Helsinki: the super green city Image credit and source: BreakingStereotypes.org
As ranked by the producers of the Breaking Stereotypes documentary series.
Destination: Helsinki, Finland.
Interesting websites about the city: hel.fi and Visitfinland.com (visitfinland.com/helsinki)
Is it easy to navigate around the city? Yes, Helsinki is a technology friendly city that has integrated the use of apps for public transport. Their bus, train, taxi and subway systems are well structured and clean too! One such example of the use of tech is the HSL Mobile ticket app. 2pts.
Hostels and Hotels: plenty on offer, just depends on what you’re looking for and your budget requirements. 2pts.
Best part of the city: Helsinki has a lot to offer to its visitors. The city is blended with a freshness of modern and old infrastructure intertwined together with the archipelago of Helsinki, which is made up of around 330 islands. What really strikes out visually is how green it is for a major city. During the summer months if you venture out of the city, you appreciate the surrounding green forests even more. The Helsinki Cathedral tends to be a big tourist draw card and certainly worth a visit.
Interesting fact: Hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics!
Local universities: two interesting institutions are the University of Helsinki- helsinki.fi - and the Finnish National Defence University (Maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu) - maanpuolustuskorkeakoulu.fi
Business schools: HELBUS - Helsinki School of Business - helbus.com
Any interesting business or enterprise happenings: The technology industry features extremely well in this region and there is general decent support (private and public) to allow businesses to flourish. Check out - Helsinki Business Hub (helsinkibusinesshub.fi), NewCo Helsinki (newcohelsinki.fi) and Microsoft Flux (microsoftflux.com).
Helsinki: the super green city Image credit and source: BreakingStereotypes.org
Is it a good travel destination for young travel adventurers: Definitely. There is always a buzzing pulse of energy during the day and in the evenings as well. 2pts.
Climate: Dark winters can be tough to deal with, but that forms part of the charm that is Helsinki – great nightlife.
Did you have any funny/awesome experiences there? There is one thing that’s more of a Finnish thing than particularly just local to Helsinki - The Moomins! they are everywhere, couldn’t help but buy Moomin merchandise throughout the trip! moomin.com
Points: 6 out of 6
Rating out of ten: 10
OriginalSteps.com travel and gap year/year out ranking criteria –
2 points for yes
0 points for no
Max points 6
1. Is the destination easy to navigate around? Yes or No
2. Hostels and hotels (few, many, tons): 0.5, 1 and 2 points respectively
3. Is it a good travel destination for young adventures? Yes or No
