We went on a grand (self-guided) walking tour of Central Helsinki, beginning with the amazing (relatively) new public library where you can work at sewing machines and borrow an electric guitar:-

Next, we went to Kiasma, the Museum of Contemporary Art, designed by Steven Holl and opened in 1998 – surprisingly long ago:-

There is good strong detailing on the nineteenth-century buildings:-

A fine late nineteenth-century building on Kasamitori which doesn’t appear in the architectural guide:-

And an apartment building opposite designed by Herman Gesellius, Arnas Lindgren and Eliel Saarinen which does:-

Down to the docks and the old market hall (1889):-

On the other side of the harbour are Aalto’s 1962 office block and the Uspenski Orthodox Cathedral:-

East and south of the cathedral are good art nouveau and classical blocks with excellent stone detailing:-

We admired the old Custom House (1902):-

Then back into the neoclassical city:-

We ended with a cup of tea in the Cathedral Square:-