What Helsinki Gets Right That Other Capitals Don't: A Local Designer's Take
Antti Virtanen has lived in Helsinki for 12 years. He moved from Tampere to study furniture design at Aalto University, opened his own studio in the Punavuori neighborhood, and now splits his time between crafting minimalist oak shelving systems and swimming in the Baltic Sea year-round — including January. He's 36, pragmatic, and deeply opinionated about sauna etiquette. If you're exploring the region, is just a 2-hour ferry across the Gulf.
We met at Oodi Central Library on a Wednesday morning. He'd chosen the location deliberately.
Q: Why did you want to meet here?
Antti: Because Oodi is the single best building in Helsinki, and it tells you everything about what this city values. It's a public library that opened in 2018. Entry is free. Inside, you can use 3D printers, sewing machines, recording studios, gaming consoles — all free. The rooftop terrace has views of Helsinki Cathedral. It was voted the world's best public library.
In what other capital city would the most important new building be a library? Not a corporate tower, not a luxury hotel, not a stadium. A library. That's Helsinki. If you're exploring the region, Stockholm is fellow Nordic capital connected by ferry.
Q: What surprises visitors most about Helsinki?
Antti: How quiet it is. People come expecting a big European capital and find a city of 660,000 that feels like a large town. You can walk across the center in 30 minutes. There's no chaos, no honking, no crowds pushing past you. Trams glide through silently. People queue patiently. Nobody yells.
Some tourists find this boring. I find it civilized. Helsinki doesn't perform for visitors. It just exists, efficiently, and you're welcome to join.
Q: What should visitors absolutely not miss?
Antti: Three things. First, Suomenlinna — the island fortress. It's a UNESCO World Heritage Site from 1748, spread across six islands connected by bridges. Free to explore the grounds. The ferry from Market Square runs every 15-20 minutes and is included in the HSL transit pass, or 5 EUR return. Bring a picnic in summer. Spend 3-4 hours.
Second, the Design District. It's a 25-block area in Punavuori with 200+ design shops, galleries, and studios. Start at Diana Park and wander. Hit the Artek flagship, the Iittala outlet, and the Marimekko concept store. This is where Helsinki's design identity lives. If you're exploring the region, Copenhagen is the Scandinavian design rival.
Third, a sauna. I don't care which one. But you cannot come to Finland and not sauna. We have 3.3 million saunas for 5.5 million people. It's not optional — it's the culture. If you're exploring the region, Finnish Lapland is Finland's Arctic wilderness.
Q: Speaking of saunas — what's the etiquette?
Antti: Shower thoroughly before entering. Sit on your towel. Speak quietly. Don't stare at anyone. That covers 90% of it.
Traditional Finnish saunas are nude and gender-separated. This is normal. It's not sexual. If that makes you uncomfortable, newer public saunas like Loyly require swimsuits in mixed areas.
The critical rule: never pour water on electric sauna stones without asking the other people in the sauna first. And never, ever wear shoes inside.
Loyly is the tourist-friendly option — 21 EUR for 2 hours, on the waterfront, stunning architecture. But if you want the real experience, find a neighborhood sauna. Kotiharjun Sauna in Kallio is Helsinki's last traditional public wood-heated sauna. It's old, it's basic, and it's perfect.
The Baltic Sea plunge between sauna rounds? Yes, even in winter. It sounds insane and it is. But after 30 seconds in 2°C water, your body releases enough endorphins to fuel a moon landing. You'll understand why Finns do this daily.
Q: What's the biggest mistake tourists make?
Antti: Ignoring the islands. Most tourists visit Suomenlinna and think they've done the archipelago. Helsinki has over 300 islands. Lonna island has a sauna and a restaurant — 20-minute ferry. Pihlajasaari is the summer beach island where locals go to swim and barbecue. A 2-hour island-hopping water bus tour costs about 25 EUR.
In summer, the islands are where Helsinki really happens. Finns escape there for swimming, sailing, picnics. Some islands have free camping under Finland's "everyman's right" law. Tourists who stay on the mainland are missing the whole point.
Q: You mentioned the Design District — what makes Helsinki's design scene special?
Antti: Finland treats design as infrastructure, not luxury. Our bus stops are designed. Our public trash cans are designed. Our school chairs are designed. This comes from the Aalto tradition — Alvar Aalto believed that good design should be available to everyone, not just the wealthy.
When you walk through Helsinki, you notice this. The furniture in public spaces is well-made. The signage is clear. The buildings are proportional. It's not flashy design — it's quiet, functional, human-centered. And after a week here, you go home and start noticing how badly everything in your own city is designed.
The Design District has 200+ shops, but my favorites are the small studios where you can watch people work. Designers here are makers, not just concept people. They cut wood, throw ceramics, sew fabric. Buy something directly from a maker and you're getting Helsinki in physical form.
Q: Best food experiences?
Antti: The salmon soup from the tent kitchens at Market Square (Kauppatori) — about 12-15 EUR for a huge bowl. It's the quintessential Helsinki lunch.
For a sit-down meal, Juuri does modern Finnish cuisine using foraging and seasonal ingredients. Not cheap (mains 25-35 EUR) but it's food that could only exist in Finland.
Budget secret: university cafeterias. Helsinki's university cafeterias are open to visitors and serve subsidized meals for 3-6 EUR. The food is basic but decent, and you eat surrounded by Finnish students, which is more culturally authentic than any restaurant.
Also: the Old Market Hall (Vanha Kauppahalli) behind Market Square. It's an indoor market that's been running since 1889 — smoked fish, reindeer sausage, local cheeses. You can assemble a spectacular lunch for 10-15 EUR.
Q: How affordable is Helsinki compared to other Nordic capitals?
Antti: Cheaper than Stockholm and significantly cheaper than Oslo or Copenhagen. A casual lunch is 12-18 EUR. A pint of beer is 7-9 EUR. Museum entries are 5-15 EUR, and many are free on first Fridays.
The real savings: tap water is excellent (skip bottled), Oodi library is entirely free, S-Market and K-Market supermarkets have good deli sections for cheap meals, and the HSL day pass (9 EUR for zone AB) covers all trams, buses, metro, and ferries including Suomenlinna.
Helsinki is pricey by global standards but manageable for Europe. And the quality-to-price ratio is high — you get good infrastructure, safety, cleanliness, and service for what you pay.
Q: The Temppeliaukio Rock Church — overrated or worth it?
Antti: Worth it. A Lutheran church carved directly into solid rock in 1969, with a copper dome and raw stone walls. Entry is 5 EUR. The acoustics inside are extraordinary — if you can catch a concert there, do it.
But I'll say this: it's a 15-minute experience unless there's a performance. The building is stunning, you walk around, you feel the stone, you look at the dome, and you're done. Don't plan your whole afternoon around it.
Q: One thing you want every visitor to know?
Antti: Finland works. The trains run on time. The WiFi is fast everywhere. The tap water is pure. The healthcare system won't bankrupt you if something goes wrong. The streets are safe at 3AM.
This sounds boring as a travel pitch. But when you're in Helsinki, the fact that everything just works creates a baseline of calm that lets you actually enjoy yourself instead of fighting logistics. You're not worrying about safety or scams or whether the taxi is ripping you off. You're free to look up, notice the architecture, find a sauna, swim in the sea, eat salmon soup, and just... exist.
That's what Helsinki offers. Not excitement. Existence. Done well.
I've traveled a lot. I keep choosing to live here. That should tell you something.
