Club culture and winter swimming: what to do in Helsinki

Nowhere does mid-winter quite like Helsinki. The arrival of the snow, and the special light that it brings is a welcome change after grey November, and candles, fairy lights, rugs and throws accompany the dazzling blanket of white. Instead of hibernating in the sub-zero temperatures, the city buttons up, braces itself and keeps going. Nowhere is this more evident than on the waterfront, where fleets of icebreakers carve channels through the frozen seas so that commuters can go about their business, and ice swimmers relish the buzz that the change in season brings. As Wallpaper* contributing editor Emma O’Kelly – author of the upcoming book Sauna: The Power of Deep Heat (published by Welbeck in September 2023) – discovers, the Finnish spirit of never letting the weather stop you is invigorating and infectious, and when you head home from Helsinki to almost anywhere else, winter doesn’t seem so bad. 

What to do in Helsinki: the Wallpaper* tour

Mention dill meat, summer vegetable soup or pork stew to Finns of a certain age, and they grimace in horror. These unloved staples were survival fodder in post-war Finland, but at Helsinki restaurant Finnjävel, they’ve been resurrected, shedding any negative associations along the way. The Michelin-starred restaurant offers a five- or eight-course tasting menu and the adjoining bistro serves much-loved classics such as Hasselback potatoes, apple ‘donuts’ and mushroom porridge, and for Christmas, reindeer tongue and potato pudding. 

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Kulttuurisauna

In winter, Helsinki’s public saunas usually cut ice holes into the sea to cater for winter bathers, and Kulttuurisauna, on the water at Merihaka, is a picturesque place for a chilly dip. The eco-friendly, wood-fired sauna was designed by Tuomas Toivonen of Now architects almost a decade ago, and has a cult following (there’s a rumour one will open in Japan soon). It’s called the ‘culture sauna’ for a reason – silence is compulsory and boiled eggs, pickles and sea-buckthorn shots are the refreshments of choice, rather than the customary beer or long drink (G&T in a tin). 

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Hotel St George 

The test of a good hotel is how it treats you when you’re bone-dead exhausted, and Hotel St George delivers on all fronts. Friendly staff, comfortable beds, understated design and a peaceful location next to a leafy city centre park make for a restful stay. Basement restaurant Boon Nam whips up tasty Thai dishes, and St George Bakery next door offers a cheery slice of neighbourhood life, where hotel guests and locals congregate for coffee, sourdough and cinnamon buns.

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Kaiku

There are tons of studios, bars, vintage shops and clubs in the creative quarter of Kallio, but the line for Kaiku at 1am on a rainy Saturday night is the longest by far. When it comes to clubbing, Helsinki models itself on Berlin, but the eclectic, international line-up at Kaiku offers regular alternatives to techno. In summer, clubbers spill out onto the roof terrace and gather at the outdoor bar. And in winter, they do much the same thing. 

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Yrjönkatu Uimahalli

Those who prefer a heated indoor pool to an ice hole should head for Yrjönkatu, the city's oldest public swimming hall. Built in 1928 in classical style, it has a grand 25m pool, three saunas and individual changing cubicles fitted with beds that have an air of Soviet sanitorium about them. Don’t be put off, though, because the saunas are among the best in the city and Café Yrjö upstairs offers a tipple of mead and honey (the Viking hooch of choice) and a signature cocktail served with brandy. 

Dance House Helsinki

Dance House Helsinki is the first dedicated dance space in Finland, and judging by the dance troupes and circus performers rehearsing in its 700-seat auditorium, it’s long overdue. Local architects JKMM ‘bolted’ the new building onto a former cable factory from the 1920s. With a rolling programme of four performances a week, Dance House is the latest addition to this five-hectare artistic enclave, which includes ateliers, studios and museums, among them The Finnish Museum of Photography. JKMM is stamping its mark all over Helsinki. In 2018, it completed the Amos Rex museum and a new building for the Academy of Fine Arts has just opened on the other side of town.

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Vuokko

If you’re inspired by the Design Museum’s current exhibition on Antti and Vuokko Nurmesniemi, one of Finland’s most celebrated designer couples, then it’s a quick stroll along pretty shopping streets to the Vuokko boutique. Nurmesniemi’s niece Mere Eskolin is now at the helm and the boutique offers a capsule collection of Vuokko’s best sellers, among them the circular ‘Myllynkivi’ dress, first cut out of one piece of fabric in 1964, and the unisex ‘Loikka’ jumpsuit, which looks as modern today as it ever did.  

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