Finland: The Nordic Guide

Waldorf Astoria Helsinki

Helsinki's new anchor address: the first Waldorf Astoria in the Nordic countries, set on Mariankatu in Kruununhaka, in a converted nineteenth-century barracks originally built for the Uusimaa Battalion. 117 rooms, 38 suites, a spa, two restaurants, and Bar Maria, whose winter theme leans into ice and snow. The service is precise without being stiff; the building is quiet in the way only Helsinki can be. If Helsinki has joined the short list of European capitals worth flying to for the hotel alone, this is the reason.

Where to stay

Hotels of Finland.

01 · Helsinki

Waldorf Astoria Helsinki

Helsinki's new anchor address: the first Waldorf Astoria in the Nordic countries, set on Mariankatu in Kruununhaka, in a converted nineteenth-century barracks originally built for the Uusimaa Battalion. 117 rooms, 38 suites, a spa, two restaurants, and Bar Maria, whose winter theme leans into ice and snow. The service is precise without being stiff; the building is quiet in the way only Helsinki can be. If Helsinki has joined the short list of European capitals worth flying to for the hotel alone, this is the reason.

02 · Helsinki

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Hotel Kämp

Helsinki's grande dame, opened in 1887 and still the address on the Esplanade. Sibelius drank here; the country's independence was arguably drafted at its bar. Recent rooms lean handsomely traditional, and the mezzanine remains one of the loveliest tea rooms in the North.

03 · Helsinki

Hotel St. George

A quieter, more contemporary alternative to the Kämp, set in a nineteenth-century building that once housed the Finnish Literature Society's printing house, a few blocks south of Esplanadi. Ai Weiwei's Tianwu, a silk and bamboo dragon, hangs above the lobby; the winter garden and the small spa are both first-rate.

04 · Rovaniemi

Arctic TreeHouse Hotel

A cluster of cantilevered suites on a hillside just outside Rovaniemi, each with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall angled at the aurora. Understated interiors of pale birch and dark wool, and a small, seriously good restaurant, Rakas, working with reindeer, cloudberry, and pike.

05 · Saariselkä

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Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort

The original glass-igloo resort, still the reference point above the Arctic Circle. The log chalets are as good as the igloos and quieter; smoke sauna, husky trails and the Northern Lights arrive with the seasons.

06 · Helsinki

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Hotel Haven

A boutique harbourfront hotel with rooms looking onto the South Harbour and the market square. Unfussy, quietly luxurious, and for many returning visitors the most Helsinki address in Helsinki.

Where to eat

Tables of Finland.

01
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Olo
Helsinki · New Nordic · Michelin
A Michelin-starred fixture on Pohjoisesplanadi, starred every year since 2011, in a historic townhouse overlooking the South Harbour. The kitchen works almost exclusively with Finnish producers and treats the ingredient rather than the chef as the point.
02
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Grön
Helsinki · Plant-based · 2 Michelin stars · Toni Kostian
Toni Kostian's small two-Michelin-star dining room on Albertinkatu in Kamppi, working through a plant-focused tasting menu. Vegetables lead; the wine list leans natural and precise. Book weeks ahead.
03
© DXR · CC BY-SA 4.0 · via Wikimedia Commons
Palace
Helsinki · Nordic · 2 Michelin stars
Tenth-floor views across the South Harbour and two Michelin stars for classic, ingredient-first Finnish cooking, in a modernist building put up for the 1952 Olympics. The dining room is quiet and grown-up; lunch is one of the best in the city.
04
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Ravintola Savoy
Helsinki · Finnish · Classic
Aino and Alvar Aalto designed the room in 1937, and the vorschmack is still on the menu. A national institution on the eighth floor of a functionalist building on Eteläesplanadi, restored in 2019. Order the reindeer.
05
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Nokka
Helsinki · Finnish · Farm-to-table
Chef Ari Ruoho's harbour-side dining room in the old Katajanokka warehouses, sourcing from a network of named Finnish farms. Serious cooking without the ceremony; wild and small-farm ingredients drive the menu.