Helsinki Highlights: A Finnish Crash Course

1. Finns and the Past. The Senate square: politics, knowledge, and religion. The way it started: from the Kingdom of Sweden to Finnish Independence via the Russian Empire.
2. Finns and Nature vs. Culture. Aleksanterinkatu: the golden years. The most fantastic early 20th-century architecture crossroads of Helsinki: Finnish National Romanticism meets global European trends.
3. Finns and War. Mannerheimintie: Marshal Mannerheim, the hero of independent Finland, his avenue, his monument, and his favourite dish are still on the Finnish menus.
4. Finns and the Future. Narinkka square. From the 2012 ecumenical chapel of Silence (the most Finnish concept ever!) and the 2018 futuristic Amos Rex museum of Contemporary Art to the 2018 Oodi Library.
5. Finns and Art. Central Railway Station (Eliel Saarinen's Art Nouveau/Art Deco 1919 landmark), the two theatres' perspective, and the Ateneum museum of Finnish Art.
6. Finns and Water. The Esplanade. Playful water spirits and the market square promenade with gorgeous sea views towards Katajanokka headland and the Allas seaside bathhouse. Our tour ends at the Suomenlinna islands' city ferry terminal opposite the President’s Palace.