breakfast, lunc, and snacks. Monono showcases beautiful and colorful homegoods. Lapuan Kankurit Store & Studio has roots back to 1917, when the family established their first textile factory. Today, Lapuan Kankurit is led by the fourth generation of weavers, using natural raw materials, such as linen and wool, to create their products, which includes towels, blankets, table linens and more. For a warm drink, stop by Teehuone Tsaikka, a tea store with an extensive selection of teas, in addition to 100% gluten-free desserts.

Feeling artsy? Pop into some of Helsinki’s many art galleries — Galleria Rankka, Galleria Huuto, Helsinki Contemporary, Galerie Forsblom, Annantalo, Galleria Bronda Oy and Myymälä2. Make sure to leave some time for the Sinebrychoff Art Museum and the Helsinki Art Museum. If you love architecture, look for the work of Alvar Aalto and Aino Aalto, two of the most iconic Finnish architects that had a major influence on Scandinavian design via the Aalto House, Studio Aalto (HQ for the Alvar Aalto Foundation and offers guided tours) and Finlandia Hall.

Once you are done shopping and browsing galleries, have a delicious dinner at Ravintola Nolla. This restaurant, bar and microbrewery aims to minimize the amount of waste they produce by mindfully sourcing ingredients from local farmers, fishermen and producers, placing a heavy emphasis on seasonal produce and using an in-house composter that produces composted soil for their suppliers to use to grow the next batch of ingredients. You can enjoy dishes such as sourdough pasta, a grilled catch of the day, celeriac schnitzel and meadowsweet (a local flower that has flavors of hay, almond and vanilla) ice cream.

After breakfast, dress warm for your unforgettable winter experience! You will be picked up from your hotel and driven to the departure pier. You will be provided with warm clothing, safety equipment and a flotation suit while listening to a short safety briefing. You will then board your hovercraft, which has a heated cabin that can fit up to 6 guests. You will then depart for a ride above the ice through the archipelago winter landscape and out to sea. You may even spot some seals or other animals out on the ice. Since you are in a survival suit, you will get to leave the hovercraft and experience how it feels to float among the ice while staying warm and dry. You will be able to take great photos of you amongst the ice! You can also try standing and running on floating ice shards if you are feeling adventurous. Once you are done playing on the ice, you will be served a barbecue lunch cooked over an open fire. You can also add in a helicopter ride above the archipelago to this experience.

Once you return back to your hotel, visit the included sauna or steam room to warm back up. You could also visit Allas Sea Pool, which includes saunas and fresh and seawater pools. If you want an even more unique sauna experience, try the Original SkySauna, the first sauna gondola in the world on a Ferris wheel. The experience includes two drinks per person per hour and towels. Once you are back on the ground, you can enjoy a hot tub on the ground.

After you are sufficiently warmed up, head over to Vanha Kauppahalli, a fresh food market that has been operating since the 19th century and offers many unique Finnish specialities. Here, you can pick up many great food souvenirs, such as cloudberry jam, smoked salmon and caviar. Don’t miss your chance to try the famous salmon soup at SOUP+MORE. It was absolutely delicious. Once you have worked your way through all the market stalls, head across the street to Finlandia Caviar Shop & Restaurant. Here you can try a large variety of caviar, roe and oysters. Their menu offers many dishes to try their specialties in various forms, but I recommend the caviar, roe or oyster tasting options so you can compare the various types and learn which options are your favorite. Vegan (seaweed) caviar is also available.

Before you head back to your hotel for the night, cross the market square and pop into Trillby & Chadwick. There is no sign so keep an eye out for a well-lit door and blacked-out windows. Once inside, pick up the antique telephone to ask to be seated and then wait to be escorted to a table in the parlor. This spot offers creative cocktails and, again, no photos allowed. Seating is on a first come first serve basis, but reservations are accepted for parties over four.

After breakfast, a driver will pick you up and drop you off at the ferry terminal. Aboard the very comfortable ferry, you will cross the Baltic Sea via a two hour ride. The ferry offers a very comfortable journey with wifi, cafes, restaurants, bars and shopping boutiques. After docking in Tallinn, Estonia’s capital, your driver and guide will pick you up. You will take a three hour tour of Tallinn, including the main city square, Tallinn Town Hall, houses of guilds from the Middle Ages, towers, Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral, Toompea Castle, Kiek in de Kök, and more. Tallinn’s walled, cobblestoned Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site. After the tour concludes, you will have a few hours to explore the cafes, restaurants and shops in the Old Town. Don’t skip visiting the Kalev Marzipan Museum Room so you can purchase some marzipan or chocolate to take home. For an upscale meal, visit Restaurant Tchaikovsky at the Telegraaf Hotel. This restaurant is consistently recognized at the top of the best restaurants in Estonia list and features a cuisine that is a fusion of French, Russian and Estonian cuisine, served beneath a beautiful glass roof and chandelier. After your time in Tallinn has concluded, your driver will pick you up to take you back to the ferry station.

If you still have energy when you return, head to the Wintergarden Bar for a final cocktail. Wintergarden, built under a glass roof and Pekka Jylhä’s metal bird sculpture “Learning to Fly” suspended from the ceiling. This bar is most well known for its clackbird cocktail served in a bird-shaped glass full of red currant infused vodka, sparkling black currant juice, blueberry and rosemary syrup and lemon.

After you head back to your hotel room, pack up and get ready for your flight to your next destination tomorrow.