Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
orankatu stop, you'll see skateboarders enjoying a park of their own (on the
right). At the next stop, Eläintarha, the tram may pause as it changes to be-
come #3 (stay seated).
Classic Amusement Park: Linnanmäki,
Helsinki's lowend, Tivoli-
like amusement park is by far the most-visited sight in town (on the right, free
admission to park but rides cost €4-6, open daily until late, tram stop: Alppila,
www.linnanmaki.fi
)
. Roller-coaster nuts enjoy its classics from the 1950s.
Working-ClassDistrict:
Nextyou'llenteranoldworking-classneigh-
borhood. Its soccer fields (on your left) are frozen into ice rinks for hockey in
the winter. You'll pass the striking granite
Kallio Church
(Art Nouveau, on
your right) and
Hakaniemi
square, with a big indoor/outdoor market (on your
left). Crossing a saltwater inlet, you'll pass Helsinki's
Botanical Gardens
(on
the right), and then head back toward the town center. As you return to the
train station with its buff lamp-holders, you've completed the larger, top loop
of the figure-eight.
The
Three Blacksmiths
Statue:
After turning left on big, busy Man-
nerheimintie, you'll pass the most famous statue in town, the
Three Black-
smiths
(on your left), which honors hard work and cooperation. Towering
above the smiths is the Stockmann department store. Then (at the Ylioppi-
lastalo stop), the round, white Swedish Theater marks the top of the town's
graceful park—the Esplanade—which leads back down to the harbor (where
you began this tour). From here, you'll loop through a colorful and artsy dis-
trict.
Funky and Artsy Shops:
The cemetery of the church (which dates
from 1827) on the right was cleaned out to make a park. It's called the “Plague
Park,” recalling a circa-1700 plague that killed more than half the population.
Coming up, funky small boutiques, cafés, and fun shops line the streets (stops:
Fredrikinkatu, Iso Roobertinkatu, and Viiskulma). After the Art Deco brick
church (on your right), the tram makes a hard left (at the Eiran Sairaala stop,
for a hospital) and enters a district with Art Nouveau buildings. Look down
streets on the right for facades and decorative turrets leading to the Baltic Sea.
