FINLAND - Europe by Eurail 2015: Touring Europe by Train - page 126

Helsinki center. Pick up a pamphlet with a map and descriptions of the sights from
the tourist office. Board at Market Square, pay the driver €2.70 (only €2.20 when
purchased in advance). Round-trip: about 60 minutes. Tram 3B follows the same
route but in the opposite direction.
Another way to become acquainted with the city is to take a guided bus tour. Hel-
sinki Experts' tours depart daily at 1100. Fare: €28 adult (€22 with Helsinki Card),
€15 child (age 7-16). Visit www.helsinkiexpert.fi .
For a more intimate way to get to know Helsinki, ask the tourist office for
the brochure See Helsinki on Foot . Tour No. 5—Market
Square-Kaivopuisto-Eira—interested us. Just follow the route on the map in the
brochure. The sights are numbered and explained. If you begin at Market Square,
one of the first sights will be the Havis Amanda (a beautiful mermaid) fountain by
the sculptor Ville Vallgren, created in 1908. Next you'll see the first public monu-
ment in Helsinki—the Czarina's Stone, designed by C. L. Engel to commemor-
ate the Czarina Alexandra's visit. About midway through your tour, you may want
to stop at the Ursula Seaside Café (No. 33 on the map). Tel: [phone];
www.ursula.fi or [e-mail].
Other tours originate at the Tallink-Silja Line or Viking Line terminals in the har-
bor area. These tours run two hours, and some schedules include lunch. Again,
the tourist information office has the details.
Highlights of Helsinki
Helsinki is a city born of the sea, and it is from the sea that it draws its soul and
nature. It is the beautiful daughter of the Baltic—a sparkling jewel with the blue sea
as its setting. Helsinki is a modern city. Here the visitor does not come face-to-
face with the past as he or she does in many other long-standing European cap-
itals. Great fires destroyed the original Helsinki many times, but it was always re-
built. The only original remains of the trade-and-seafaring town that Swedish king
Gustav Vasa founded in 1550 at the mouth of the Vantaa River are the foundations
of a church.
Helsinki did not become Finland's capital until 1812. It is very cosmopolitan, the
heart of cultural and artistic experiences for the Finns. The city's colorful market
square on the harbor is characterized by the glittering sea and an abundance of
flowers and fruit, white seagulls, and busy salespeople. Helsinki has an ambience
that is all its own, supported by a friendly population and the physical comforts to
enable you to fully enjoy its many features.