Helsinki walking tour with a city planner

Badge of ExcellenceHelsinki, Finland

Likely to Sell Out

From $53.21

Price varies by group size

Select Date and Travelers

up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)

3 hours (approx.)
Mobile ticket
Offered in: English

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Overview

Get a fresh perspective on Helsinki on this quirky small-group tour, led by a city planner. Discover bizarre traditions, such as picnicking on graves, famous Finns, such as architect Alvar Aalto, and curios, such as a church built inside a giant granite rock, a statue that seagulls hate, and a 19th-century Bohemian hangout. Leave with an understanding of the city that you won’t get from guidebooks or everyday organized tours.

Off-the-path walking tour of downtown Helsinki, led by a city planner
Packed with cultural insights, from food to history, from religion to soccer
Numbers are capped at just eight travelers, for more guide interaction
Great choice for visitors who’ve already seen the big-ticket sights

What's Included

Local guide

Food and drinks
Transportation to/from attractions
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Aleksanterinkatu 9, 00100 Helsinki, Finland
Meeting point address: Aleksanterinkatu 9B, 00100, Helsinki. The meeting point is the corner of Aleksanterinkatu street and Kluuvikatu street, in front of Aleksanterinkatu no 9B, Nanso Clothing Store (outside). Guide will be waiting for you at this point.

End point

Asema-aukio 3, 00100 Helsinki, Finland

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Operates in all weather conditions, please dress appropriately
Stroller accessible

Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Travelers should have a moderate physical fitness level
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 6 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.
This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Reviews

5.0

144 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 144 reviews

Amazing tour and tour guide - top notch!

Susan_Z, Apr 2024

Emek was super great - very knowledgeable and friendly. I would recommend this tour over and over again.

A walking tour with a difference

Melanie_B, Dec 2023

This tour was a wonderful way to start our visit to Finland. Emek was an entertaining and knowledgeable guide, who tailored the tour to suit our interests - something he could do easily because of his deep understanding of Finnish history and culture, and its impact of the urban design and architecture of Helsinki. It was a real joy - many thanks, Emek.

Waking the city with Emek.

Tarik_T, Oct 2023

A really enjoyable walking tour of the city by an outstanding guide who was funny, knowledgeable, informative, interesting and very professional. The perfect walking tour for getting acquainted with this lovely little city and a massive thanks to our excellent guide Emek.

The best city walk we...

Brian_H, Sep 2023

The best city walk we have ever had! Very friendly guide, has all the knowledge about history and the city itself. Highly recommended!

Excellent guide/docent who made Helsinki's history and struggles very clear

Paul_H, Sep 2023

Walking through Helsinki with Emek Ataman was like a university seminar: Not only a wide range of knowledge on his part, but intelligent and lively discussion of how and where it fits with Helsinki's and Finland's history. Sometimes, guides have a canned routine that's full of information, but doesn't allow for discussion and questions that reflect the audience's background and interests; this was the opposite, and I felt he responded well to my questions and made them part of the narrtive.

The meeting spot was easy...

Jeaneen_C, Apr 2023

The meeting spot was easy to find. The amount of walking was also easy due to numerous stops to observe and learn as we went along. Emek was very informative and answered all of my many questions. After the tour, I actually shared some of the info from the tour with a local at lunch and they were surprised by all I learned and was able to share. I HIGHLY recommend this tour.

Architecture Tour

ian_s, Jan 2023

Emek is a great guide. He is a walking encyclopedia. He knows all the answers to any Finnish question you may have. I learnt a lot in a couple of hours. I highly recommend people to take this tour

Insights of Helsinki - past and current days

Mark_M, Oct 2022

Wandering through the streets of Helsinki with a guide who has grown up here and continues to live in Helsinki. Even though at times wondering why (in the middle of winter). Easy paced and informative. For first time visitors to Helsinki, a great way to be introduced.

Entertaining and Informative

Craig_B, Jul 2022

Exceptional tour around Helsinki. Emeks knowledge of Finnish history and culture was astounding. His approach was humorous and entertaining. This was one tour that will stay with us for a long time.

Super informative tour

Nataliya_D, Mar 2022

The tour was very informative. Our tour guide was friendly and very familiar with the culture and history of Finland.

Great overview of Helsinki and Finnish culture

Mathilde_S, Mar 2022

Emek is an amazing guide with a wealth of knowledge on Finnish culture and architectural history. We learned so much so as to really appreciate the city surroundings. He answered all our questions with thoughtful enthusiasm. Even our reluctant 20 year old son became engaged with the 3 hours tour as Emek adapted his tour to all our mutual interests.

Great experience! I...

Federico_F, Sep 2021

Great experience! I received insights that only a local can share. I suggest this tour to anyone staying for a short trip like me

Great tour!

Anush_A, Sep 2021

What a great tour! Very relaxing and nice walk through the highlights of the city without any rush. The guide was great and had a lot of knowledge about the Finnish culture and history. Just a pleasure! Highly recommend.

A vibrant city with a knowledgeable guide - Emek is the BEST!

Leslie_V, Aug 2021

What a tour! Emek is so kind and knowledgeable about Helsinki - This is the best tour I took while I was here. I am *that* person that asks 500 questions and Emek answered them all and gave great advice about other places to visit and where I could find a specific book I was looking for (and I did find it!) and how to get back to the train station! Of all the places we went, I loved the Library the best - if Croatia had libraries like that I would never leave - I would just move in! Thank you Emek for being such a wonderful guide in such a vibrant city and sharing with us all the quirky things as well as the history with us. You made me truly fall in love with Helsinki!

Really great Helsinki walking tour

Alastair_M, Jan 2020

Emek was a great tour guide. He was really relaxed and flexible, adapting and reponding to the interests of our small group. He was incredibly knowledgeble and we learned so many interesting facts about local culture and history. We usually take the tip-based free tours but this one is well worth the fee. Really nice guy.

A great way to see Helsinki

Laura_S, Jun 2019

I had an amazing tour with Emek. He's really knowledgeable about the history of Helsinki and Finnish culture as well as really friendly. It was really an interesting way of kicking off my Finland tour and helped me get an understanding of the layout of the city. He showed me a lot of the highlights that you'd expect to see, but he spent a lot of time talking about this history, architecture and the significance of the buildings. He also showed me some things that I wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't have pointed them out. It's definitely worth taking a couple hours to do this tour, even if you're not a big urban planning or architecture fan. You'll learn a lot!