Helsinki is the capital and largest city of Finland. It is in the southern part of Finland, on the shore of Baltic Sea. The population of Helsinki is almost 600 000, making it the most populous city in Finland. The foreign-born population stands at around 10%. Helsinki, along with the neighboring cities of Vantaa, Espoo, and Kauniainen, constitutes what is known as the capital region, with over 1,000,000 inhabitants. Helsinki is safe city for tourists and a safe place to live in.
There are many things to do in Helsinki. Two very famous attractions are the island Korkeasaari – which is also the country’s biggest zoo – and the fortress island of Suomenlinna (a UNESCO World Heritage site). The most popular museums are Ateneum Art Museum for classical Finnish art, Kiasma Art Museum for modern art and the historical museum called the National Museum of Finland. These are all located in the center of Helsinki. The Linnanmäki amusement park is also quite close to the city center. Of course the city is also full of statues, parks and architecturally important buildings worth seeing. And the night-life is vivid!
The public transport is very well organized: you can go anywhere in the Helsinki metropolitan area by bus, tram, train and metro. It is cheapest and easiest to use public transport by getting a travel card on which you can load either value or traveling period. If you deside to load a traveling period of one month, so that you can travel as much as you like, it will cost you about 70€. You can load the card in every R-kioski. Cabs in Helsinki are reliable and safe but rather expensive, even a short trip costs over 10€. From the Helsinki- Vantaa airport to the city center (to the main railway station) you can get by the Finnair bus and bus number 615.
Usually the incoming students live in Medioma, which is a student hostel for medical students in the University of Helsinki, or in the hospital area during summertime. There are basic cooking facilities in the apartments. Lunch and a picnic basket are provided every day. There are always options for vegetarians too. You can also try restaurants that offer traditional Finnish dishes, such as sautéed reindeer or smoked salmon.
In July and August we organize some program every week. Traditionally we go to Suomenlinna Sea Fortress, which is a historical place and lies in a small island very close to the center of Helsinki. We also often have picnics; we are happy to eat outside in the summer, provided that the weather is good. We also visit museums, go to beach, parks or forests depending on the interests. One popular thing to do is to go to a cottage with the hot and humid Finnish sauna. After sweating in sauna, we swim in a fresh lake. In July and August one of the five towns with medical exchange students organizes a weekend with a well planned program. There students from different towns can meet each other, relax and have fun!
In the wintertime we don’t have weekly organized social program, but we usually organize something at least once in a month. Ice skating proved to be popular as it is easy to rent ice skates even in the area of Helsinki railway station!
Most of the clinics and research groups are located in the Meilahti hospital area about 4 km from the city centre. You should bring with you a pair of indoor shoes and your own stethoscope, if you’re attending professional exchange. Working hours vary from 8.00 or 9.00 am to 2.00 to 4.00 pm. Please, be in time – in Finland things work according to rules and schedules. If you want to have a day off or leave earlier some day, it would be good to plan it in advance with your supervisors. All doctors and tutors speak English, but especially the elderly and child patients often don’t. Ask as much as you like – it’s all for your own benefit! Being active and interested is the best way of making the most of your exchange.
Pages produced by Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland. Everything you need to know about Finland and Finnish people: http://virtual.finland.fi/
The municipality: http://www.hel.fi/wps/portal/Helsinki_en?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/Helsinki/en/Etusivu
Some tourist information: http://www.hel2.fi/Tourism/EN/matko.asp
Some travel agency kind of company, maybe not the cheapest way to see Helsinki but might give you some inspiration of what to see: http://www.helsinkiexpert.fi/
Public transport, gives you instructions of how to get around: http://www.ytv.fi/eng
Information about the weather, maybe gives you a hint of what kind of clothes to pack; http://www.fmi.fi/weather/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helsinki
The pages of the Finnish sauna society telling about the myths, history and traditions of sauna: http://www.sauna.fi
The homepage of Helsinki University Central Hospital: http://www.hus.fi
Information about student hostels in Finland: http://www.srmnet.org