11 Things to Do in Helsinki in Winter (All Indoors)

Looking for things to do in Helsinki in winter? The city has lovely parks and boat trips, but those aren’t the smartest choices when it’s freezing outside.

We’ve been in January 2023 and in November 2024, the second time with our son, then ten months old, and we quickly learned that staying warm is the key to enjoying the Finnish capital. A sauna is the obvious choice, but there are plenty of other indoor things to do that keep you out of the cold and the wind.

All of them are within walking distance of the central railway station, and the public transport is excellent if your feet get cold. Here are our favourite things to do in Helsinki in winter, all of them indoors.

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1. Oodi Central Library: The Best Place to Warm Up

📍 Töölönlahdenkatu 4, a few minutes’ walk from the station (map) · Oodi’s website
🕘 Monday to Friday 8–21, weekends 10–20
💶 Free

Oodi (Finnish for “ode”) is Helsinki’s central library, built to celebrate 100 years of Finland’s independence and opened in December 2018.

It’s a modern building that’s so much more than a library, and our must-visit in Helsinki. You can easily spend a few hours, or a whole afternoon, here without facing the weather outside.

What’s Inside

The building has three floors, and the top floor is the library itself.

First floor: an info desk, a restaurant and a few chess boards, where you can test your skills against a passer-by or your travel companion.

Second floor: probably our favourite. There’s a fully equipped kitchen you can rent, music rooms with instruments, gaming rooms with the newest consoles, and spaces to work. Some of them need booking: the library’s website explains what’s there and how to use it, and you can check availability on Varaamo.

Third floor: the library in the traditional sense, with a café and a children’s area. There are thousands of books and magazines, and a decent collection of board games. You need a library card to borrow the games, but you’re free to browse the books and magazines and read them in one of the comfy chairs and sofas around the floor.

There’s plenty in English and other languages (German, French, Spanish, Korean and Arabic, to name a few), on all kinds of topics, so you’re bound to find something you like.

How it went for us: in November 2024 we came with our son, then ten months old, and friends with their two-and-a-half-year-old. Both loved the children’s area, which has a sensory room and things to climb and hide in, and playing there is free. It was also our go-to place to warm up between sights.

Want all 11 on one page, plus our one-day plan? 👇

2. Helsinki City Museum

📍 Aleksanterinkatu 16, by Senate Square (map) · the museum’s website
🕘 Monday to Friday 11–19, weekends 11–17
💶 Free

The museum is near Helsinki Cathedral and close to the Old Market Hall, a great spot for lunch (more on that below). Entry is free, and it’s a good introduction to Helsinki’s history.

One floor is for temporary exhibitions, which change every three or four months. There’s a whole section on the history of sauna in Helsinki, and a time machine that shows how the city has changed over the last 100 years.

It’s not the most interactive museum, but there are some hands-on parts. The standout is a quiz game on a 3D model of the city, where you have to find things, a bit like Where’s Waldo.

It’s one of Finland’s most visited museums (the second most visited in 2024), and worth it if you have a couple of hours. With a pram: there’s a parking spot for it inside, so you don’t have to push it round the exhibitions.

3. The Flying Cinema and the SkyWheel

Very close to the City Museum and the Old Market Hall, right on the harbour at Katajanokanlaituri 2 B (map), you’ll find the Flying Cinema and the SkyWheel side by side.

Flying Cinema

🕘 Monday to Saturday 10–20, Sunday 10–19
💶 €10.50 a film, €20 for both, €24 with a SkyWheel ride

The Flying Cinema is a 4D ride where you choose between two films, or watch both: a tour of Finland or a tour of Helsinki. Showings start every 15 minutes, each film lasts about 12, and you buy tickets on site. We saw both, and it was a nice way to see the major sights, even on film.

SkyWheel

🕘 Monday to Friday 12–18, Saturday 11–19, Sunday 11–17
💶 €15 for adults, €10.50 for children aged 3–11, €46 for two adults and two children

The SkyWheel is a classic Ferris wheel, but with heated cabins. It goes round four times, which gives you plenty of time for photos and videos, or just to sit back and enjoy the view.

Tickets: SkyWheel tickets cost the same as at the booth (€15), with free cancellation. With kids, buy the family ticket at the booth instead, since it’s only sold there. The combo with the Flying Cinema (€24) is sold at the cinema.

4. Have Lunch in the Old Market Hall

📍 Eteläranta, on the harbour (map)
🕘 Monday to Saturday 8–18, closed on Sundays

The Old Market Hall is a great place to grab lunch. Its stalls serve everything from traditional Finnish fish stew to burgers and Asian food, and the hall’s website has a list of the vendors.

5. A Sauna and a Sea Dip at Allas Sea Pool

📍 Katajanokanlaituri 2a, next to the SkyWheel (map)
🕘 Monday to Friday 6:30–21, weekends 8–21
💶 €19 Monday to Thursday and on Friday before 2pm, €24 from Friday afternoon to Sunday; children aged 3–12 €11 / €14; towels €8.90 to rent

If the weather just isn’t cooperating, there’s always a sauna. It’s what Finland does best, and one of the best things to do in Helsinki in winter.

We found this place right on the harbour, next to the SkyWheel. It’s open all year and popular with locals even in the depths of winter: we went in early January, and it was packed.

What to Expect

Besides the saunas, there are two pools: a warm pool at about 27°C (81°F), and a sea-water pool whose temperature follows the sea, about 1°C (34°F) when we went. You’ll find people in both, even in winter.

Tickets: a ticket gives you two hours. You can buy one on Allas’s website up to two weeks ahead, which is worth doing for weekends, or at the Allas shop on the day. Bring a towel, or rent one there.

6. Temppeliaukio Church: The Rock Church

📍 Lutherinkatu 3, in Töölö (map)
🕘 Daily 10–16, but it closes for services and weddings, so check the week’s hours on the church’s website
💶 €8; free for under-18s and with the Helsinki Card

This is an active Lutheran church in central Helsinki, built straight into the solid rock. The result: interesting acoustics, and an even more interesting visit.

Tickets: €8 at the door, or the same price for a Rock Church ticket on GetYourGuide, with free cancellation. Under-18s get in free, so with kids, just pay for the adults at the door.

7. Have Coffee (or Kahvi) in a Cosy Café

Finns love their coffee. They drink more of it per person than anyone else in Europe, yes, even the Italians, at about four cups a day. Perfect for warming up on a freezing Helsinki day.

You can’t go wrong spending some time in a cosy café, warming up with a cup and a pastry. Classic choices are the Finnish cinnamon roll (korvapuusti) or Runeberg’s torte, an almond and rum pastry. In winter, look out for the torte: cafés sell it from early January until Runeberg’s Day on 5 February.

Kahvi: Finnish Filter Coffee

Kahvi is simply Finnish for coffee, and in Finland it usually means filter coffee, often a light roast. You’ll find it almost everywhere, and you often pay for one cup and get free refills. Most places have a good selection of teas, too.

If you prefer espresso or a cappuccino, these are a few of our favourite places for a cup in Helsinki:

Kaffecentralen

📍 Fredrikinkatu 59 (map)
🕘 Monday to Friday 8–18, Saturday 11–17, closed on Sundays

A very small, cosy café, perfect for a quick stop to recharge. You can grab something sweet with your drink, and if you like the coffee, you can buy the beans to take home.

La Torrefazione

📍 Aleksanterinkatu 50, on one of the main streets in the centre (map)

It’s bigger than Kaffecentralen, with more on the drinks menu. Ideal for a longer stop to wait out a storm, or just to take a break while exploring the city.

Enchanté Café

📍 Eerikinkatu 9, just behind the Forum shopping centre (map)

A small neighbourhood café that locals love. On top of great coffee, they serve freshly baked croissants and other flaky pastries, and the owners are very friendly: exactly the kind of place you want to stumble upon.

8. Finnish Museum of Natural History

📍 Pohjoinen Rautatiekatu 13 (map)
🕘 Tuesday to Friday 10–17, Saturday 10–18, Sunday 10–16, closed on Mondays
💶 €21 for adults at the desk or €20 online; children aged 5–18 €7 (€6 online); under-5s free

We’ve always found natural history museums fascinating, and we try to visit one in every city we explore. Helsinki’s isn’t as big as, say, Vienna’s, but the exhibitions are well structured and easy to follow. The ones on Finnish nature and the history of life stood out for us.

Tickets: well worth it if you’re into natural history. Buy them in the museum’s webshop to save a euro. The Helsinki Card doesn’t cover it, but there are free entry days through the year, listed on the museum’s website.

9. Amos Rex Museum of Modern Art

📍 Mannerheimintie 22–24, a few minutes from the station (map)
🕘 Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday 11–20, weekends 11–17, closed on Tuesdays
💶 €22 at the museum or €20 online; free for under-18s

If you’re into contemporary art and design, this is your spot. It’s a different experience from the usual sights, and we’d say well worth the ticket.

10. The Design Museum

📍 Korkeavuorenkatu 23, in the Design District (map)
🕘 September to May: Tuesday 11–20, Wednesday to Sunday 11–18, closed on Mondays (current hours)
💶 €23 for adults, €3 for children aged 2–17

Scandinavian design is famous worldwide for its simplicity. The museum, now part of the Architecture & Design Museum (ADM), has rotating exhibitions on everything from furniture to visions of the future.

Until 6 January 2027, it also has an exhibition on another Finnish export: the Moomins! If you’ve never heard of them, you can’t leave Helsinki without getting to know them. They’re literally everywhere.

You probably won’t need more than an hour and a half.

11. Visit Some of Helsinki’s Shopping Centres

Last on our list of ways to escape Helsinki’s cold and wind. A shopping centre has its perks: it’s free to get in, and it’s warm. It’s not somewhere you’ll want to spend hours, but if you have an hour to kill, or you can feel the cold in your bones and have done everything else on this list, it’s a good option. With our son, the shopping centres were one of our warm-up stops.

Helsinki has quite a few. These four are all in the centre, a short walk from the station:

Citycenter

📍 Opposite the central railway station (map)

The most convenient one to pop into, and the one we spent time in. It has several floors with a good mix of Finnish and international brands, and a decent food court if you need a quick bite.

Kluuvi

📍 Aleksanterinkatu 9, close to Senate Square (map)

A smaller, compact centre on the main shopping street, with a nice selection of shops and a few restaurants. A good option if you’re already exploring Aleksanterinkatu.

Forum

📍 Mannerheimintie 20 (map)

One of the larger shopping centres in central Helsinki, with shops across several floors, plenty of cafés and restaurants, and a Moomin shop.

Kamppi

📍 Urho Kekkosen katu 1 (map)

The biggest on our list, with the Kamppi bus terminal inside. It’s a maze of shops, restaurants and services, handy if you need to kill time before a bus or just want a proper mall.

Final Thoughts: Our Favourite Things to Do in Helsinki in Winter

Exploring Helsinki in winter doesn’t have to mean hiding in your hotel room. Between the museums, the architecture, the cafés and the saunas, there’s more than enough to fill a few days and stay warm.

Our favourites were Oodi (seriously, it’s so much more than books, and brilliant with kids) and Allas Sea Pool: nothing beats jumping into an ice-cold sea pool after a hot sauna, even if it sounds crazy.

Whether you’re into culture, design, history or just good coffee, you’ll find plenty to do here, even in the middle of winter. Just pack your warmest clothes for the walks in between, and you’ll be fine.