From Sederholm's 1757 House to a Summer Wine Kiosk

What to do there

6 things to do

1. 1

   Find Helsinki's Oldest House, and the One That Burned

   history Free

   Free, at the corner of Senate Square, any day.

   The oldest is not the first.

   WHERE: the blue-grey stone house at the south-east corner of Senate Square, Aleksanterinkatu 16.

   WHAT: merchant Johan Sederholm's house was built in 1757 and is the oldest building in the city. It was not the first stone building, though: in the 1690s merchant Torsten Burgman had a stone house built, and it burned down in the fire of 1808. Sederholm's house survived that fire. Count its two storeys, then say which house came first and which one you are standing in front of.

   HOW: free from the street, any day. Inside, Children's Town is free: play shop in the 18th-century Sederholm shop, where everything on display may be touched.

   BACKUP: when Children's Town is closed, the outside is the whole task.

   Log Memory
2. 2

   Wait for the 17:49 Sound on Senate Square

   Optional

   adventure Free

   Optional, free, every day of the year.

   WHERE: Senate Square, next to the Sederholm House.

   WHAT: every day at 17:49, all year, a sound work by Harri Viitanen and Jyrki Alakuijala plays on the square, a modern take on the European carillon or evening call. It moves from building to building and lasts about 5 minutes. While it plays, find the four buildings by C. L. Engel around you: the Cathedral, the Government Palace, the University main building and the National Library.

   HOW: free; be on the square at 17:49.

   BACKUP: if you are not there at 17:49, skip this step; the walk does not depend on it.

   Log Memory
3. 3

   Walk the Empress's Street to the Scottish House

   history Free

   Free, from the street.

   WHERE: from Senate Square, make your way to the corner of Liisankatu and Unioninkatu, then follow Liisankatu east until it meets the park. The house is at Maurinkatu 6, on the park's west side.

   WHAT: Liisankatu was named in 1819, during Emperor Alexander I's visit to Helsinki, after his wife, Empress Elisabeth. With Unioninkatu it carries the oldest official street names in Helsinki still in use. Sederholm's fields lay at the corner of Liisankatu and Unioninkatu. At the park, find the house that industrialist Ossian Donner and his Scottish wife had the Scottish architect Robert Lorimer design; Svenska Klubben has had its seat there since the early 1930s.

   HOW: free, from the street, any day.

   BACKUP: none needed.

   Log Memory
4. 4

   Trace the Oval and Find the Kneeling Man

   history Free

   Free, in the park, any day.

   WHERE: Liisanpuistikko, the park between Liisankatu, Pohjoisranta, Maneesikatu and Maurinkatu.

   WHAT: walk the paths and you will see an oval inside a rectangle. The park already appears as an oval on the 1851 plan, and the oval may well follow the curve of the old shore, filled in from the 1840s. It was Elisabeths Torg on the 1820 plan and has been Liisanpuistikko since 1928. In the middle, find the red-granite kneeling man resting his hand on a shield: the Pellinki memorial by Gunnar Finne and Armas Lindgren, unveiled on 16 May 1921. It remembers the Whites who died on the sea ice by the island of Pellinki while fleeing Helsinki in 1918. Cherry trees line the shore side.

   HOW: free, any day.

   BACKUP: none needed.

   Log Memory
5. 5

   Read the Canopy Kiosk

   history Free

   Free; the building stands all year.

   WHERE: the small wooden kiosk at the park's north-east corner, where Liisankatu meets Pohjoisranta, with the Liisanpuistikko bus stop beside it.

   WHAT: walk round it. A canopy kiosk is a rectangular wooden building: the serving counter sits under the canopy at the windowed front, and the door is at the back. The name lippakioski comes from that canopy (lippa), which gives shade and shelter from rain. This one follows drawings signed by Hilding Ekelund, Helsinki's city architect from 1941 to 1949, and stands where the type was meant to stand: at the edge of a park, by a bus terminus. The first canopy kiosks, with curved fronts, were designed in 1937 and planned as soft-drink stands for the Helsinki Olympics; the 1940 Games were cancelled because of the war, but the kiosks stayed. Helsinki has protected over 30 of them.

   HOW: free, any day, even when the window is shut.

   BACKUP: none needed.

   Log Memory
6. 6

   Finish With a Spanish Glass or a Coffee

   wine Price: low

   Summer at the kiosk; out of season at Wine Bar Klaava.

   WHERE: the VinoLippa window, at the same corner.

   WHAT: in summer the family-run kiosk serves Spanish wines by the glass, tapas, coffee and breakfast. In 2025 a glass cost from just under €10 to €15, depending on the wine and the pour. Raise it, or a coffee, where the walk ends: in a kiosk type first planned for soft drinks.

   HOW: walk up to the window. Most canopy kiosks may only open from May to September, so outside summer check @vinolippa_kiosk on Instagram first.

   BACKUP: out of season, walk 557 m back towards the centre to Wine Bar Klaava, next door to Restaurant Kuurna at Meritullinkatu 6: wine and small snacks, Mon–Wed 16:00–22:00, Thu 16:00–23:00, Fri–Sat 16:00–00:00, no reservations, no Sunday hours.

   Log Memory

Insider Tips

• Start in the late afternoon: the Senate Square sound plays at 17:49 every day, and Klaava opens at 16:00.

• VinoLippa is the canopy kiosk at the north-east corner by the bus stop, not the wooden cube by Svenska Klubben's terrace.

• Children's Town in the Sederholm House is free, and everything on display may be touched.

• Outside May to September, check @vinolippa_kiosk on Instagram before counting on the kiosk.

Viinitapahtumat Helsingissä lähipäivinä In Finnish