3 Best Sights in Helsinki, Finland

The steep steps and green domes of the cathedral dominate the Senate Square, and its silhouette is a classic emblem of the city. Completed in 1852, the cathedral is the work of German architect Carl Ludvig Engel, who was commissioned to design a focus for the newly appointed capital during Russian rule and who also designed parts of Tallinn and St. Petersburg. Wander through the restrained but tasteful blue-gray interior, with its white moldings and the statues of German reformers Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon, as well as the Finnish bishop Mikael Agricola. Concerts are frequently held inside the church, and the expansive square in front of it is a venue for national celebrations and gatherings. The crypt at the rear is the site of historic and architectural exhibitions and bazaars.

This unique place of worship is one of Helsinki's top architectural wonders, occupying a semi-subterranean location in the midst of residential apartment blocks. A magnet for tour coaches throughout the year in the Töölö district, this church with a copper roof, often referred to as "the Church in the Rock," was unveiled in 1969 and resembles a half-buried spaceship from the outside. It's really a modern Lutheran church carved into the rock outcrops below. The sun shines in from above, illuminating a stunning interior with birch pews, modern pipe organ, and cavernous walls. Ecumenical and Lutheran services in various languages are held throughout the week; during services the church is closed to tourists.

Helsinki's Orthodox cathedral is its most conspicuous reminder of its historical connections with Russia. Perched atop a small rocky cliff in Katajanokka, it is the main cathedral of the Orthodox Church in Finland. Its brilliant gold onion domes are its hallmark, but its imposing redbrick edifice, with an interior decorated elaborately by 19th-century Russian artists, is no less distinctive. The cathedral was built and dedicated in 1868 in the Byzantine-Slavonic style and remains the biggest Orthodox church in Scandinavia.