Nowhere does mid-winter fairly like Helsinki. The arrival of the snow, and the particular gentle that it brings is a welcome change after gray November, and candles, fairy lights, rugs and throws accompany the dazzling blanket of white. As an alternative of hibernating within the sub-zero temperatures, the town buttons up, braces itself and retains going. Nowhere is that this extra evident than on the waterfront, the place fleets of icebreakers carve channels via the frozen seas in order that commuters can go about their enterprise, and ice swimmers relish the thrill that the change in season brings. As Wallpaper* contributing editor Emma O’Kelly – writer of the upcoming ebook Sauna: The Energy of Deep Warmth (printed by Welbeck in September 2023) – discovers, the Finnish spirit of by no means letting the climate cease you is invigorating and infectious, and whenever you head house from Helsinki to nearly wherever else, winter doesn’t appear so dangerous.
What to do in Helsinki: the Wallpaper* tour
The restaurant at Finnjävel, Helsinki
(Picture credit score: Pictures: Nico Backströmin)
Point out dill meat, summer time vegetable soup or pork stew to Finns of a sure age, and so they grimace in horror. These unloved staples have been survival fodder in post-war Finland, however at Helsinki restaurant Finnjävel, they’ve been resurrected, shedding any detrimental associations alongside the way in which. The Michelin-starred restaurant provides a five- or eight-course tasting menu and the adjoining bistro serves much-loved classics similar to Hasselback potatoes, apple ‘donuts’ and mushroom porridge, and for Christmas, reindeer tongue and potato pudding.
finnjavel.fi (opens in new tab)
Kulttuurisauna
Folks perch outdoors Kulttuurisauna in Helsinki
(Picture credit score: Pictures: Leena Karppinen)
In winter, Helsinki’s public saunas normally reduce ice holes into the ocean to cater for winter bathers, and Kulttuurisauna, on the water at Merihaka, is a picturesque place for a cold dip. The eco-friendly, wood-fired sauna was designed by Tuomas Toivonen of Now architects nearly a decade in the past, and has a cult following (there’s a hearsay one will open in Japan quickly). It’s known as the ‘tradition sauna’ for a cause – silence is obligatory and boiled eggs, pickles and sea-buckthorn pictures are the refreshments of selection, moderately than the customary beer or lengthy drink (G&T in a tin).
kultturisuana.fi (opens in new tab)
Lodge St George
The St George suite at St George Lodge in Helsinki
(Picture credit score: Courtesy Nordic Lodges & Eating places, St George)
The check of an excellent resort is the way it treats you whenever you’re bone-dead exhausted, and Lodge St George delivers on all fronts. Pleasant employees, comfy beds, understated design and a peaceable location subsequent to a leafy metropolis centre park make for a restful keep. Basement restaurant Boon Nam whips up tasty Thai dishes, and St George Bakery subsequent door provides a cheery slice of neighbourhood life, the place resort company and locals congregate for espresso, sourdough and cinnamon buns.
stgeorgehelsinki.com (opens in new tab)
Kaiku
The within of Kaiku membership in Helsinki
(Picture credit score: Pictures: Maija Astikainen)
There are tons of studios, bars, classic retailers and golf equipment within the inventive quarter of Kallio, however the line for Kaiku at 1am on a wet Saturday night time is the longest by far. In the case of clubbing, Helsinki fashions itself on Berlin, however the eclectic, worldwide line-up at Kaiku provides common alternate options to techno. In summer time, clubbers spill out onto the roof terrace and collect on the outside bar. And in winter, they do a lot the identical factor.
clubkaiku.fi (opens in new tab)
Yrjönkatu Uimahalli
Yrjönkatu Uimahalli indoor swimming pool in Helsinki
(Picture credit score: © Metropolis of Helsinki. Photographer: Shoot Hayley, Jussi Hellsten)
Those that favor a heated indoor pool to an ice gap ought to head for Yrjönkatu, the town’s oldest public swimming corridor. In-built 1928 in classical fashion, it has a grand 25m pool, three saunas and particular person altering cubicles fitted with beds which have an air of Soviet sanitorium about them. Don’t be postpone, although, as a result of the saunas are among the many finest within the metropolis and Café Yrjö upstairs provides a tipple of mead and honey (the Viking hooch of selection) and a signature cocktail served with brandy.
Dance Home Helsinki
Dance Home Helsinki’s exterior
(Picture credit score: © Tuomas Uusheimo)
Dance Home Helsinki is the primary devoted dance area in Finland, and judging by the dance troupes and circus performers rehearsing in its 700-seat auditorium, it’s lengthy overdue. Native architects JKMM ‘bolted’ the brand new constructing onto a former cable manufacturing facility from the Twenties. With a rolling programme of 4 performances every week, Dance Home is the most recent addition to this five-hectare inventive enclave, which incorporates ateliers, studios and museums, amongst them The Finnish Museum of Pictures. JKMM is stamping its mark throughout Helsinki. In 2018, it accomplished the Amos Rex museum and a brand new constructing for the Academy of High quality Arts has simply opened on the opposite facet of city.
tanssintalo.fi (opens in new tab)
Vuokko
A ‘Loikka Crimson’ jumpsuit on the Vuokko store on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki’s Design District
(Picture credit score: Man Bolongaro)
If you happen to’re impressed by the Design Museum’s present exhibition on Antti and Vuokko Nurmesniemi, one among Finland’s most celebrated designer {couples}, then it’s a fast stroll alongside fairly procuring streets to the Vuokko boutique. Nurmesniemi’s niece Mere Eskolin is now on the helm and the boutique provides a capsule assortment of Vuokko’s finest sellers, amongst them the round ‘Myllynkivi’ gown, first reduce out of 1 piece of material in 1964, and the unisex ‘Loikka’ jumpsuit, which seems to be as trendy as we speak because it ever did.
vuokko.com (opens in new tab)
Supply: Wallpaper
