Helsinki Central Station

Walking tours of the city regularly stop outside the Helsinki Central Station. On them, you can often learn about the red Finnish granite used on the building’s façades, that the current building replaced the original station in 1860, and that its clock tower reaches a height of 159 feet (48.5 meters). Travelers will also pass through the station they are traveling to or from Helsinki on a commuter or long-distance train.

• Due to the heritage nature of the building, there is only one barrier-free route into the station, the corridor off Elielinaukio Square, which is marked on building maps.

• Assistance services are available for visitors to the station with accessibility needs.

• The Helsinki Central Station offers travelers and commuters luggage lockers that can be booked for use from several hours to three days.

• Within the building of Helsinki Central Station, you’ll find restaurants, cafes, kiosks, and even a hotel, the Scandic Grand Central Helsinki.

By design, Helsinki Central Station is the easiest place in all of Helsinki to reach, not just by train. The station sits over the Rautatientori subway station, meaning you can take the M1 and M2 services to get there. By tram, you can hop aboard a wealth of different lines, including the 2, 3, 5, and 7, and alight directly outside its entrance at the Rautatieasema tram stop.

Being a train station and busy transport hub, it’s best to avoid visiting the Helsinki Central Station during peak hours in the late afternoon, as it gets hectic then. The station’s design is most impressive after dark, as you see the lamps of its "Lantern carriers" and the large window at its front illuminated.

Around Helsinki you’ll find an assortment of art nouveau architecture among the city’s landmarks, not just Helsinki Central Station. Ihantola, located across from the Kallio church, is probably the city’s second most famous art nouveau building thanks to its detailed, pink façade. Elsewhere in Helsinki, there is the Jugend Building opposite Esplanadi Park and the Pohjola Insurance Building nearby.