Helsinki, the 450 year old capital of Finland

There are roughly 1 million people living in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area, of which just over half a million in the city itself. Helsinki is fairly multi-cultural (by Finnish standards) with a non-Finnish-speaking population of about 6% compared to 3% in the rest of the country. It's a small, clean, safe and beautiful city and an excellent habitat if you appreciate parks and empiric architecture.

The town of Helsinki was founded by King Gustavus Vasa of Sweden (which Finland belonged to for many centuries) as a new trading post in southern Finland and a competitor to Tallinn in Estonia, the Hanseatic city on the opposite shore of the Gulf of Finland. The King then ordered the burghers of Rauma, Ulvila, Porvoo and Tammisaari to move to Helsinki; the date on which this order was issued, 12.6.1550, is regarded as the date on which the city was founded. [source: http://www.hel.fi/english/info/]

Half of Finnish information sector jobs are found in the Helsinki Region. At the turn of the millennium, 16 per cent of all jobs in Finland were found in Helsinki, and around 25 per cent in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area (consisting of the cities of Helsinki, Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen and accounting for roughly 20 per cent of Finland's population) [source: http://www.hel.fi/tietokeskus/].

Finnish people are generally known to be rather silent and withdrawn. Once you get to know someone though, to the level of friendship, you can count on having someone watching your back.

How to get here

By air

There are several daily flights to Finland from the major cities in Europe. Good connections from the USA and Asia are also available. Our preferred carrier in the country is Finnair. Not always the cheapest but seldom late.

Airport transport
Helsinki - Vantaa Airport is located about 20 kilometres from the centre of Helsinki. Public transport, buses and taxis operate 24 hrs a day. The journey from the airport to the city centre takes 25 - 35 minutes.
Prices by bus: Helsinki region single fare EUR 3.00 and Finnair bus to the centre of Helsinki EUR 4.90 (prices in 2002).
Prices by taxi: approximately EUR 26-34 (prices in 2002). There is also a special Airport Taxi for groups and the prices depend on the number of persons, max. 8 persons. Price, for example, for 1 - 4 persons EUR 18 (prices in 2002). For further information see: http://www.airporttaxi.fi

By sea

There are direct ferry connections from Sweden, Estonia and Germany to Helsinki.

Or, you can always walk. It's just at the edge of the world.

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