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Offered languages
- German
- Portuguese
- English
- Italian
- French
- Dutch
- Spanish
Helsinki kept a statue of a Russian tsar in the exact centre of its main square, decades after breaking free of Russian rule, and the reason has nothing to do with nostalgia for empire. And, on a June morning, a mild-mannered government clerk followed the empire's most hated man down a marble staircase and fired three times, then turned the gun on himself.
Roughly 4 km and around 3 hours, an audio guide on your phone leads you past a bank that helped Finland quietly win its own currency, a chocolate wrapper that became a coded symbol of independence, and trolls carved onto an insurance building by a sculptor trained under Rodin.
No meeting points, no group to keep pace with, and no fixed start time. Download the app, start whenever you land, pause for coffee, and pick up right where you left off.
Over 25,000 travelers have used our self-guided tours, and every booking comes with a full refund guarantee, an easy way to walk a Helsinki audio tour most visitors never hear about.
What's Included
Meeting and pickup
This is a self-guided audio tour on the "Tourific self-guided tours" app. To activate the tour, check your email for instructions from Tourific or your booking platform sent right after booking. Can't find it? Search for "Tourific" in your email inbox and spam folder OR contact us via support.
Itinerary
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1The Bank of Finland
Encounter the senator who talked an empire into letting Finland print its own money
15 minutes • Admission ticket free -
2
Stand on the staircase where a mild-mannered clerk shot the most hated man in the empire
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
3Senate Square
See where seagulls perch on a tsar the Finns swore never to tear down
12 minutes • Admission ticket free -
Helsinki Cathedral (Pass by)
Look up at twelve rooftop statues that almost every guidebook gets wrong
Admission ticket free -
4Fazer Café Kluuvikatu
Trace a chocolate empire back to a legend involving blindness, gratitude, and a stolen Swiss recipe
8 minutes • Admission ticket free -
5
Spot the trolls guarding an insurance company, carved by a sculptor who once trained under Rodin
8 minutes • Admission ticket free -
(Pass by)
Piece together Finland's Golden Age through a tragic myth and a lifetime of self-portraits
Admission ticket free -
6Helsinki Central Station
Count the four stone giants modelled on one real Finnish gardener
7 minutes • Admission ticket free -
7
Follow a trail from a student-funded clubhouse to the police chief who once hid Lenin nearby
8 minutes • Admission ticket free -
8Three Smiths Statue
Search for the scar a Soviet bomb left in three hammering bronze blacksmiths
8 minutes • Admission ticket free -
9The Old Church Park (Vanha kirkkopuisto)
Stand in a quiet park that swallowed a third of Helsinki's population in one outbreak
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
10
Decode a quiet language war fought out on two competing stages across town
6 minutes • Admission ticket free -
11
Uncover why Finland's national anthem was first written in the language of its old rulers
10 minutes • Admission ticket free -
12Havis Amanda
Encounter the bronze mermaid whose unveiling united feminists, laborers, and nationalists in fury
7 minutes • Admission ticket free -
13
Pass beneath a monument stripped of its imperial crown, and hear how a twice-widowed heiress gave her fortune away
12 minutes • Admission ticket free -
14Sea Fortress Suomenlinna
Notice the island fortress once nicknamed unconquerable, and the single surrender that opened Finland's door to Russia
6 minutes • Admission ticket free -
15
Trace a tsar's palace through revolution, renaming, and a return to quiet republican rule
8 minutes • Admission ticket free -
Uspenski Cathedral (Pass by)
Step into a cathedral built from the wreckage of a Russian fortress, still missing one stolen icon
Admission ticket free
Additional info
- Service animals allowed
- Public transportation options are available nearby
- Suitable for all physical fitness levels
Tags
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Cancellation Policy
- For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
- If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
- Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
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