Helsinki Private Tour: Explore the City's Hidden Gems and Unique History With A City Planner

Uncover Helsinki’s hidden gems and unique history on a private tour with a city planner. Discover the city’s secrets, traditions, and intriguing stories in a 3-hour walking tour.

Duration: 3 hours
Cancellation: 24 hours
Highlights
  • Senate Square - .
  • Helsinki Cathedral - .
  • President’s Palace (Presidentinlinna) - .
  • Uspenskin Cathedral (Uspenskin Katedraali) - .
  • Kauppatori - .
  • Old Market Hall - .
  • The Esplanadi Park - .
  • Swedish Theater (Svenska Teatern) - .
  • Helsinki Central Railway Station - .
  • Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma
What's Included
  • Local guide
What's Not Included
  • Food and drinks
  • Transportation to/from attractions
  • Gratuities
Additional Information

Together, we’ll explore the heart of the city for a duration of three hours, unveiling the mysteries of Helsinki, deep-diving into its history, culture, and traditions. Why do locals in Helsinki picnic atop graves? What used to be the congregation area for the bohemians in Helsinki during the 1880s? How was a church constructed within a large granite…

Location
Aleksanterinkatu 9
Aleksanterinkatu
Meeting point address: Aleksanterinkatu 9B, 00100, Helsinki. The meeting point is the corner of Aleksanterinkatu street and Kluuvikatu street, in front of Aleksanterinkatu no 9B, Nanso Clothing Store (outside). Guide will be waiting for you at this point.
Cancellation Policy

For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

Customer Ratings
5.0
(49 Ratings)
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Brettne
Sep 1, 2025
Walking tour of Helsinki (4 squares that relate to the history of the city) - This was a very interesting and educational tour of Helsinki. Emek was friendly and super knowledgeable. We enjoyed his company and the tour information!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
389lancef
Aug 27, 2025
Best architecture tour ever (and I lead architecture tours myself!) - Emek’s tour was exceptional and fascinating. He went far beyond describing buildings by putting them in historical context, enabling us to learn about Finland’s surprising history and the people who helped create it. His passion for all of this comes through emphatically. Any question we asked brought forth an expansive response that illuminated areas we’d never thought of. I am a lifelong architecture fan, have gone on architectural tours around the world, and lead architecture tours in my home city of Chicago. This was the best architecture tour I’ve ever experienced.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Debstrong
Aug 23, 2025
Intensive 3 hour tour tailored to your interests - Excellent overview of Helsinki and Finland by a very well-informed guide who tailored the experience to our interests and included extensive historical background. Loved this tour!!
Review provided by Viator
Sjtravellers
Aug 13, 2025
An essential tour with a knowledgeable expert - My tour with Emek two days ago was really quite wonderful. I’m traveling solo in Helsinki and I really wanted to do an architecture tour so I splurged and opted for a private tour. It was expensive and worth every euro. Emek is highly qualified to lead an architecture tour and very passionate about what he shares with you. He’s extremely articulate and animated as he explains the underlying details of what we are looking at. Our tour started with a short history of Swedish and Russian rule in Finland. We then started walking around, and we stopped in multiple places, each of them accompanied by an extensive analysis of how the building was actually built, the aesthetics, how it fit into the overall scheme of things in terms of the history of the time, and how the design had to accommodate the local conditions in Finland. All very fascinating information. We went to approximately six different places with stop at each. Emek knew that I was interested in Art Nouveau and made sure to include some examples. Each building that we went to was brought to life by his explanations. Our last stop was the central library. What an amazing place! It is a classic example of form and function marrying together in an absolutely wonderful and successful way. I’ve been raving about it to friends ever since this visit. This tour was probably the best guided tour that I have ever taken, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. To have a true expert explain hidden intricacies is a real pleasure. If any of what I have said, strikes a cord with you, please make sure to book a tour with Emek when you are in Helsinki next.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Amw1234
Jul 28, 2025
Relatable, knowledgeable and engaging tour with Ataman Tours - We were very impressed with Emek as our guide through Helsinki. He possesses an abundance of knowledge about the historical and contemporary elements of Finland. He was engaging and very relatable. We highly recommend Emek as your guide!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Hanmei_c
Apr 22, 2025
A Wonderful Experience - This was amazing. I learned so much about the city and culture. The guide was pleasant and informative. We had a wonderful time.
Review provided by Viator
Yana_b
Sep 22, 2024
Great historical city tour of Helsinki - Our tour guide Emek was very knowledgeable about the history of Finland. We had a great time and enjoyed our tour 100%.
Review provided by Viator
Valerie_r
Sep 15, 2024
Well worth your time - What a wonderful tour! We learned so much about the history and architecture of Helsinki in a short amount of time. Well worth your time.
Review provided by Viator
Ashley
Aug 10, 2024
Great Private Tour - Emek was a fantastic tour guide. He took us across the key areas of “downtown” Helsinki and spent plenty of time pointing out key landmarks and explaining the city’s history. He also answered all of our many questions about the city and life in Finland. Would highly recommend that you book him for small, personalized groups tours.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Fearless562253
Jun 7, 2024
Hands down best tour of Helsinki - This private tour was fantastic. We booked this walk through Helsinki after looking for similar tours, and it did not disappoint. If I could give Emek more than five stars, I would! It was so informative, tailored to my group and incredible value for money. We saw a whole bunch of highlights across the city and learned more about Finnish culture in this three hours than the past few days. Fantastic use of time and not too walking intensive (plenty of stops). Emek answered all of our questions expertly, even the difficult ones, and made sure to really show us what life in Helsinki is like. Highly recommend for anyone visiting Helsinki and wanting an overview of history, architecture, politics, culture and modern life. Emek does a great job of tailoring this and our conversations were incredibly valuable.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
From $50
up to 6 guests
1 - Adult
Cancellation: Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start of your experience (local time).