Let’s be honest—Helsinki’s museums probably won’t make you weep like the Louvre or queue like the Vatican. But that’s kind of the point. What they do offer is something quieter, stranger, and much more Finnish: an unexpectedly honest look at what this country is all about.
Want to understand why Finns are obsessed with design, silence, or saunas? Why our national art involves wounded angels, existential self-portraits, and a lot of grey skies? Step inside. Helsinki’s museums are like saunas for the brain—warm, introspective, and surprisingly revealing.
From classic art at Ateneum to underground oddities at Amos Rex and nostalgic tram rides at the city museum, here’s your guide to the best museums in Helsinki—big and small, serious and strange. Perfect for rainy days, quiet afternoons, or when you just need a break from all that fresh air and calm efficiency.
The National Museum of Finland (Kansallismuseo)
1,000 years of history, and not a single Viking helmet
Despite what popular culture might suggest, Vikings didn’t really settle in Finland—so you won’t find horned helmets or longships here. What you will find is the full sweep of Finnish history: prehistoric tools, medieval swords, Swedish kings, Russian rule, independence, war, peace, and… a lot of beautifully crafted wooden things. The permanent exhibition is well-paced and surprisingly engaging, while the temporary shows often dive into the stranger corners of national identity (at one point, a wildly popular Barbie exhibition took over the upper floor).
The museum is currently closed for major renovations and a new extension. It’s set to reopen in 2027—bigger, better, and still gloriously Viking-free.
Ateneum Art Museum
Classic Finnish moodiness in oil and canvas
This is where Finland keeps its serious art face. Ateneum is home to the country’s most beloved (read: emotionally intense) paintings, from Gallen-Kallela’s epic mythology scenes to Schjerfbeck’s slow-burning self-portraits. It’s like flipping through Finland’s visual diary—beautiful, brooding, and occasionally obsessed with death in a forest. Closed for renovations until 2023? Yes. Worth the wait? Also yes.
Amos Rex
Art museum or Bond villain lair? You decide.
Located under a futuristic mound of glass bubbles, Amos Rex is Helsinki’s boldest museum—not in square meters, but in ambition. The exhibitions lean toward the contemporary and occasionally the downright weird, from immersive video art to massive installations you’re encouraged to walk through. Come for the Instagram-friendly architecture, stay for the existential confusion.
Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art
For fans of art that makes your grandma say “…is that it?”
Inside the sharp angles of this central Helsinki landmark, you’ll find rotating exhibitions of contemporary art that are sometimes political, sometimes poetic, and always up for interpretation. If you leave unsure of what you just saw, congratulations—you’ve done it right. Kiasma has never shied away from being in your face—just recently, it hosted a very explicit exhibition of Tom of Finland, the artist and icon whose leather-clad men have become icons of gay masculinity.
Helsinki City Museum
The only museum in the world dedicated entirely to Helsinki
Admission: free. Atmosphere: charmingly nostalgic. The Helsinki City Museum is like digging through your Finnish grandmother’s attic—if your grandmother was a city. Expect vintage shop signs, and excellent little exhibits on everyday life in Helsinki through the decades. Great for families, flâneurs, or anyone curious about how Helsinki became Helsinki. Free entrance and great downstairs play area for kids.
Design Museum
Proof that Finns can’t sit on ugly chairs
Finland takes its design seriously. This compact museum walks you through the evolution of Finnish design, from classic Artek furniture to Nokia phones (RIP) and minimalist everything. It’s small but sleek—just like the things it showcases. Bonus points if you spot something you already own from IKEA’s Finland-inspired collections.
Tamminiemi (The Urho Kekkonen Museum)
Saunas, Cold War secrets, and a lot of beige
Tamminiemi is the former presidential residence where Urho Kekkonen—Finland’s longest-serving president and sauna diplomat-in-chief—ruled the nation with a towel and a knowing look. The house offers a peek into the private life of the man who somehow managed to stay friends with both Moscow and Washington.
Inside, you’ll find rooms preserved just as they were in the 1970s, complete with brown carpets, rotary phones, and an almost heroic amount of beige upholstery. The real star? The lakeside sauna where Kekkonen hosted everyone from Nikita Khrushchev to Henry Kissinger, proving that global tensions could sometimes be cooled down with a liberal dose of hot steam. But Kekkonen wasn’t just a political operator—he was also an avid athlete, outdoorsman, and self-styled symbol of Finnish endurance.
From June to August, there’s a public guided tour in English every Saturday at 1:00 PM. The tour is included in the museum ticket and doesn’t require advance booking—just arrive early to grab a spot. The guides share great anecdotes about a figure Finns partly miss… and partly suspect may have stayed in power just a little too long.
After the museum, take a walk next door to the Seurasaari open-air museum—and if you’re up for a challenge, head to the Kekkosen kuntoportaat (Kekkonen’s fitness stairs). The challenge? Try to leap up all seven steps in a single jump. Kekkonen himself kept at it well into old age, reliably landing on the second-highest step—a spot that’s already a stretch for most mere mortals. No medals are awarded if you match him, but you will earn a quiet nod of Finnish respect.
Seurasaari Open-Air Museum
Like walking into a Finnish folk tale, minus the trolls
Located on a peaceful island just a short bus ride from the city center, Seurasaari is an open-air museum full of old wooden houses, barns, smoke saunas, and charmingly creaky porches. The buildings have been relocated from all over Finland, so in one stroll you can go from an Eastern Orthodox granary to a Western Finnish farmhouse.
In summer, costumed guides demonstrate traditional crafts and tell stories that may or may not involve someone freezing in a bog. It’s wholesome, outdoorsy, and oddly relaxing. Bring a picnic, feed the squirrels, and embrace the national pastime of admiring buildings that smell faintly of tar and history.
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