Something for the weekend: Helsinki

World-reknowned design, great food, vibrant nightlife, and a nation of people obsessed with the original spa treatment - saunas.

By Julia Neel 
What's the story?
With its relatively tiny population of 500,000, Helsinki is famous for its super hot saunas, surplus of design talent and the terrifying 2006 Eurovision winners, Lordi.

Where to stay
We stayed at the gorgeous, newly opened boutique Hotel GLO on the main shopping street of Aleksanterinkatu is everything that you could wish for in a hotel. For a start, it is completely unpretentious. The lovely staff will grant your every wish (within reason). Feeling artistic? They'll send up a canvas and paints immediately. Fancy a bit of Ella Fitzgerald? An iPod with appropriate playlist is on its way up, ma'am. Got the sudden urge to pen a song? Order a guitar. All at no extra cost - they just want you to enjoy yourself. Isn't that nice?

After a reviving shower in the gorgeous bathroom, we headed down to the lobby bar for a glass of wine and some fantastic tapas from La Cocina, GLO's surprisingly authentic Spanish restaurant.

What to do
Try to make this the first thing you do: head to Helsinki Tourist Bureau and pick up a Helsinki card. This card gives you unlimited free travel on public transport (the 3T and 3B trams are the tourist routes), a free audio city tour (worth doing), gets you into Suomenlinna Sea Fortress (a World Heritage Site), and provides entrance to nearly every museum and exhibition in Helsinki.

Where to shop
Helsinki is very proud of what they call their 'Design District'. If shopping tickles your fancy, make a beeline for the area roughly bordered by Korkeavuorenkatu, Tarkk'Ampujankatu and Fredrikinkatu. And if those names don't mean anything to you, just ask you hotel for a copy of the Design District map, it's all there. Don't miss Artek for well-thought design, Finlayson for the softest bed linen you will ever feel.

If you're after fashion, check out IVANAhelsinki for quirky prints and interesting textiles and Goodis for whimsical knits and unusual accessories. But if you have time, you should spend an afternoon wondering the area (especially Uudenmaankatu) and investigating all the different shops in between reviving cups of coffee, of course. And take time to visit Stockmann, the city's biggest department store.

On another note, makeup junkies should not miss a visit to Make Up Store on Aleksantterinkatu for a dizzying selection of colours, powders, glitters and pigments. Like MAC in drag.

Eating, drinking and nightlife
In search of some authentic Finnish vodka and curious to see the party-loving Finns in action, we headed out into the night in search of some cocktails. Sleek Mecca restaurant and bar was our first stop. Mecca is exactly what you would expect a trendy Finnish bar to be: all clean lines, neutral tones and polite patrons. After a quick, very well made mojito, we headed to Anjo which was gorgeous. Flattering lighting and lots of seating make this ideal for classy, low-key tipple.

Rest your weary feet at Teatterin Grilli where you can feast on three courses for about £20 or do just two for about £17. The fish in this neck of the woods is amazing, so I went for roast arctic char with artichoke stew. The champagne risotto was so good as a side dish, I wish I had ordered two...

For a quick bite after a morning meander through the fish and fur filled market square on the harbour head to the Old Market Hall. The low building houses vendors selling loads of Finnish specialities and will happily make you up a salmon gravalax (cured with dill) sandwich or vacuum pack some smoked fish for you to enjoy when you get home.

For dinner, we headed to Sasso, a chic Italian restaurant near the harbour. Deciding what to order will be one of the toughest decisions you will ever make - everything looks amazing, you can't go wrong.

When you're ready to bust a groove, make your way to Lux Nightclub, at the top of a shopping mall - you'll know it by the bouncers standing guard, so dress up. The crowd is young-ish with not too many people topping the 35 mark and most much younger, but it's a great place to let your hair down and the view over Helsinki from the terrace is spectacular - especially in summer when it's light almost all day.

Last stop is the Kamp Club. Now, don't giggle, this is a very serious club inside the most exclusive hotel in Helsinki (the Rolling Stones stay here). Grab a Bellini and watch how Helsinki hobnobs... For inspiration on bars and nightclubs, check out www.nightlifeguide.fi.

Where to spa
Guests of GLO are welcome to use the hotel's three saunas at the Palace Kamp Day Spa - there's a super-steamy Turkish Hammam, a sweltering traditional Finnish sauna and a gently warming, eucalyptus-scented steam room. But for a really indulgent treat, book in for a Royal Aquamarine Face Treatment (£128), the spa's signature treatment. It promises to use energizing mountain crystals to calm the mind, activate the circulation of the face and dispel fine lines and wrinkles, leaving skin radiant and brimming with vitality. All I can say is that it was pure bliss.

Getting there
Two adults, flying from Heathrow and staying at GLO for two nights will set you back £269, including breakfast. For more information, please visit www.guildtravel.com and for all you need to know about visiting Finland, go to www.visitfinland.com.

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