Shore Excursions ~ Helsinki

Option 1

Meet your local guide and begin your half-day city tour with a drive past the city’s busy harbor and shipyards.  Motor along the coastal road by Embassy Park, passing the colorful open-air market.  Continue to the Senate Square with its elegant Lutheran Cathedral and pass the Esplanade shopping street–a focal point of the city–where many designer shops are located.  Drive down Mannerheim Street, Helsinki’s main boulevard, passing the imposing Parliament building, the National Museum, and Finlandia Hall.  Alvar Aalto, designer of the country’s famous Aalto Vase, designed this beautiful concert hall and convention center.  Next, continue to the Olympic Stadium which hosted the 1952 Olympic Games and pass the new Opera House, completed in 1993. Enjoy the unique Rock Church, the Temppeliaukio, made out of solid rock and capped with a copper dome.  Finish with a photo stop at Sibelius Park, where the monument honoring the great Finnish composer Jean Sibelius is located.  The tour ends back at your ship.

Option 2

Exit the ship for a privately guided four-hour trip to beautiful Suomenlinna Island, “the Gibraltar of the North”, only a 20-minute ferry ride away.  The sea fortress at Suomenlinna is over 250 years old and was built to protect Helsinki during periods of Swedish and Russian rule. The fortress has been crucial in power struggles between Finland, Sweden, and Russia throughout its history; it now serves as a popular excursion destination and is an UNESCO World Heritage Site. Your guided walking tour of the island begins with the prize-winning ‘Suomenlinna Experience’ show, a multi-media presentation covering the construction of the sea fortress, its colorful past and the people involved in its story. See the sights of the fortress, including the Castle Courtyard and the dry dock.  Return to city center by ferry, where you will end your island tour and board back onto your cruise.