Helsinki with the Little

I’m working on a story on visiting Finnish Lapland for Christian Living in the Mature Years Magazine. Before heading to the great white north, we spent a few days acclimating in Helsinki. Our restless Little was with us, and we had no trouble keeping her entertained.
Helsinki (and the whole of Finland, really) is a fantastic place for children. Playgrounds are everywhere, it’s clean, it’s walkable. We were there for two days and one night before hopping an overnight train north. Here’s what we did.

In the Sky

After arriving in the morning on the first day, we were tired and jet lagged. We decided to take it easy and not book any tours. After freshening up at the hotel, we walked around Esplanade Park to get our bearings. We walked along the waterfront, marveling at the architecture. From the dock, we bought tickets for the Helsinki Skywheel, a large Ferris wheel with enclosed cars. The Little loved it! We took in views of the city and its stunning architecture as the sun sunk lower. We worried about the cold, but our car was heated.

On Land

The next morning, we met up with Stromma Tours for their Panoramic Sightseeing Tour by double-decker bus. The Little talked for days afterward about how she got to sit in the “upstairs of a bus,” something she’d never done before. I think that was her favorite thing about the layover in Helsinki honestly.
The bus tour led us all over the city with recorded commentary about major sites, including City Hall, The Parliament buildings, Finlandia Hall and the Opera House. The tour stopped for 20 minutes at the city’s famous Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Church) so we could go inside. The Little and I both thought the cavernous interior of the church was the highlight of the tour.

Blue Chocolate

After our tour, we sought out Fazer, maker of Finland’s most famous chocolate. Everywhere we went from hotels to restaurants to our flight home, people handed us small milk chocolate candy wrapped in a shiny blue wrapper: Fazer Milk Chocolates.
Karl Fazer began making candies at his French-Russian cafe in the 1890s. You can still have a meal at the original Fazer Cafe near Esplanade Park and sample some of the famous blue chocolates. We stopped for lunch. We all enjoyed the creamy salmon soup, hot chocolate, and toured the candy shop for dessert.

City Museum

The Little is not usually a fan of museums, and honestly neither am I. However, it was difficult to get her to leave the Helsinki City Museum. This museum does not charge admission and has two floors of exhibits for children. The top floor is home to a revolving exhibit for grown-ups, so we were able to switch off watching the Little to see the current exhibit.
We played there for hours, trying on costumes, hosting a puppet show, playing with dolls, and making dinner in a retro 1970s kitchen. We closed down the museum before heading to the train station to catch our overnight train.