The Cathedral, by Carl Ludvig Engel, rising on the northern side of the Senate Square is the stage of national and academic festive services and one of the most popular tourist sights. The church is part of Helsinki's Empire era centre and a landmark for those arriving by sea. It has become the symbol of the whole of Helsinki. Earlier called St. Nicholas Church and Great Cathedral, the current main church of the Helsinki Diocese was completed in 1852. Sculptures of the twelve apostles guard the city from the roof of the church. Exhibitions at the Crypt (Kirkkokatu 18), in summer also a souvenir shop Cathedral Shop.
If the Esplanade Park could talk, it would have a thousand stories to tell. Since the early 1800s, couples have fallen in love and separated beneath the trees that line the park on both sides. People flock to the park to hang out, be seen and simply soak up the atmosphere.
The world famous composer Jean Sibelius' (1865-1957) monument by Eila Hiltunen is located at the Sibelius park. It was unveiled 7 September 1967. The Sibelius Monument, resembling organ pipes, is made of welded steel with over 600 pipes and with the bust of the composer on one side. The monument is one of Helsinki's most popular statues and one of the most well-known tourist attractions.
Completed in 1868 in the Katajanokka district of Helsinki, the Uspenski Cathedral is the largest orthodox church in Western Europe. With its golden cupolas and redbrick facade, the church is one of the clearest symbols of the Russian impact on Finnish history.
The old town of Porvoo is a charming and popular destination for daytrips. The winding streets and mosaic-like courtyards reflect the town’s medieval history. Today the narrow cobblestone streets are lined with charming cafés, restaurants, boutiques and museums housed in historical wooden buildings of different colours. The red wooden warehouses along the river date back hundreds of years and are the town’s landmark. The heart of the town is the impressive cathedral on top of the hill. Porvoo is home to 50,000 residents.
The Cathedral was the site of opening of first Diet of Finland March 28, 1809 where Finland was declared an autonomous Grand Duchy, with the Emperor of Russia as the Grand Duke of Finland.
Rock Church Helsinki
Best world library
Main Market Square of Helsinki
Oldest covered Market in Finland
We had an amazing tour of Helsinki and Porvoo today with Mattias. The company was on time and accommodated our large party (with luggage) in a spacious and comfortable Mercedes Benz Sprinter van. Mattias was knowledgeable about this beautiful country and courteous of our needs. We would highly recommend The Guide Father!
We enjoyed a wonderful driver with guide father company.. tour guide Pasquel was wonderful .. a wonderful experience
Driver informative, on time and driver was very careful driver and stopped for shopping… and spoke English
Was picked up from airport and dropped off at my hotel. Everything was seamless cause I had my luggage with me and couldn’t check into hotel till after 3pm. My guide was knowledgeable and showed me all around Porvoo and told me its history. Beautiful old town about 45 minutes from Helsinki. I felt comfortable from the beginning, & loved the tour. We then went yo Helsinki where we saw all the hot spots and Pasquel told me about the history of Finland. Tour with The Guide Father. Great experience and guide.
Excellent introduction to Helsinki. Pascal was knowledgeable and personable, giving us historical and cultural information throughout and adapting the tour for what we were interested in. Highly recommend.
Thorough, informative tour tailored to our interests. Nadia provided outstanding commentary, answering all questions in a clear, professional manner. Recommend her without reservation to anyone wanting a top quality tour of Finland's capital.
This is a great introduction to Finland and Helsinki. Our guide was awesome with lots of tips on places to explore on our own . I highly recommend this tour .
Perfect day in Helsinki and Porvoo thanks to Sergio. We were met at the port on time and then had the best day in Helsinki. Cruise stops give you the best of, and today was perfect. Porvoo was beautiful and very quaint and lovely. Our driver Michael met us at port on time in super clean Porsche and was the best driver. The day was amazing and will be back for a longer stay thanks to Sergio!!
Excellent tour and tour guide. Helsinki is both small and centrally located, so we were able to see and learn much about the town during our 4 hour tour.
Great car and guide. Parvoo is a charming little town but not sure its worth the 45min drive each way. Should have spent more time in Helsinki walking around with the guide.
This was a great tour - Porvoo was a lovely little town and don’t miss the library in Helsinki… it’s utopian. Lukas was an excellent and personable guide.
We started in PORVOO and is was wonderful. My guide was very well versed in everything you can imagine about this old village. The sites in Helsinki were nice, but the Library! This word being the title no way sums up what is going to blow you mind away. Other countries need to adopt the concept that encapsulates the Helsinki library.
The tour was terrific. Jenny and Andrew covered all the topics that I wanted, and gave me the overview of the city that I was looking for. Parvoo was an unexpected revelation.
We were in Helsinki for 24 hours and we wanted to hear and see as much about Helsinki as we could. This tour really fit the bill. Our guide, Nadia, was perfect. She was incredibly knowledgeable, friendly, and flexible. Our driver, Nazar, was equally wonderful. He was a safe driver, friendly, and helpful. I highly recommend this tour.
Wonderful overview of helsinki. Mateo was an excellent guide. Very knowledgeable and super friendly and professional. We had a wonderful time and our driver was very nice and safe. Great VIP tour of the city. Highly recommended!
Jenny picked me up from hotel and provided a very informative and personalised tour. She gave me many insights in to Finnish history, culture and way of life.
Pascual did an amazing job and he was a pleasure to spend the day with. I would definitely recommend him to friends
Outstanding tour. Our guide was knowledgeable, fun and accommodating. Our driver was great on the icy roads and fun too.
Our guide and our driver were both very accommodating and wonderful. They went well above and beyond.
We chose a guided tour as we wanted to know more about each site we visit. Andy was a great guide. He was very knowledgeable about Helsinki and the various sites we visited, and was very thoughtful and patient with the elderly in our family as they had mobility issues. The town of Porvoo is also beautiful and a place not to miss when visiting Helsinki All in I would definitely recommend this tour. But of course much of the success of the tour depends on a good guide. Thanks Andy!
Nadia keeping telling my tour time ends at 1pm. she got something on in the afternoon. according to the plan, each place at least 15 mini and some of them are 30 mini. but every place I went was very rush, she just help me take a photo and dont event got time to take a short walk then take me away . in the end still missing 2 place did not go , Kauppatori and Old Market Hall due to lack of time. It's not worth it for the tour fee, I will never attend again and will not recommend to my friend also :(
Has a great day with Jenny and our driver Andrew! Jenny as full of energy and shared knowledge about historic sites, major events, buildings, people, but also covered current times, culture and people of Finland, economic aspects, really a bit of everything. It was a fantastic way to spend a day around Helsinki since I really only had one full day in the city!
This was an excellent tour that went as planned. Our guide Nadia, was full of information about Porvoo and Helsinki, as well as the history related to these places. We never felt rushed and enjoyed our time in both. Nadia even provided some helpful practical information about the train system and places to eat in Helsinki. It definitely made us more confident when navigating the city on our own. The car was spotless and comfortable. Our driver Andrew was friendly and an excellent driver.
Everything went as planned. Our guide was excellent, very informative about the history and culture of Finland. Lots of helpful tips since this was our first day in Helsinki. We would highly recommend them for tours of the Helsinki area.
We had an excellent guide. Jenny shared her personal experiences on how she ended up ⬆️ n Helinski as well as information on the he city & Porvoo. The snacks in the van were an extra treat.
We were picked up on time by Andrew who was not only a great driver but a very good guide until we picked up Pascale. The entire day was perfect. Pricey, but worth it
Our guide Jenny was spectacular. We learned so much from her and were impressed with her knowledge, friendliness and care for our every need.
We were a group of 10 adults. Our guide was wonderful- he was kind and thoughtful. He shared lots of interesting information as he showed us many sights along the way. We had a wonderful driver who provided transportation in a very nice, clean van. this was a great tour!
Our tour guide was extremely knowledgeable and fun. He was able to somewhat customize our tour to what he felt we'd enjoy more. The driver was also very professional. The tour itself is very well rounded and we learned a lot about Helsinki. Porvoo was such a quaint little city and we really loved our time there. There's opportunity to buy souvenirs and treats, as well, without the pressure to do so if you prefer not to. Highly recommend, especially at the beginning of your visit or if you don't have a lot of time to explore Helsinki.
Great tour with very courteous driver and informative guide. They were happy to take pictures and give us a cafe stop for authentic treats! We got to see a lot of sights in a short time. Great day and highly recommend!
Excellent guide and driver - very knowledgeable and there is nothing more to say and we thought everything was good
Great tour of Helsinki and Porvoo. Interesting walk through medieval town and then return to Helsinki for a few highlights there. Loved the libraries and architecture in the city center. Overall, Andrew was a great guide and would highly recommend.
Lot to pay for very little. It’s not VIP. A converted Mercedes transit van! Sticker advertising to the right side of the vehicles obscures your ability to take pictures while on the move! On the day while on the move the driver tells me to check the message from office to say that they are curtailing the journey by 30min. We are not allowed to eat inside the van!! Pascale the guide was a great guide and had good knowledge.
Both driver and tour guide were amazing. This VIP tour is worth it. Would definitely repeat. Thank you!
The tour was an excellent and the Tour Guide Andrew was outstanding. His knowledge of both Helsinki and Porvoo was in depth and he was able to deliver the information in a fun and informative way.
Nadia was our tour guide and she was wonderful. She was very professional very kind she was very thorough. Very knowledgeable answered all of our questions and we had a very nice tour with her. It was a little rushed. I would say add another hour to 2 hours so you can spend more time in the town of Provo because you do spend over an hour 45 minutes in the car each way to drive from Helsinki to Porvo.
Jenny was a terrific hostess and we had a memorable visit! We learned a lot about Finnish culture and daily life.
Excellent service, friendly driver and wonderful guide. Fantastic experience overall. Loved walking through Porvoo.
Great knowledge, got to see a lot in a small amount of time would definitely recommend. Finland is definitely the happiest place
We were so glad we did this tour! Nadia was awesome! She shared a lot of information regarding Finland and its history. Porvoo was lovely (just wish we could’ve seen inside the church but there was a confirmation). We saw so many things in Helsinki, though, that made the whole experience worthwhile! Nadia also shared suggestions for where we could get lunch as well as her favorite chocolate store (Fazer). Highly recommend this tour as an introduction to Helsinki!
Enjoyable and very informative tour with a very knowledgeable guide Antre. There would not be any other way to see and learn as much as we have on the trip.
This tour was amazing. I didn't know what to expect in Helsinki and this tour far exceeded my expectations. In particular, the tour guide (Christina), provided not just insight into the city and historical sites but answered all our questions regarding social, religious and political views in Finland. This is the beaty of travel - hearing about different cultures. I highly recommend the Helsinki central library Oodi - the word library doesn't do it justice!
Very interesting and friendly guide and driver. A wonderful four hours getting acquainted with Finnish life and culture. Highly recommended.
Pascal was the perfect guide for our two senior couples. His knowledge of the Finnish culture, Scandinavian history and and the city of Helsinki was excellent. He adjusted the original schedule to include the Rock Church and the magnifcent new Central Library which is quite modern and community focused. We loved it! He is very familiar with Porvoo and shared it’s beautiful history. This was our second time in Helsinki and the private tour allowed us to see/experience more at our pace.
Wonderful in spite of the rain very informative and friendly. Many options for stops and variety of activities due to changing conditions and crowds in certain areas.
Driver and guide were excellent, very knowledgeable. However it’s very expensive so would be cautious recommending it
Antti, the guide and Matti the driver were a great team. Antti (Andy) Was exceptionally knowledgeable, interesting and enthusiastic about Finland. He even quizzed us several times about the area. While Mattie was driving, Antti explained virtually everything that we passed. We really loved Porvoo. We even had a little dessert break in an adorably cute, pastry shop.This tour can be tailored to whatever you want to see. I recommend contacting them through the Viator app to see if they're available at the time that your ship comes in. I also recommend you get the address of the port that your ship will be at to make sure that you are met at the accurate location. I did all that before meeting up with them. They were waiting for us, on time, in a beautiful land rover for us with water and snacks. It was a very comfortable ride. Mattie is an excellent driver. I highly recommend this tour if you want to see the best of Finland.
Our guide, Cornelia, was communicative and friendly. She knew the history like the back of her hand and gave me some time to translate my family's mother language for my parents. She also gracefully answered my parents' curiosity about Finnish culture along the way. I highly recommend it!
We had 36 hours in Helsinki and this tour helped us see some key attractions. We also enjoyed visiting Porvoo. Our guide was especially knowledgeable and accommodating. We thoroughly enjoyed the tour!
The hard part for Antti is that I had two excellent tours prior so I am comparing. On its own and even though it was very cold outside, it was that time of the year, I enjoyed and learned a lot about both cities. I liked the things I saw but was a bit surprised in the end when instead of taking me back to my hotel, Antti put me on a train. He took me to my seat, then leaving me to get back to my hotel after a 20-minute train ride back to the airport (my hotel was at the airport). It was a weird ending to a rather pleasant experience.
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