Helsinki is not much of a vegan or vegetarian hub, but the Fins are health-aware. Obesity is uncommon, and the diet includes a lot of whole grains, fish and vegetables. Saunas are part of the Finnish culture, and the locals take pride in staying in shape.
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The Finnish Sauna
Finnish sauna is done in public places with swimwear. If it’s a mixed sauna, unlike in German cities like Berlin, you don’t go naked. Almost all apartment buildings in Finland have saunas. While the luxury apartments usually have a private sauna installed in the bathroom.
Löyly is one of the more famous Helsinki Saunas. Entrance fee is about 20 euros. There is both a wood sauna and a smoke sauna. The smoke sauna was out of order when I visited last winter. Yet it was awesome taking a polar bear plunge in the icy sea waters right after the wood sauna session.
I wouldn’t bother going to the sauna in summer. It is not as much fun. If it’s already warm outside, then sitting in a heated sauna room doesn’t add much extra value to your day. But in winter when it’s freezing outside, the contrast in temperatures makes the sauna and polar plunge afterwards worthwhile.
Sompa sauna is the only free outdoors sauna in Helsinki. It’s a small wooden shack right next to the sea – mixed, and clothing optional. Since its free, you can’t expect much. The facilities are not that great, e.g. no storage lockers nor proper showers. It’s a bit out of the way, and you’d have to drive there by car, otherwise, walk for about 30 minutes. Still, it seems like a popular counter-culture sauna in Finland.
Allas Sea Pool is another interesting sauna option in the capital of Finland. Its next to the ferry to Suomenlinna and the Helsinki Central Market. Apart from Swimming in the sea pool, visit their saunas, or give Sauna Yoga a shot. The water in the sea pool is pumped from further out in the sea.
Helsinki Food Options
A budget healthy option is the supermarket salad bar (e.g. the 24hour supermarket next to train station). Furthermore, in the larger grocery stores, there are plenty of meat and dairy replacement options for vegetarians and vegans (e.g. vegan cheese, -milk and -“meat”). However, there aren’t any specifically “vegan” restaurants in central Helsinki. Of course, you’ll find vegan options in some of the restaurants.
Out of the healthier options, my favorite is the buffet restaurants. There are a lot of these in central Helsinki. Prices are usually 20% cheaper in the week than during weekends.
One of the best options is the sushi and Chinese buffet at Moshi Moshi (address: Iso Roobertinkatu 18). It costs 12 euro during the week, but 15 euro weekends. The food is good quality, it’s a clean upmarket restaurant, and good value for money. There’s also free tea and water.
Moreover, you’ll find a decent Chinese buffet for 9 euros (the price of a drink in some bars) at Huacheng Restaurant. Plus, close to Moshi Moshi, at Monal Indian Cuisine, there is a good value for money Indian buffet option. Also, check out the vegan sushi buffet every Tuesday at Makuja Japanese Restaurant.
Fafa falafel is a gourmet shawarma chain in Finland. It’s good premium food, and reasonably healthy, yet quite expensive. A nice touch is the added roasted cauliflower to the shawarma. There’s free drinking water at the counter. Nevertheless, I’d rather go to the buffet restaurants, and leave Fafas for those late nights when everything else is already closed.
Most (if not all) of the middle-eastern kebab shops in Helsinki use highly processed beef (since regular meat is probably too expensive). Also at fast food restaurants like Subway, the chicken “fillet” seemed to be mechanically deboned and dyed chicken.
Fins also love Licorice (“Lakrits”). But since sugar is usually added, it’s not that healthy.
Helsinki Old Market Hall
Located right next to the Suomenlinna ferry departure point, there is an authentic Finnish market at the Old Market Hall. Here you can buy canned reindeer, bear and elk meat. Also plenty of salmon. Plus nuts, vegetables, cheese, and Finnish Bread. It’s a relatively small market, but good for a quick stroll through. Grab a Finnish Rye Bread topped with fresh Salmon for 5 Euro.
Finnish Rye Bread
As in Stockholm, and Oslo, you’ll find the wholegrain Rye Bread in Finnish Grocery store shelves. Some are diluted with normal wheat, while I recommend looking for the Wholegrain options which only contains Rye and Water. Some of these breads are soured, while others are not. Similarly, when you make Finnish rye bread at home, it’s up to you to either sour the dough or simply bake without souring. You would only need Wholegrain Rye flour, water, and yeast. Traditional Rye bread has a hole in the middle since it was hung from the ceiling to dry around an object.
Finnish Rye Bread Health Benefits
Health Benefits of the High Fiber Finnish Rye Bread includes:
- It reduces the risk of type 2 Diabetes
- Lowers the risk of heart disease
- Improves bowel function
- Anti-cancer activity due to phyto-nutrients
- It can down-regulate some of your risky genes. Scientists have recently discovered that human genes may have on/off switches which can be triggered by an unhealthy diet (1).
Is Finnish Tap-water safe to drink?
Finnish tap-water is safe to drink and supposedly the same quality as bottled mineral water. Which probably explains why there is only a tiny selection of mineral water brands to buy at grocery stores. There is no added, potentially dangerous, Sodium-Fluoride Chemicals in the tap-water. Thus in Finland, drink the tap-water.
Fitness Options
As in most coastal cities, the best jogging routes are the paved walking paths right next to the sea. Moreover, there are plenty of gyms to train at in Helsinki. For example, in Töölö neighborhood, you can get a good workout for 12 euros at Töölö Gym. However, if you’re smart, and train like a local, you can get an equally decent workout (with older equipment), at Töölö Sports Hall for only 3.5 euros. In central Helsinki, expect to pay about 12 euros as well, unless you discover another Sports Hall close by.
Other Useful info
R-Kioski
For travelers, it’s worth dropping by at one of the R-Kioski convenience stores. Here you can buy a Finnish mobile sim card at about 25 Euro’s a month with unlimited data. No ID is needed to get the Sim. Also get a transport tram card for Helsinki in these shops. Save money by buying one card for the duration of your stay. For example 35 euros for 7 days thus about 4.5 Euro per day. These transport cards are indispensable unless your hotel is in the center of Helsinki, in which case you can walk wherever you want to go.
Suommelina
Use your Finnish transport card to visit Suomenlinna for a few hours. It’s a small island off the coast from Helsinki, popular with European tourists, but there’s not much to see. It’s like a tiny Finnish version of the Isla del Sol in Bolivia (off the coast from Copacabana). There’s a small beach for swimming in the summer.
Tampere
Tampere is the second largest city in Finland. It can easily be reached with a 2-hour train or bus ride from central Helsinki. There’s not much to see. Apart from the weather being colder, it simply felt like a much smaller version of Helsinki. If you arrive in the morning, walk right through the long main street in the center of Tampere. Then take a few photos, and go back to Helsinki later in the day.
Tallinn, Estonia
The Baltic city, Tallinn (Estonia), is very easily accessible from Helsinki by 3 different ferry companies. It’s a worthwhile excursion if you are already visiting Helsinki. Tallinn is much smaller, and also much less expensive. You only need one or two days to see this city, while strolling through the cobbled streets of its Old Town neighborhood.
Helsinki Health Travel Junkie Challenge
Challenge 1: Go to one of the Finnish saunas and do a polar plunge afterwards in the cold ocean.
Challenge 2: Bake your own Finnish Rye Bread, if you have access to an oven. The only ingredients needed are (a) water (b) yeast and (c) 100% wholegrain Rye Flour (which costs around 1 euro). If you don’t have access to an oven, take the Rye Flour back home with you. For further help, follow the instructions in my wholegrain bread recipe, but simply replace the wheat flour with rye flour.
Helsinki Health Travel Junkie Scale
Fitness activities – 7.5
Food – 8
Cost of traveling – 4
Other Wellness-related activities – 7.5
Overall Rating: 70%
Have you been to Helsinki? Write your tips below for other travelers! Otherwise, post your questions.