How to spend 24 hours in Helsinki for €40

If you are travelling to Helsinki on a budget and have only 24 hours to spare, this is the right place!
In less than 24 hours with only €40, I've visited the Suomenlinna island, Uspenski Cathedral and Helsinki Cathedral and had pizza for dinner.

After landing and clearing the immigration counter, I took the metro to Helsinki station (€5). After getting myself comfortable in the metro, I was awed by the views. It was so hard to believe that I'm surrounded by snow. Nothing but snow! It's been a decade since I last seen such vastness.

Since I'm travelling alone, I opt to stay in a hostel, Eurohostel, and picked the budget dormitory bed (€19) which was decent. That's how i met my room mate Meng Yuan, who was transiting for a day in Helsinki.

Photo credits: Eurohostel

We eventually spend the day together as we were both planning to visit Suomenlinna.

Suomenlinna is a island accessible only by water. To get there, we would need to board the ferry service (€9 for day pass) from the Market Square, which is about 10 - 15 minutes from our accommodation.

Had our breakfast (€4.70 for meat pie, €2.50 for hot chocolate) while waiting for our ferry at the Market Place.

Side Note:-

HSL Ferry is operated by the Helsinki Region Transport Authority (HSL).

Depending on the season an the time of day, ferries run 1 - 4 times per hour from the morning until the night throughtout the year.

The ferry departs from the east side of the Market Square, opposite the Presidential Palace.

In Suomenlinna, the ferry arrives at and departs from the main pier of Iso Mustasaari island on the north shore of Suomenlinna.

The ferry is part of the city transport network and all HSL tickets are accepted.

MY mentioned that I could have brought the day pass in the airport at €9, and I would not need to purchase another ticket for the ferry.

The trip to Suomenlinna takes 15-20 minutes and it was a really unique experience as we get to experience the ferry breaking through the ice in order to cruise.

Despite being a short ride, everyone went into the warm room after taking photos. I was the only one who remain outdoor throughout the ride. After all, when will be the next time I get to experience this?

The wind was really strong and I ended up not wearing my hood

The trail the ferry leave.

Upon reach Suomenlinna, I was really awestruck. I have never seen so much snow in my life before. No matter how hard I tried to capture, the photo just doesn't seem to justify the magical part. Maybe that's why it's magical hehe.

The view from the drop off point. The layer of ice seems to be impenetrable.

With MY on the ground of Suomenlinna. Let's start the journey.

Posing at the King's Gate.

Making a snow angel. Much inspired by dramas haha.

With that, we went back to the quay and board the ferry back to Helsinki.

Once we got back to Helsinki, we went to pay a visit to the two iconic attractions.

The first was Uspenski Cathedral.

Followed by Helsinki Cathedral which was originally built from 1830 - 1852 as a tribute. The stairs were inaccessible on the day of our trip, probably due to the slippery pavement as a result of snow.