Best Places to See Autumn Colours in Helsinki, Finland

11/10/2016 by Piia | Ticket to Adventures 22 Comments

Every year summer in Finland ends with an autumnal explosion of colour in nature. This special season even has a name in the local language Finnish called ‘ruska’. It is when nature changes colours and foliage turns yellow, orange, red and auburn. Air is crisp. Days are windy and cloudy with occasional sunshine, rains and storms. Nights get darker and longer. This is autumn in Finland.

In Helsinki, the capital of Finland, autumn foliage has just burst into the brightest of colours during the last few days. Therefore I want to take you on an autumnal photo walk to my favourite places in Helsinki to see the best of autumn colours and to do some serious leaf peeping. Welcome along! Hope you enjoy the walks as much as you did last year when I published my post Fifty Shades of Autumn in Helsinki, which soon bacame the most poppular post of all times in my blog’s history. You can read the post here.

Töölönlahti Bay

This peaceful urban park is a true oasis in Helsinki city centre. A 2,5 km paved pathway runs around Töölönlahti Bay and provides absolutely stunning views over the shimmering blue waters with swans and geese gliding around. The blue waters of Töölönlahti Bay together with orange, red and yellow autumn foliage make such a stunning contrast with lovely old wooden villas and famous landmarks of Helsinki such as the Opera House and Finlandia Hall nestled between colourful trees.

Location: Töölönlahti Bay, Helsinki

Tokoinranta

This charming place, Tokoinranta, by the water close to the city centre in the area of Hakaniemi is a popular place to come for a walk and enjoy the sun in the leafy park or at the outdoor terraces of the waterfront cafes. From Tokoinranta you have amazing views over Hakaniemi and the art nouveau buildings of Säästöpankinranta on the opposite bank of the bay.

Location: Tokoinranta, Helsinki

Esplanade Park

Situated in the very heart of the city, Esplanade Park with many cafes, statues and street artists is the place to come for a quiet stroll or just to sit on the bench and watch people pass by. Esplanade Park together with the two boulevards, North and South Esplanade, on both sides of the park are lined with architecturally stunning buildings and absolutely gorgeous tall trees all dressed in yellow autumn foliage.

Location: Esplanade Park, Helsinki

Kaivopuisto Park

This is Helsinki’s oldest and most loved park surrounded by embassies and villas. Kaivopuisto Park is every local’s favourite green place with a small observatory on top of the hill and great views over the marina and out to the sea. Walking through Kaivopuisto Park along the sandy road lined with golden trees feels totally surreal. Here the abundance of trees makes the park shine in all hues of green, yellow and orange.

Location: Kaivopuisto Park, Helsinki

Kaivopuisto, Ullanlinna and Eira

The residential areas of Kaivopuisto, Ullanlinna and Eira just outside the green park area of Kaivopuisto boast lots of stunning historical houses, embassies and villas painting perfect pictures with gorgeous autumn colours.

Location: Kaivopuisto, Ullanlinna and Eira, Helsinki

Aurinkolahti Beach and Marina

On a sunny day what could be better than strolling on Aurinkolahti Beach taking in fresh sea air and admiring stunning autumn colours. Aurinkolahti Marina is probably the most picturesque in Helsinki. At Cafe Kampela in the cute little red cottage right by the water you can get the best salmon soup ever. The small cliffs between the beach and the marina offer a great place to sit down and enjoy stunning seaviews.

Location: Aurinkolahti, Helsinki

Uutela Nature Park

Here you can experience fresh and clean nature right by the sea. Located right next to Aurinkolahti Marina, Uutela Nature Park is surrounded by the sea on three sides. With plenty of wildlife and nature trails in forest and marshland Uutela Nature Park is such a great leafy place for a hike in the fresh outdoors and to admire the array of autumn colours.

Location: Uutela Nature Park, Helsinki