Keskusta (City Centre)

A look around

What you’ll be living next to. Swipe through.

1/4

Where it sits

The circle is Keskusta and roughly a 10-minute walk around it.

How far is everything?

From the middle of this area to the city's headline sights — pick your own on the city page and these become your list.

• Amos Rexright here75 m
• Oodi Central Library8 min walk634 m
• The Design District8 min walk701 m
• New Finnish food8 min walk701 m
• Uspenski Cathedral15 min walk1.2 km
• A Finnish sauna20 min walk1.7 km
• The Sibelius Monument21 min walk1.8 km
• Suomenlinna sea fortress12 min taxi3.9 km

On your doorstep

What you’re living next to if you stay here.

• 2.Senate Square & the Cathedral — The gleaming neoclassical heart of the city — the dazzling white Lutheran Cathedral rising on its steps above a grand cobbled square ringed by pale, elegant buildings, the very image of Helsinki. Climb the steps for the view, admire the harmonious 19th-century architecture, and soak up the calm, stately centre. The city's most iconic sight, and the starting point for exploring the old town around it.
• 3.Temppeliaukio (Rock Church) — An extraordinary modernist church carved directly into solid bedrock, its circular interior lit by a ring of skylights beneath a great copper dome, with bare rock walls that give superb acoustics. Serene, unusual and quietly beautiful — a masterpiece of 1960s Finnish architecture and one of the city's most striking sights; time a visit for a concert if you can, to hear the remarkable sound. A small, unforgettable marvel.
• 4.Market Square & harbour — The lively waterfront market square (Kauppatori) at the head of the harbour — stalls of berries, produce, crafts and Finnish snacks, food tents serving fried vendace and salmon soup, and the boats to Suomenlinna and the islands leaving from the quay. A bustling, seaside heart of the city and a great spot to eat and people-watch; grab a coffee and a cinnamon bun, and watch the harbour life. The salty centre of Helsinki.
• 8.The Old Market Hall — A beautiful 19th-century covered market hall on the waterfront — a warm, wood-panelled temple of Finnish food, its stalls piled with reindeer, fish, cheese, berries, pastries and salmon soup, with cosy café counters to eat at. A lovely, atmospheric spot to graze and to buy edible souvenirs; try the salmon soup, the reindeer and the Karelian pastries, and shelter from the cold among the produce. A delicious slice of Helsinki life.