Helsinki, 10 ticks
Helsinki is a small, very comfortable and proper city. Helsinki is not like Stockholm and Oslo, the historical center of the city is Peter, reduced by eleven times, and the rest of the center is like Europe of the 19th-21st century. A tourist tempted by sights has nothing to do here. At the same time, there is something in this city that leaves the most pleasant memories of the city.
1. Senate Square.
The very center of the city, around which all the sights are concentrated, the description of which is devoted to several chapters in the guidebook, and, once here, you understand that you urgently need to change the tourist route, since you have already seen almost everything.
Look at the Cathedral, the monument to Alexander, the oldest building - the Sederholm house, climb the steps of the cathedral and try to see the city, you won’t be able to see it, but you will see the sea.
Study the map and choose a street for descending to the sea, after a few minutes go to the embankment and understand that the map is no longer needed. Smile at the sea, wave your hand to seagulls or ducks, or both, not hold back laughter when you spot bronze turtles, be surprised at the size of the ferries, look at the Assumption Cathedral and remember which Russian cities have similar ones, or go up to it. If you get here in the afternoon and in the warm season, then run through the market, smell the petunia in the flower rows, inquire about the prices of vegetables / fruits, control yourself and not laugh at the sight of moose / deer-like souvenirs and refuse to buy them, recalculating prices in your usual currency. Look at the fish market, the main thing is not to try anything, otherwise you will want to immediately buy something, and you still have a whole tourist day ahead of you. If the hotel is open opposite the market, go up to the top floor and admire the city, the sea and the islands, at the same time drink coffee or cider.
3. Esplanadi.
Walk along Esplanadi Street (next to the waterfront). Parade Boulevard (this boulevard is called a park). Start your walk from Kappeli at the cafe at the beginning of the boulevard. There is nothing to hurry, the Esplanadi is not so long. After drinking coffee, you can slowly walk through and take a look at the sculptures. If you get here on a summer holiday, you will probably see the concentration of children's art of the Finnish House of Pioneers, spectators will immediately gather from nowhere.
4. Quite empty.
Helsinki is a maritime city, so after Esplnadi you should go to the extreme southern point of the city, you can get there through the Kaivopusto district with its park, mansions and embassies and the most prestigious nightclub on Iso Puistot (prestige in each country is different, visit it). Having reached the sea, you can watch high-speed ferries, feed the seagulls and have a bite to eat at the Ursula cafe. The main thing is to control yourself, finding the word kakka on the price tags, everything is delicious, eat to your health. A glass of beer or cider, a view of the islands and the fortress of Suomenlinna (Sveaborg) and the sea.
5. Fortress Suomenlinna (Sveaborg).
When the weather is warm and you have free time, return to the waterfront and take a pleasure boat, see Helsinki from the sea or visit the sea fortress on one of the islands. You will not hear incredible stories about its history, but you will take a lot of photos if you are fond of it, of course.
Walk through the central streets, notice a miracle bird on one of them, guess that this is a bird. Once again, make sure that the city is quite small, if it is difficult to see, remember the shop windows, you can soon pass by them again. Complain that there is no “shops” item in your tourist route, the whole center is a huge shopping center that can be passed both in the usual way and underground, so do not go underground, you risk getting carried away and ending up at the railway station, from where you can leave only in St. Petersburg or Moscow. (And what if you are in the other direction? ) Compare the statues of the giants of the station building with the Egyptian statues. If you compare them in the evening, you will see how the balls glow in their hands.
7. Monument to Jean Sibelius.
Take out the map and find it on the map. The distance is not very long, go on foot or find the right tram. Find out about the composer and sculptor beforehand, then stand with your mouth open, and, closing it, try to listen to the music of the wind in the pipes of the monument.
8. Church in the rock.
Find Temppelinaukio Square on the map, do not try to pronounce it, take a look at the stone block around which the houses are neatly built. Appreciate the architect's idea to turn it into a church, notice the combination of stone walls, candles, a ceiling with a copper wire dome. If you're lucky, you can hear the organ or singing and admire the acoustics.
9. Night city.
Go up to the restaurant on the top floor of the Sokos hotel to look at the night city. Order venison, if your body refuses to accept local cider, change apple to pear, or, following the tradition of pairing drinks, ask for wine.
10. Nightlife.
If you don't want to go to a prestigious club in Kaivopusto, visit one or more in the center, on Friday and Saturday you can determine their location by the queues that form after 10 pm.