Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
her with a school cap. The voluptuous figure, modeled after the artist's Parisian mistress,
was a bit too racy for the conservative town, and Vallgren had trouble getting paid. But as
artists often do, Vallgren had the last laugh: For more than a hundred years now, the city
budget office (next to the Sasso restaurant across the street) has seen only her backside.
A one-block detour up Unioninkatu (noteworthy shops listed in “Shopping in Helsinki,”
later) takes you to the Neoclassical Senate Square and Lutheran Cathedral.
To continue with this walk, backtrack to the TI. In the park across the street is the de-
lightful...
Café Kappeli:
If you've got some time, dip into this old-fashioned, gazebo-like
oasis of coffee, pastry, and relaxation (get what you like at the bar inside and sit anywhere).
In the 19th century, this was a popular hangout for local intellectuals and artists. Today the
café offers romantic tourists waiting for their ship a great €3-cup-of-coffee memory. The
bandstand in front hosts nearly daily music and dance performances in summer.
TheEsplanade:
Behind Café Kappeli stretches the Esplanade, Helsinki's top shop-
ping boulevard, sandwiching a park in the middle (another Engel design from the 1830s).
The grandiose street names Esplanadi and Bulevardi, while fitting today, must have been
bombastic and almost comical in rustic little 1830s Helsinki. To help you imagine this eleg-
ant promenade in the 19th century, informative signs (in English) explain Esplanade Park's
background and its many statues.
