HELSINKI, FINLAND

Helsinki is known both as ‘The Daughter of the Baltic’ and ‘The White City of the North’. Our tour commences with a drive through Embassy Park, along the coastal road, to Senate Square with its elegant Lutheran Cathedral (a brief photo stop is made).

Helsinki is known both as ‘The Daughter of the Baltic’ and ‘The White City of the North’.

Our tour commences with a drive through Embassy Park, along the coastal road, to Senate Square with its elegant Lutheran Cathedral (a brief photo stop is made). We travel onwards past the colourful open-air market and along the Esplanade shopping street (traffic permitting), where most of the designer shops are located.

Our next sight will be the Olympic Stadium where the 1952 Olympic Games were held. This is followed by the Opera House, which was completed in 1993. At Sibelius Park we can photograph the famous monument, comprising approximately 600 steel pipes, honouring the great composer Jean Sibelius.

We continue our journey to the unique Temppeliaukio Rock Church, which was blasted out of solid rock. If services are not in progress, we will stop here for a visit.

Lastly we will travel to Mannerheim Street, which is the main street of Helsinki. Parliament House, the National Museum and Finlandia Hall (a concert and convention centre designed by the famous architect Alvar Aalto) are all situated here. We will have the option of staying downtown to shop or continuing back to our ship.

TOUR NOTES: There is some walking involved in this tour – 25-100 metres (80-300 feet) at the Rock Church, and 50-100 metres (165-300 feet) at the Sibelius Monument. There is also a walk of approximately 100-300 metres (300-1,000 feet) to embark/disembark the tour coach. Temppeliaukio Rock Church is subject to closure without prior notice – in which case our visit will be external only. The itinerary of this tour may operate in a different order than that described.

DESCRIPTION CORRECT FOR 2009 SCANDINAVIA & BALTIC CRUISES