Visting Stockholm, Helsinki in the Rain?

[Brucemcdou]

Hi, All - We're currently on the Jewel of the Seas sailing from Copenhagen to Stockholm. After pleasant sunny weather since we left England on Wednesday that allowed us to stroll around Oslo and Copenhagen, the weather forecast for tomorrow is windy and rainy, and it looks like there is a good chance of rain in Helsinki on Tuesday as well.

 

For those of you who have visited these ports, do you have any tips of good "indoor" things to do? We have already purchased the Stockholm Card and were planning to use public transit to get around and enter museums and castles, just as we did in Oslo and Copenhagen. Now we're thinking we will need to try to stay under cover more. Some European cities like Brussels or Milan have wonderful skylight covered "passages" filled with shops and restaurants - is there anything like that in Stockholm or Helsinki? If so, can you tell us how to find them?

 

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

 

BTW, we already have a private tour arranged in St. Petersburg with DenRus so we know we're in good hands in case it rains there as well.

 

Also BTW, the Jewel is a beautiful ship. This Celebrity cruiser may have found a new cruise line!

[dileep]

There are the 3T and 3B trams that go around the city and are quite cheap.

 

Helsinki: We took 15 min shuttle to town. Nice walk to Market Square. Local sightseein bus was 22 Euro per person. We bought a 8 Euro group ticket (works for up to 6 people) and rode tram 3T and 3B around town and the ticket covered ferry ride to Semnolinna Island too. Trams run very frequently. Single all day tourist ticket costs 5.4 Euro. Good deal! Helps to have Euro cash for tram ticket. Vendors in Market Square take credit cards

[Guest LetMeGo]

Just to give an update on Helsinki... The group ticket has been discontinued, so the best alternative is to get the (currently) 6€ tourist ticket and use the #3 trams to circle the city.

 

There has been very little rain in the past few months, and the current shower (which has been going on for 45 minutes and doesn't even require the use of an umbrella) is as wet as it has been so far this year... I would recommend you to tour the city as planned unless it's pouring.

 

I can't think of any "indoor" activities in Helsinki besides the museums and churches you were possibly planning to visit in better weather, and there's nothing stopping you to do so now.

 

For authentic Finnish shopping experiences you should try the Stockmann department store (in the corner of Mannerheimintie and Pohjoisesplanadi), the slightly upscale shopping mall Kämp Galleria (a few hundred yards along the Pohjoisesplanadi from Stockmann), and the modern and "cheap" Itäkeskus (15 minutes by metro from the central railway station)...

I can't really think of any other indoor activities. :confused:

[Brucemcdou]

Thanks, Dileep and Tero, for your ideas about Helsinki! The day ticket for the #3 Trams sounds perfect for us - we enjoy trying to experience everyday life in a city, rather than riding on a group tour bus.

 

For an update, today in Stockholm was very windy but sunny and cool, so my concerns weren't warranted. We used the Stockholm Card to ride the bus over to the Vasa Museum, took a one-hour canal boat tour, and visited the Royal Palace.

 

Thanks again!

[Brucemcdou]

Thanks, Dileep and Tero, for your ideas about Helsinki. The day ticket for the #3 Trams sounds perfect for us - we enjoy trying to experience everyday life in a city, rather than riding on a group tour bus.

 

For an update, today in Stockholm was very windy but sunny and cool, so my concerns weren't warranted. We used the Stockholm Card to ride the bus over to the Vasa Museum, took a one-hour canal boat tour, and visited the Royal Palace.

 

Thanks again!

[Guest LetMeGo]

In that case I must warn you that during the day (at least in the summer) as much as 25% of the passengers on the tram were tourists.:D

But I think it's a lot less now that the summer holidays are over, and most of the cruise ships have already done their visiting for this season.

 

There has been light showers throughout the day today, and the same has been predicted for the next few days as well... But again, the rain was very light and occasional. I hope you have a wonderful weather tomorrow. :cool:

[SF]

Thanks for keeping us up to date on the prices and options available for sightseeing.

[Brucemcdou]

Hi - just wanted to provide an update after our day in Helsinki. We took the ship shuttle to the center of town (8 euros pp, round trip), and purchased a one day bus pass (6 euros pp, as noted by Tero) at the tourist information office on Pohjoisesplanadi, by the small harbor. We were also told that you can purchase the card from any bus or Tram driver and avoid going by the information office. The staff at the information office did take the time to explain that you must validate the card the first time you use it or you may get caught and have to pay a 60 euro fine for riding without a valid ticket! We experienced a "control" during our day, and the agents can see whether the card has been properly validated by putting it into a handheld computer to read the chip. We might not have know how to do this correctly and potentially gotten in trouble.

 

We used the 3T/3B tram to go all around the city, and got off to see the grand Train Station, designed by Eliel Saerinen, the famous Finnish architect, and later to visit Temppeliaukio, the rock church. We rode all the way back to where we boarded, enjoying the different neighborhoods. We then used our bus pass to ride the ferry to Suomenlinna Sveaborg, the fortress island built by Sweden in the 18th century to defend against the Russians. While there we had lunch, and visited the museum that included a short video that helped put the fortress, and indeed the development of Helsinki and Finland, into the context of the rest of Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries. The museum admission is 5 euro pp. It drizzled a little while we were on the island, so we got the ferry back, took the tram to the shuttle and back to the ship. Of course, as soon as we got back on board the weather cleared up and it's now sunny again as we prepare to sail away!

 

We very much enjoyed our day visit and found Helsinki to be a lovely and clean city. We would recommend the day pass for anyone who is not afraid to "figure out" a new city without the help of a guide.

[dileep]

Glad to hear that it worked for you just like it did for us last year!