Helsinki Sightseeing

The Helsinki Sightseeing on Sunday 5 June is a comprehensive tour showing the most important and interesting parts of the city, such as the historical centre,the Presidential Palace, the City Hall and Finlandia-House and the Opera House which is also the venue of the EL 2011 Closing Event.

Stops are made at the Senate Square, the magnificent Temppeliaukio Church which is carved into solid rock and the Sibelius Monument.

The Helsinki Sightseeing leaves from the Marina Congress Center at 14:00. The approximate duration of the sightseeing is 1,5 hours.

The EL 2011 Accompanying Persons’ Programme centres on Finnish design and culture. We will explore the capital Helsinki, its beautiful archipelago and the Finnish countryside surprisingly close to the city. We will meet interesting people, who will introduce us to the essence of the Finnish identity and character.

Monday 6 June
The most beautiful archipelago in the world

On the first day, we will head to the Baltic Sea on an old schooner ship, cruising through the breathtakingly beautiful archipelago, which has often been cited as one of the most beautiful in the world. We will enjoy the local delicacies of the hearty lunch buffet on board. We will also make a short trip ashore on one of the islands and have refreshments on the cliffs.

Departure from the hotels at 9:30 (duration approx. 6 hours)

Tuesday 7 June
Finnish design

Finnish design has been a globally acknowledged concept ever since the 1950s, and it still continues to flourish. In fact, Helsinki has been appointed Design Capital of the World in 2012. On our Design tour, we will learn about Helsinki’s versatile design offerings and the classics of Finnish design.

We will make a guided tour of the Design District and visit a showroom where we will have a chance to meet some of the most interesting personalities in the contemporary Finnish design scene. After that, we will have lunch at a downtown restaurant that fits in the day’s design theme elegantly.

After lunch we will head to the legendary ceramics factory of the Finnish tableware company Arabia. There we will have a chance to learn about the history of the domestic ceramics and ceramic art pieces manufactured during the factory’s 135 years of existence. At the factory we will also meet one of the most beloved Finnish ceramic artists, Heljä Liukko-Sundström, who has been working at Arabia for over 40 years.

Departure from the hotels at 10:15 (duration approx. 6 hours)

Wednesday 8 June
The Golden Age of Finnish Arts

The last excursion will take us outside of the City of Helsinki (maximum 45 minutes drive), to the immensely beautiful lakeside scenery by Tuusulanjärvi lake. We will familiarize ourselves with the Golden Age of Finnish culture –the era when Finnish identity started to rise and the cornerstones of Finnish culture were laid. We will visit the homes of two renowned artists of the era: Jean Sibelius, the greatest Finnish composer of all times and Pekka Halonen, a famous National Romantic painter. We will also have the opportunity to listen to Sibelius’ music during the excursion.

Our excursion will end with a late lunch in an old country house at the Krapi estate.

Departure from the hotels at 10:00 (duration approx. 6 hours)

 

The programme is subject to changes.