Columbus Cruise Review

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Time Zone: GMT + 2 (GMT + 3 from last Saturday in March to Saturday before last Sunday in October).

Currency: Euro (€) = 100 cents or Fmk5.95.

Language: Finnish.

Sightseeing: The central hub of Helsinki is around the bustling sea-front Kauppatori (Market Square), where locals gather to lunch, shop for fresh fish and vegetables and buy produce from the market stalls. From here the architectural heart of Helsinki, Senaatintori (Senate Square), is a five-minute walk away. The best overview of the city is from its tallest building – the Hotel Torni – from where it is easy to see Helsinki’s most noted landmarks. These include Alvar Aalto’s Finlandia Hall and Steven Holl’s arc of a building, Kiasma, the contemporary art gallery. A good way to get orientated and see the sights is to take tram 3T, which takes in most of the main attractions.

Shopping: Finnish handicrafts, jewellery, handwoven ryijy rugs, furniture, glassware, porcelain, ceramics, furs and textiles are amongst the many Finnish specialities on sale. Helsinki railway station has the first underground shopping centre in the country.

Eating Out: Potatoes, meat, fish, milk, butter and rye bread are the traditional mainstays of the Finnish diet, but food in Finland has been greatly influenced both by Western (French and Swedish) and Eastern (Russian) cooking. Tourists can expect excellent fresh fish dishes on menus, such as pike, trout, perch, whitefish, salmon and Baltic herring. One should also try reindeer meat, smoked or in other forms. Finnish berry liqueurs, mesimarja (arctic bramble), lakka (cloudberry), and polar (cranberry), as well as Finnish vodka (usually served ice cold with meals), are well worth trying.