Is 2 days too much in Helsinki?

In all honesty a lot of what is beautiful about Helsinki is already seen in Stockholm. You might consider taking the ferry to Turku instead. It's much closer and a prettier route because that boat travels much more in the center of the archipeligo and takes you to a delighful old city with a nice river right through the heart of downtown and a big castle right next to where the ferries dock. You can also get off at the midpoint in Marienhahm and spend some time in the archipeligo if you wish.

I don't really agree with Sam. It's true that both are set on the water surrounded by thousands and thousands of islands. But Helsinki has a much different feel than Stockholm. The Russian influence is very strong in Helsinki, and the architecture is a lot different -- and very interesting. I thought Stockholm was prettier, being set on 11 islands. But the Finns have a real aptitude for design that makes it very attractive. I took one of the overnight ferries from Stockholm to Helsinki and back, so I was only there for one day. I felt like I had enough time to see everything I wanted to see. However, I can't tell you if another day would have been more appealing than Stockholm. We have good friends that we stayed with in Stockholm, so for us, spending more time in that ciy was a no-brainer.

Thank you both for the replies. I have to say that the reduced round trip fare on the ferry is tempting to make Helsinki a day trip. On the other hand, 7 hours in Helsinki (from arrival to departure) sounds a little tight, altough from what I read it's a compact city as far as attractions go.
Has anyone visited the Suomenlinna Sea Fortress? The pictures they have online are amazing.

We visited Suomenlinna Sea Fortress and enjoyed it very much. It's not a "WOW!" sight, but it is pretty and interesting.

The 7 Hours in Helsinki is really 6, at best, when you factor in getting to & from the ship.

In 6 hours, you could see the three great churches (Russian Orthodox, Lutheran, and church-in-the-rock) and the nice park/shopping streets on the way to the church-in-the-rock (Temppeliaukio Kirkko)

But that doesn't leave any time at all to just sit and relax, eat a meal and people-watch. Helsinki is nice - not as nice as Stockholm, but nice, and worth more than a glance.

We flew home from there in an open-jaw flight plan. Could you do the same?

I did just that- take the overnight ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki (on the Silja ferry line- detailed in Rick's Scandinavia book) and it was great. You leave Stockholm in the evening, enjoy a great sunset & views, good food on board and there's also a fun/relaxing spa w/ pools (I got a great massage!), sauna, etc. You wake up the next AM in Helsinki and have the day to enjoy the city, which I thought was plenty of time. I forget specific names, but highlights are the Russian Orthodox church (large white church which you see from the ship as you approach the harbor), the circular "rock" church (spectacular, unlike any you have seen before) and the market at the harbor. Then you get back on the ferry for the return to Stockholm. I recommend this if you have the time. It's a nice break from Stockholm and a very easy way to see another great city, all in a day. Just follow Rick's tips on this side-trip- as w/ all of his tips, the ones for this excursion are spot-on. Enjoy!

Actually Laurence, the white church is not the Russian orthodox church. The white big church is a Finnish lutheran church. The Russian orthodox church is the red church to the side of the market place. http://fi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiedosto:Uspensiki_by_SamSegar.jpg

There is plenty to do in Helsinki for more than just the day trip from Silja Line.

Kaarina-- thx for pointing that out-- I realized I had made a mistake after I posted that last night. Got my churches confused there! Both were quite memorable, both def worth a visit while in Helsinki. Glad you enjoyed Helsinki, too.

It's great to read your comments and experiences. Finland is one of those places you don't hear much about in this forum so your replies are very helpful. We are now thinking we will do 2 days in Helsinki and fly back to the states from there on an open jaw ticket. If we find ourself with extra time on our hands, we will do a day trip somewhere, talk to people or just go back into the sauna :) ... now that sounds relaxing.

There are two reasons to make the trip beyond just visiting Helsinki, which I think is a wonderful city. First is the trip itself. The archipelago is stunning. And while you can take a boat tour from Stockholm, I can't imagine it compares to the 3 hour ride on the ferry, possibly with sunset included. And arrival the next morning into Helsinki harbor is also very memorable. The second reason is to possibly take a day trip to Tallinn, Estonia. It's a 90 minute ferry ride and Tallinn is a beautiful medieval city, also with lots of Russian influence. IMO - if you are going as far as Stockholm and have the time, Helsinki and Tallinn are well worth it.

Ok. I think we got the 11 day itinerary (minus 2 to fly to Europe and back) almost complete, "Almost being a key word." Berlin, 4 days (the real reason for this trip to attend a wedding). Sweeden, 3 days & Helsinki, 2 days (may or may not take a day trip to Tallinn).

QUESTION: Assuming cost is the same, should we fly from Berlin to Stockholm and then catch the ship to Helsinki or the other way around? Does the ship experience feel any different going one direction vs the other? We are only catching it one way and flying home afterwards. Thanks again.

I'm with James...we had no trouble filling up our time in Helsinki for 2 whole days and 2 nights (with a morning arrival from Stockholm on the Silja line). It's a remarkable city that just doesn't get that much attention...and for me the food was worth the trip (great restaurants...in my opinion, better than those we tried in Stockholm).

If you decide to stay 2 days in Helsinki there is a wonderful open air museum called Seurasaari Island. Google it to see if it is something you would enjoy. I certainly did. Make sure to sit and have a delicious Finnish coffee at one of the outdoor cafes along the very wide street with parks, etc. running down the middle, sorry, but I forget the name of it. If I remember correctly it is just a couple of blocks from the waterfront. I agree that Tallin is also a beautiful and interesting city to see. I love Finland and the Finnish people - good thing because I'm married to one of them!!!

Barb, I think that you mean Esplanadi or as we Finns say short Espa. It's a lovely wide buleward with a parklike area in the middle and street area on the sides that are lined with cafes and restaurants.

Billy - regarding your latest question, definitely take the ferry from Stockholm to Helsinki. You'll get to enjoy the evening sail through the archipelago and hopefully see the sunset. Coming into Stockholm you miss most of it sleeping and eating breakfast. Make sure to pick the first sitting for the dinner so that you're eating while the ship is passing through less intersting areas.

Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. We bought our plane tickets open jaw. USA-Berlin & Helsinki-USA. For the Stockholm-Helsinki ship, we are leaning towards Silja, altough we have no specific reason for it. I'll buy the tickets within a week. I am assuming that buying directly from the Silja website will give the lowest price with advanced purchase. Any thoughts?
Also, I understand that Sweeden is part of the EU but uses its own currency (Krone). Would I be able to get by with Euros in the tourist areas of Stockholm or should I plan on exchanging dollars into Krones?
Thanks again!

Some merchants that cater to tourists will accept Euros, but they will give you a lousy rate and any change due will be in Kroner. So it's best to use the local currency. The Viking ships to Helsinki have a reputation of being more of a party boat compared to Silja. Around midnight both boats dock at an island very briefly and are side by side during this. When I took the journey certain intoxicated passengers aboard the Viking ship threw beer bottle at the Silja ship I was on.....none of the bottle actually hit the deck:)

The scenery during the journey is stunning! And activities/entertainment on board are excellent.

Silja Line is the better one to pick for sure.

Regarding the Silja company: just last week I was able to book a Tallinn-to-Stockholm reservation online, but my foreign (US) Visa couldn't be accepted either by the online system or the same system being used by real people. After several unproductive phone calls to the number provided by the online system, I emailed the address given: [email protected]. That worked out fine: I was assured of getting the early booker's rate even if I waited to pay when I boarded, but I instead took the option of emailing the same Visa info as I'd tried to use earlier.

So, if you should run into the same payment-rejected quirk, skip the phone calls and go for the email !

AnnB is correct, your US CC will probably not work with their internet reservation system. Don't panic. I called and checked and they made sure the reservation was in the system and set it up to pay when boarding. No problems.

PS - Don't forget to make any dinner/breakfast reservations when you book. You'll get your tickets for those when you board.

If you are looking for additional ideas of what to do in Helsinki, consider a tour of the Finnish Parliament. We found it fascinating. Of course, if you are not interesting in that kind of thing, I'm sure it would be very boring. It's free, and they do give tours in English, as well as Swedish and Finnish. Just google "tour Finnish Parliament" for info on times, etc. Have fun!

You guys are the best, thanks for your comments.

Air and ferry transportation are now taken care of. I am assuming that I can shop on the Silja ship with either Sweedish Krones or Euros. We do plan to get the Stockholm card once we get there. Right now we are looking into budget (and somewhat central) hotels or B&B. We have only done B&B's in Ireland and we loved it. Any suggestions? Thanks again!