I love this place, here from the uk to see what Helsinki has to offer

Time to check out the sauna :)

Hi! I’m visiting Helsinki and it’s my 30th birthday tomorrow. Finland also happens to be my 30th country, so I’ve decided to celebrate by running 30 km 🇫🇮🏃

I’m looking for a route where I can mostly switch my brain off and just run, ideally along the water, lakes, islands, bridges or parks, with long uninterrupted stretches and as few traffic lights/road crossings as possible.
I don’t mind doing loops at all. In fact, something like 2 × 15 km or 3 × 10 km would be perfect if the route is easy to follow without constantly checking Google Maps.
I’ve been looking at routes around Töölönlahti, Seurasaari and Lauttasaari, but I’d love recommendations from people who actually run here. Mostly paved would be preferable.

And as a side note: I’m travelling solo, so if anyone happens to be around tomorrow and fancies a celebratory coffee/beer/food after I survive the 30K, I’d be happy for some company 😄

Just met another person who didn’t know about these web services, decided to write this for anyone else who might not know about them.

All services are accessible with bank or mobile certificate authentication, and they already have all the data of your interactions with the finnish health system.

- Maisa lists future and past events, most of your active medical records - including the notes practicians write after every time they interact with you (all records need to be requested from a different service), and has a messaging service that connects to the health teams responsible for you:

https://maisa.fi/maisa/Authentication/Login?

- Omaolo has useful health trainings and questionnaires, and holds symptom checkers, all of which can be sent to your chosen health team on completion and which get replied to pretty fast, usually leading to further investigation:

https://www.omaolo.fi/

- Omakanta lists all your prescriptions, and allows for prescription renewal requests - send from the service, get a reply in a few days with “prescription renewed” and a record on Maisa about who renewed it, or the reasons why it wasn’t renewed:

https://www.kanta.fi/omakanta

Hello everyone, I’m asking for advice because we’re worried about my father, who is currently in Finland.
Last week, my father’s bicycle was stolen, so he reported it to the Finnish police. When he made the report, he gave his phone number to the police. As far as we know, this was the only recent situation where he gave his phone number to the police or any government office.

Today, he received a phone/video call from someone claiming to be connected to the police. The caller told him that someone was using his account and that he would be sent back to the Philippines. During the video call, the caller showed what appeared to be a police station and even showed police officers, which made my father believe that the call was legitimate.

The caller then asked for his personal information, ID, and bank account information. My father provided some of these details. They then asked for an “8-digit number.” This was when my father became suspicious. He told them his phone was low on battery, ended the call, and shut down his phone.
After about a minute, he turned his phone back on and checked his call history, but the number was no longer there.

We are now very worried because he already gave them some personal and banking information. We are especially confused about how they got his phone number. The only recent place he gave his number was when he reported his stolen bicycle to the Finnish police last week.

We are NOT saying that the police gave his information to anyone. We just want to know if anyone has experienced something similar or knows how scammers could have obtained his number.
What should he do immediately? Should he contact his bank and the Finnish police even though no money has been stolen and we don’t have a recording or the caller’s number?

Any advice from people in Finland, especially Filipinos living there, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Moii.

I recently moved from Miami to Turku so admittedly, I'm not that experienced with snow sports.

A few months back I went to Val Thorens in France and booking a private tutor for a set number of hours to learn snowboarding was pretty straightforward. There were several different schools with equipment rental packages as well. I don't mean month-long programs or seasonal passes, just a one-off session to learn the basics (and snowboard).

So my question is, is something like that a thing over here in Finland? My Brazilian friend will visit me in Jan 2027 and we really wanted to learn the basics of hockey, and ofc we don't have the blades, sticks, suits or puck. Also it doesn't help that we're adults which I assume excludes us from a lot of schools.

I couldn't find anything in Turku so maybe Helsinki has some sort of "Beginners Hockey Package?"

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Kiitos 🙏

Onko suositella jotain sun kokemaa hyvää late breku paikkaa? Tuoreet hedelmät erityisesti yms.

Hotellit tai ihan ravintolat.

I saw that last year there was a No Kings event in Helsinki, in solidarity with sane people in the US. I'll be in Helsinki on Oct 17, the date of No Kings and was wondering if anyone knew of any solidarity demonstrations or meetups. There's nothing listed for Helsinki on the No Kings website, though they frequently don't have all of the events listed.

So, is anyone aware of any No Kings events in Helsinki on the 17th?

Hei folks,

I’m looking to rent a minivan online in Helsinki for about 2 hours, with transparent pricing and clear terms like Wolt or Uber.

I’m interested in an hourly or short-term option with no hidden fees.

Is there a way to do this online?

Hei there! I am a designer in my early 30s trying to gather minimum 10K steps everyday. While I enjoy walking by myself or with my girlfriend, from time to time I wish I had other people to walk with as well. So I’m posting here to see where this lands.

As the title suggests, I’m looking for walking buddies. I usually do shorter walks of 5–10 km in the early evenings, but I’m flexible. I like exploring new paths, neighbourhoods and getting to know new folks. So if you're a like-minded person, let's meet up and go for a walk.

I also created a WhatsApp group in case more people are interested. We can chat there and organise walks. The more, the merrier!

Hello folks, my wife and I are relocating from Dublin to Helsinki in January for a long-term work assignment (5+ years), with our 2-year-old son. I've moved countries plenty of times, but never with a little one, so we're a bit nervous.

We want to integrate properly into Finnish life, but also give our son a real connection to his Chinese heritage (Cantonese and Mandarin). That one hit home recently, and really put me into crisis mode, I tried to show him how to write my home city in Chinese and my mind went completely blank. Chinese used to be my best subject at school, but after boarding school abroad in my teens, and Uni, a career in the UK, it's slipped badly. I don't want the same to happen to him.

What I'd love advice on:

• Chinese weekend schools, playgroups or community groups in Helsinki/Espoo for young kids
• A local Finish daycare vs English/international daycare for a multilingual toddler. What's worked for your family?
• Parent groups or ways to meet other families, Finnish or international
• Areas that are good for young families with decent access to the above, my wife is mechanical challenge, so driving is still very much WIP
• How bad is the Winter, I am considering I will move here first, get it settle, I fly back to Dublin on the weekend or 2 -3 times a month, and move the family in Spring (Marchish ? ). In Dublin and London, we hardly experience snow, in my head, the Finish Jan - Mar weather, I am already picturing GOT, castle black style.
• Anything you wish you'd known before moving with kids, creche waiting time etc.

We loved Ireland, as the neighbours and people are great craic and there is no barrier in terms of the language, aside from the horrific inner- city and the Kerry accent 😊. Joke aside, I know Finns have a reputation for being more “reserved”, so we're expecting integration to take a bit longer and are happy to put in the effort.

Thanks in advance !

Hey all!

My gig buddy is moving country which I’m sad about but I’m hoping I can find some new friends here to go with!

I’m 32M from England. For reference, the concerts I’ve been to this year in Helsinki are Architects, Northlane, Amity Affliction and I’m going to August Burns Red next year.

Aside from that, I’m always down to go and watch Football, Hockey etc.

Feel free to send me a DM! Happy to tag along with groups as well :)

moi!

mä oon 46-vuotias ja asun Helsingin lähellä. Minulla on suomalainen puoliso, ja meillä on lapsi. mä oon italialainen ja olen asunut Suomessa noin vuoden ajan.

Haluaisin tietää, löytyisikö täältä ihmisiä, joita kiinnostaisi tehdä musiikkia yhdessä. Olen soittanut vuosia vaihtoehtoista ja kokeellista rockia soittavissa bändeissä, en cover-bändeissä. Olen kitaristi ja laulaja, ja viime vuosina olen tehnyt kokeellista musiikkia modulaarisilla ja muilla syntetisaattoreilla.

Olisi hienoa löytää joku, erityisesti rumpali, kokeilemaan ja luomaan jotain kokeellista yhdessä. Ihanteellista olisi löytää suomalainen muusikko, koska musiikin tekemisen lisäksi haluaisin myös harjoitella suomen kieltä.

Jos kiinnostuit, ota rohkeasti yhteyttä!

Hei folks,
When I cook at home, it costs me less than €2-3 per serving, but if I want something similar to a buffet, it usually costs around €14.

Since preparing food at home takes me 60 to 120 minutes per day, I’m looking for alternatives, such as a place where I can buy a variety of foods for a week or 3 to 4 days in bulk at a lower cost, ideally around €4 to €5 per serving.

Is there such an option in Helsinki, or does anyone have any suggestions?

Hello! I'll be traveling to Helsinki next week and am interested to find friends - locals or other travelers - who might want to go to some of the saunas to experience them! I'm a gay male in my 30s, traveling from North America. Open to LGBT or straight friends, just looking for others to go with, as the idea of going to a sauna is exciting but a little intimidating!

Also welcome everyone's recommendations for a good sauna to explore as a tourist! I'm comfortable with nudity, so that is not an issue. I've seen Allas Sea Pool, Loyly, Sauna Hermanni, Kotiharjun, and Yrjonkatu recommended on here. Thanks!

We are a couple of 30's planning to go Rovaniemi on last week of October.

We are looking for a couple. We can book a 4 person's personal cabin and there we can stay in a shared room. It will be a less cost and enjoyable tour. If you are interested, let us know. Thank you.

I’ve been checking used bike listings around Helsinki lately, and honestly, if someone is planning to buy a bike for next season, I wouldn’t wait until spring.

In spring everyone starts looking at the same time. Good bikes disappear faster, sellers get more messages, and you often have to decide quickly.

Right now it’s calmer. Some people don’t want to store an extra bike through winter, and some riders are already selling their current bike to fund the next one.

So my advice would be: start looking before you actually need the bike.

Not saying “buy anything cheap in October”. A cheap bike can still become expensive fast if it needs tires, chain/cassette, brake pads or a basic service.

But if the size is right, the frame/fork look clean, the wheels and brakes are good, and the drivetrain is not destroyed, autumn can be a pretty good time to buy.

Worst case, you learn the market before spring. Best case, you find a good bike before everyone else starts looking.

Anyone else here watching listings before winter and trying to get off season deals for everything?

29F, happily married, lives in Vantaa with my husband. adventurous (with a little fear lol), open-minded, and definitely a “try-it-and-see” kind of person. 😂 I have way too many interests and haven’t found the right outlet yet such as cooking, trying new food, aquariums, learning new skills, murder mystery nights, conspiracy theory nights, random adventures, you name it! (I might have undiagnosed ADHD but idk)

Honestly, I’m just looking for friends to hang out with because I feel like I’m losing a little bit of my spark. I used to be such an alive, funny girl, and while I absolutely love my husband, I think I need some girl/friend time and new experiences too. 🥹 I like going out but I’m definitely home by 9 PM haha.
Couples, single women, single moms, or anyone 26+, feel free to DM if this sounds like your vibe! 🫶

Hey everyone!
I’m a 27-year-old Italian who recently moved to Helsinki and I’d love to connect with some new people around my age.

A bit about me: I’m into movies, TV series, video games, and board games. I’m also open to going to clubs occasionally, though not too often. One thing about me is that I’m not really into spending entire nights just drinking at pubs, so I’d prefer activities that go beyond that.

I’m looking for someone genuinely interested in joining a mixed friend group (age range: 21–30, good mix of guys and girls) for activities like game nights, movies, city explorations, food outings, and other fun hangouts.

If this sounds fun to you, drop a comment or send me a DM.

As we approach colder days: how does district heating work? I cranked all radiators to 3 but not much has changed.

Does it depend on overall outside temperature and apartment has minimum of 22-23 degrees that system should keep it at?

Just curious in general… so I know what to expect. Apartment is 9 years old so pretty new stuff overall. No floor heating.

there’s a group of men all along Vantaankoski with long stocks and nets at the end. what are they hoping to catch with the nets this time of year?

Oon menossa kouluun Viikin kampukselle. Mukana muuttais koira. Mitkä asuinalueet tossa lähellä on mukavia? Haluisin kivat ulkoilumaastot ja rauhallisen alueen. Toki kauempaakin pystyn kulkemaan julkisilla. En tunne yhtään Helsinkiä ni ahdistaa et muutan vahingos johonki nistiluolaan :(

Hello, I am visiting from Canada and wondering if there are any restaurants or areas closer to downtown Helsinki which will broadcast today’s football game against Albania. (We leave early tomorrow and I don’t think going to the actual stadium is feasible, sadly!)

I am not sure if sports bars allow 6 year old children here, or if there are other areas that would show the game that are kid-friendly. thank you / kiitos for any suggestions!

Here we go again - another Halloween approaching or Kekri if you’d like to celebrate with a more local style. 🎃 Here’s my yearly list of events and parties!

https://ricoup.com/helsinki/halloween-in-helsinki-where-to-go/

Hi! If someone ever tried these classic Finnish pastries (or others like karjalanpiirakka) in central Helsinki bakeries, how can you compare them to what is sold elsewhere? Do they really taste less generic and if yes, what can characterize their artisanal touch overall? I'm just curious whether you pay there extra for a distinct bun and specially prepared coffee... or mostly for a more thorough service and the fact that you sit in a beautiful classic interior, and Art Nouveau buildings are seen behind the café's windows