GUTTER CREDITThis Finnish culture hub puts
museums, galleries and more
than 150 eating and drinking
spots within a walkable grid
of 25 streets. Artsy and
refined, the precinct plays
a key role in increasing
Helsinki’s reputation as
a design incubator.DISCOVER
As the name suggests, lovers and
appreciators of good design will
be in their element at the Design
Museum. After wandering its halls
and taking in more than 125,000
images, 75,000 objects and
45,000 drawings, hit the streets for
design you can take home.
Helsinki’s second-hand and
vintage-store culture is huge. You’ll
find these shops down every other
street, while some second-hand
markets set up on the fly on grassy
knolls all around the district. There
are great bargains to be found,
especially when it comes to
clothing – from Zara and H&M
staples to vintage Chanel.
KLM flies from most Australian major
cities to Helsinki, via Amsterdam. klm.com
DESIGN DISTRICT, HELSINKI
DON’T LEAVE HOME WITHOUT ...
... experiencing Helsinki’s sauna culture. Allas Sea
Pool is open all year round and is a very popular
attraction for locals and tourists alike. Made up
of a floating deck with three pools (a large, heated
freshwater pool and sea water pools), as well as
three saunas, it’s a heavenly way to while away
a few hours. allasseapool.fiSTAY
Swank meets swagger at Hotel St.
George, a shrine to contemporary
art and hot interiors within a
former 19th-century printing
house. The hotel includes three
restaurants and a Romanesque
spa, but the biggest thrill comes
from the proximity to the dragon
installation in the lobby by artist
and activist Ai Weiwei. If you
don’t pick this as the place to
stay, at least pop by and enjoy
a drink at the hotel’s Wintergarden
bar. stgeorgehelsinki.comLOCAL KNOWLEDGE
In this modern, sustainably minded city, you
can eat like a local at Loop, an unconventional
lunch spot with the motto, “From waste to
taste.” All meals at Loop are made using the
surplus food from neighbouring establishments.
Wash it down with the aptly named Wasted
beer, which is also made on site. Heading
further along the food trail, Yes Yes Yes is a
quirky-cool bar and restaurant in a former
McDonald’s with tapas-style fare that just
so happens to be vegetarian. For brunch and
lunch, follow the stream of normcore-outfitted
Nords to Southpark, a next-generation buffet.
Don’t miss Vin-Vin, a tiny little wine bar
serving mostly organic wines from small
vineyards, and contemporary brasserie
Bronda, where the chefs fuse European
cuisines to put a new twist on the classics.