Helsinki Sports & Outdoors

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This is my must go place every time I visit Helsinki between the beginning of May and mid+September. It really is unique and I cannot think of anything better to do than start your day by dipping into this awesome heated pool outdoors when the sun is shining... To be honest I'd go there if it wasn't sunny.

The Helsinki Swimming Stadium features a Olympic sized (50m) heated (+30C) outdoor pool. It provides great facilities for lane swimming and running in the water whilst topping up your tan. The outdoor complex also features a kids pool, diving boards and diving platforms (up to 10m). The changing rooms (separate facilities for men and women), showers and saunas are conveniently located indoors.

The pool was built for the 1952 Helsinki Summer Olympics. The facilities are cleaned several times a day (and they are also renovated frequently due to wear and tear). In fact, they are much cleaner than any facilities in the UK.

Open from the beginning of May to the beginning of September
Mon - Sat 06.30-20.00
Sun 09.00-20.00

Admission to the pool
Adults €3,80 (10 tickets €33,60)
Children over 7 years, students, pensioners, ISIC Card Holders €1,90 (10 tickets €16,80)
Children under 7 free

Water slides are open between 4 June and 12 August (Half-a-day ticket costs €5)

Small kiosk/cafe outdoors
Disabled access

You can also visit the gym and play table tennis, volleyball and basket ball in the same building. There are two beach volley nets outdoors.

Exceptional closing times on
21 June (tills close at 16.00)
22 June 10.00-20.00

Equipment: It is possible to hire swimming suits and trunks (€3), towels (€3), small towels sit sit on in the sauna (€0,50) and soap (€0,50).

Shorts of any kind are strictly prohibited, so bring your speedos or hire some at the tills at the entrance

The beach (also known as 'Hietsu') is one of the few sandy beaches located near the centre of the town. It is rather disappointing place if you expect fine golden sand since the sand on the main beach is mainly coarse whereas some fine sand has been brought over to the part of the beach where local beach volley ball club has set up its beach volley ball nets.

The beach is nevertheless very popular and gets extremely crowded if the weather's nice.

There are lifeguards on the beach provided by the local council during the summer months (usually from early June to mid-August). They are frequently manning the beach between 10am and 6pm. They will also be able to provide you with volley ball nets if you've got your own ball.

Between early May and the end of September there should be access to indoor dressing rooms, which are pretty decent. However, bear in mind that the toilets can get pretty manky. Showers are situated outdoors.

Facilities
Basket ball and beach-volley field, play ground for children, cafe (open daily between 10am and 6pm)

Back in 2005, our first time in Helsinki, we rented bikes at the Nordic Fitness Sports Park, near the Olympic Stadium, using our Helsinki Cards to get 50% discounts on the price.

However, by 2011, both the discount and the bike shop seemed to have disappeared. We ended up going to Green Bike, which appears to be the largest bike rental operation in town. They took the time to install a baby trailer behind my bike for our 1-year old, and then we were off for the day! We ended up visiting the islands on the western outskirts of the city, across the bay from Espoo.

Helsinki is a very flat city -- in fact, Finland in general is a very flat country -- which makes biking a great way of getting around and seeing areas you wouldn't visit otherwise. If you have any questions about biking in or around Helsinki, Green Bike is probably the best place to get help.

I was looking to book sports massage on a short notice and came across Helsingin Urheiluhieronta. It's pretty much in centre of Helsinki (Fredirinkinkatu 49) and they have on-line booking although this service is currently only in Finnish. I thought the on-line booking facility was great since I literally booked it in Sunday before travelling to Helsinki that evening and got a confirmation there and then that I had an appointment on Monday morning at 09.30. I was able to nip to the massage from my hotel and then head back to the hotel.

Prices (in 2012)
Sports massage
30 min . . . . 32 €
45 min . . . . 43 €
60 min . . . . 53 €
90 min . . . . 75 €
120 min . . . . 103 €
Osteopathy
c. 60 min . . . . 60 €

They are also on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/helsinginurheiluhieronta

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Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi - otherwise known as HJK Helsinki to most of us, is generally the best soccer team in the country. They play all of their home matches at Sonera Stadium (name subject to change when sponsors change - used to be Finnair Stadium) which is near downtown, just a little ways up on the Mannerheim, and right next to the Olympic Stadium.

The Veikkausliiga generally begins in April and ends in October, so there should be a chance to catch an HJK game at any time during that span. Since HJK is generally one of the top teams in the country, they usually qualify for the Champions League, so if you are around in July you might be able to catch them playing in one of those games too, although they are usually underdogs in those games.

The stadium has a capacity of just over 10,000 but I was told that it rarely sells out. Tickets are 10 Euros for seats behind the goal and 20-30 Euro for seats near midfield. Seating is general admission, so once you buy a ticket for a specific section, you simply pick an open seat - so get there early if you have a preference. Most fans generally sit on the south end, behind the goal. The HJK supporter's group sits in the southeast corner. They provide a nice atmosphere with chants and cheering for most of the game.

One thing that is disappointing is that HJK really doesn't have any big rivalries. All of the other Helsinki clubs have fallen off and been relegated over the years, leaving them as the only main team in town. I guess MyPa or one of the Turku teams (FC Inter or TPS) would probably be their biggest rivals now, so try to catch a game against one of those teams if possible.

Overall, there are obviously much better venues to take in a soccer match in Europe, but in Finland this is probably your best bet, and in Helsinki, it's pretty much your only option.

Large outdoor pool area just next door to Helsinki Olympics Stadium. You can jump from 5, 7,5 and 10 metres. Popular place for picnics with large gardean area. You are allowed to bring food and drinks to area. There is a cafe with food portions and drinks at area.

Helsinki is a host to World Championships in athletics 6-14 August 2005. Ticket prices range from 18 € to 305 €.

It has estimated that there's over 4 billion TV viewers in 180 countries, more than 3000 team members from 200 countries, approximately 3000 volunteers, 3500 media representatives and 5000-20000 foreign tourists. It's the biggest ever sport event in Finland.

Tram lines 4 and 10 operate between the city centre and the Olympic Stadium.

Helsinki hosted the first World Championships in Athletics in 1983.

Here is a hint for all you crazy sports addicts who go on holiday and cannot be without sports abroad.

This is a multifunctional sports arena (indoors) in eastern Helsinki called Liikuntamylly. Entrace is 2e and includes any activity in the big hall.

Starting with a climbing wall, gym machines, two rooms for wrestling and budo, 200m 6-lane tracks (round), several basketball and floorball fields and lots more...

Equipment: Some equipment are handed out against a small fee.