Hyvää Juhannusta!

It is Juhannus again! The brightest time of the year. Are you somewhere in the countryside on a cozy summer cottage or rather celebrating with friends in the city? If you decided to stay in town check out the big midsummer party in Vuosaari.

But in any case, have a fantastic Juhannus weekend!

Helsinki's coolest sauna

After months of construction a new pearl on the Helsinki coast has opened a couple of weeks ago. Löyly, the new sauna and terrace in Hernesaari is worth a visit. Its builders spared no expense to make the place as nice as possible.

The philosophy behind Löyly is to have a sauna next to the sea that is open for everyone. For that reason the owners also decided against a VIP opening party with selected guests but just opened for public right away.

Apart from the sauna Löyly is also home to a beautiful new restaurant and bar overlooking the Baltic Sea. During the summer months visitors can take advantage of the spacious terrace and enjoy food and drinks in the sunshine. During the winter months a cozy fireplace in the middle of the restaurant and the sauna heat up the guests.

Blooming Rhododendron

If you like flowers and gardens, you should head to Haaga over the next days.

The Rhododendron at Alppiruusupuisto is blooming there at the moment. And since May was exceptionally warm, the plants are much further than they would normally be around this time of the year.

Enjoy the beautiful colors and flowers!

Helsinki Päivä

Tomorrow is June 12, Helsinki Day. And as every year the city's birthday is celebrated with a lot of activities around town.

The program is huge and spans the whole day starting at 8 in the morning, going on until 9 in the evening. Enjoy e.g. a free swim in one of Helsinki's public swimming pools, do design orienteering through the Helsinki Design District, join the fishing competition in Vuosaari, listen to one of the many concerts around the city or come to the dinner under the Helsinki sky on Esplanadi.

For more information and the whole program visit the official Helsinki Päivä website.

Helsinki's new island

Another part of the beautiful Helsinki archipelago has been opened to the public. Since mid May the Vallisaari island is accessible to anyone.

Just like Lonna is used to be a military island but was now turned into a recreational area. Vallisaari is located right next to Suomenlinna and has around the same size. It is way less crowded and due to being closed for decades has very wild nature. You can go for hikes through the woods or enjoy sitting next to the water.

So far Vallisaari only has one small cafe serving waffles. If you want to have anything else, you'll have to bring it along.

You get there with the JT line from Kauppatori that operates hourly and continues from Vallisaari to southern Suomenlinna. A return ticket costs 7 €.