The Cultured Traveller - Fourth Anniversary Edition, September-November 2018 Issue 23

it was awarded City of Design status as part of the Creative Cities Network established by UNESCO. The city’s downtown Design District is as intrinsic a part of Helsinki as its love of coffee; Finland is the world’s top consumer of the coffee bean, per capita. The people are friendly and hospitable, often impeccably fluent in English in addition to the national languages of Finnish and Swedish, with possibly one or two other languages thrown in for good measure. The city centre is small enough that you can have a good sense of your surrounds in a couple of days, and is well set up for walking – though, if you get tired of pounding the shoe leather, it boasts one of the best public transportation systems in the world, including classic trams and a speedy metro. Bicycles are also available to hire for a very affordable EUR10 per week.

The Cultured Traveller flew to Helsinki on the country’s national flag carrier Finnair, which prides itself on its short-cut routes between Europe and Asia (www. finnair.com). Helsinki Airport is in Vantaa, a 30 – 40-minute trip from the city centre by car. A cab from the airport will cost you around EUR50, while cheaper options include shared fixed price for less than half that, one-way (www.airporttaxi.fi/en).

Once you’re ready to explore, a perfect place to start is the green heart of the city, Esplanadi. Colloquially known as Espa, this tree-lined continental-style promenade is an obvious socialising and people-watching spot. In the warmer months it comes alive with gourmet ice cream vendors, smartly dressed locals lounging on the grass, buskers and market-style stalls. Designed by Helsinki’s principle architect Carl Ludvig Engel in the early 19thcentury, Esplanadi contains one of the city’s most historic restaurants, Kappeli, built in 1867, and Espa Stage which hosts around 200 artists and groups from May through August. The promenade is surrounded by high-end international and Finnish stores, such as Louis Vuitton, world-renowned Finnish glass and tableware company Iittala and prominent textile house Finlayson, as well as upmarket cafés, restaurants and five-star Hotel Kämp.

Wander to the coastal end of Esplanadi and you’ll find yourself at Market Square, a year-round outdoor market on South Harbour which sells a wonderful array of hand-crafted items. In contrast to the massproduced rubbish that has become ubiquitous to many markets, Market Square is still somewhere you can talk to the craftsmen and women who have fashioned your