What to do in Helsinki on Sunday Morning?

What can you do in Helsinki on a Sunday morning?

My cruise ship docks at 7 in the morning, and it seems like everything is still closed- the churches like the Rock Church are doing their church services and won't be open to tourists untill noon, the stores are either closed on Sunday or won't open till later so takes out strolling along the Esplande, etc...

There seems like there's a lot of things that are closed on Sunday. And, its even worse because the things that will be open on Sunday won't be open for another few hours after the ship docks.

I just don't understand the logic of the cruise ships docking in Helsinki so early in the morning when everything's closed. They may have just as well as docked later on after everything had opened and avoided the extra port fees for each hour they're docked. I undertand that they'll dock at less convenient terminals and ports so that you'll be more inclined to take their shore excursion, but I don't see the logic in this at all.

I didn't expect Helsinki to be the favorite port on my cruise, but I thought it was going to be Tallinn where I struggled to find stuff to do to fill out the port day and now it looks like it might be Helsinki.

What can you do in Helsinki on a Sunday morning?

 

My cruise ship docks at 7 in the morning, and it seems like everything is still closed- the churches like the Rock Church are doing their church services and won't be open to tourists untill noon, the stores are either closed on Sunday or won't open till later so takes out strolling along the Esplande, etc...

 

There seems like there's a lot of things that are closed on Sunday. And, its even worse because the things that will be open on Sunday won't be open for another few hours after the ship docks.

 

I just don't understand the logic of the cruise ships docking in Helsinki so early in the morning when everything's closed. They may have just as well as docked later on after everything had opened and avoided the extra port fees for each hour they're docked. I undertand that they'll dock at less convenient terminals and ports so that you'll be more inclined to take their shore excursion, but I don't see the logic in this at all.

 

I didn't expect Helsinki to be the favorite port on my cruise, but I thought it was going to be Tallinn where I struggled to find stuff to do to fill out the port day and now it looks like it might be Helsinki.

While Helsinki is not my most memorable cruise stop city, I found it well worth the stop. I love getting off the ship early before things open and doing as much of my external sightseeing as I can. Assuming the weather cooperates, Helsinki is a very nice city just to walk around and explore. I rode the tram system quite a bit during my day there. Things that would be worthy of visiting before other things open would be the Sibelius Monument, the Olympic Stadium (I only looked in from the outside while there), the walk the waterfront, stop in a coffee shop around one of the major streets/intersections and people watch. Get your external pictures of the Churches and Cathedrals. The central area is small enough you can always walk back later to go inside.

It's not an action packed city. But it's very pleasant.

I'd agree that Helsinki wasn't my favorite port on a spectacular Baltic cruise either, but it was a nice city and I was glad to have seen it. Tallinn is quite charming and lovely, and wandering around the Old Town was excellent.

You can take the ferry to visit Suomenlinna on a Sunday morning.

From an online search, it appears the stalls at Market Square are open on the first Sunday of the month. Could anyone please confirm if there are any markets open in Helsinki on Sundays? The stalls at Market Square had some excellent seafood, and there were local handicrafts for sale if you are interested in that sort of thing.

The Finnair Skywheel is close to the ferries to Suomenlinna, and that opens at 11 am if you are interested in seeing the city from a different vantage point.

We also rode the tram around the city, and you can certainly do that earlier in the day. Or you might want to wait until later when you can make stops (the rock church was worth a visit).

Aren't the museums and guided tours for Suomenlinna still closed on a Sunday morning?

Ferry to the fortress will depart from the market at 7.40, 8.20 etc. on Sundays.

http://aikataulut.reittiopas.fi/linjat/en/hLautta_Kauppatori.html

Aren't the museums and guided tours for Suomenlinna still closed on a Sunday morning?

Times depend of the date. Check it out at:

http://www.suomenlinna.fi/en/opening-hours/

And yes, the Market will be open Sunday, from 10 a.m. onwards I think.

Oh - sorry - we just enjoyed walking around Suomenlinna, so I'm not familiar with the museums or tour schedule. It's a pretty park area, and worth a walk if you don't have any other priorities in Helsinki.

Oh - sorry - we just enjoyed walking around Suomenlinna, so I'm not familiar with the museums or tour schedule. It's a pretty park area, and worth a walk if you don't have any other priorities in Helsinki.

I guess its Suomenlinna then... But, what can you do there? Is there anything to see or do besides walking around?

Maybe, the pictures don't do it justice, but the pictures made it just seem a bit underwhelming and I hadn't planned on going there until I realized nothing else is open. I just saw some hills and grass and tunnels in those pictures, although it looks like a pleasant place to take a picnic if you're a local.

I have some pictures; can anyone recommend how to post them in this forum?

we just enjoyed walking around Suomenlinna... It's a pretty park area, and worth a walk if you don't have any other priorities in Helsinki.

Would you agree that its the number one thing to do in Helsinki as voted by Tripadvisor users?

Honestly, as MeHeartCruising stated, Helsinki is not the most memorable port. And so many other ports on this cruise are truly spectacular - St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Tallinn and Copenhagen - that it is a bit harder on Helsinki. I was really glad to have visited Helsinki, but I also don't feel any need to go back. There were several things I would recommend doing in Helsinki, and visiting the island is certainly one of them. I would say my three favorite things were visiting the market to eat local food, visiting the island and visiting the rock church. But its hard to pick a #1 site such as in Stockholm, where the Vasa was so spectacular and impressive.

I guess its Suomenlinna then... But, what can you do there? Is there anything to see or do besides walking around?

 

Maybe, the pictures don't do it justice, but the pictures made it just seem a bit underwhelming and I hadn't planned on going there until I realized nothing else is open. I just saw some hills and grass and tunnels in those pictures, although it looks like a pleasant place to take a picnic if you're a local.

We took a tour. It is quite interesting. . .You need to learn the history of Finland to understand their way of life.