I'm a Coachella music festival-aholic so when I missed this year's Coachella due to being in…read moreFinland, I decided to treat myself to some Flow Festival tickets instead. I went both Saturday and Sunday. Was OK. I'm trying hard not to compare it to Coachella, which is in the sunny desert in Indio, CA and has a whole bunch of loud Americans, but it's hard not to. The vibe is completely different. Again, this is Finland, so a bit silent during some of the acts. I felt like a crazy person cheering for Feist as everyone else around me were just nodding their heads to the music and clapping politely. Every loud cheer invoked at least one bewildered look from somebody.. like "who is this loud obnoxious person?". LOL It was pretty easy to navigate through the place. The "Black Tent" had a black tent, literally. Nokia blue tent had a blue tent, etc. They also had big balloons with the name of the place above areas like WC so was easy to find them even later at night. I loved seeing Feist, Bjork, The War on Drugs, St Vincent, Ane Brun and other bands but wasn't too impressed by the line-up. It seemed like last year, much bigger bands were touring so that line-up was kick-ass and would have been much more bang for my buck. Also, the crowd control was non-existent. Seemed like they just sold as many tickets as possible without a thought to how many people can fit and what's comfortable. Sunday was the worst whereas Saturday was pretty empty comparatively. As for the food: The Vegemesta stand had AMAZING veggie burgers. By amazing, I mean probably in the top 3 veggie burgers I've ever tasted in my entire lifetime. I literally had a mouthgasm eating it. Later, on Sunday (when there seemed to be 3x the people there were on Saturday), the line to get one was ridiculous so I tried the Shanghai Cowboy (Mexican food - go figure. Wouldn't have guessed by the name. lol) which was alright - I had the cheese party plate. My friends had sushi at Kabuki which they loved. All in all, it was enjoyable but if you're like me and love crazy rambunctious music festivals, don't get your expectations too high. Flow Festival holds true to their name - it's just a zen experience really. Wow. Long review. Hats off to you if you read it all ;)

I've been to this club plenty of times. When I visited Helsinki i spent the last 3 days of the…read moreyear hear listening to my favorite band in the days of Helldone Festival. I rang in the new year here with great friends and my favorite band, doesn't get any better than that. Staff is nice There is an upstairs bar and 2 downstairs bars. They do have a coat check that if I remember correctly is about 2 or 3 euros. It's a pretty small venue/club so for the most part you have a great view of whoever you are seeing. Which is also the biggest downfall, it's crazy hot in there when it's that packed. During new years eve we felt like sardines. Once the front door opens you are walked in to show your ticket, then check in your coat then you are allowed to the area where the bar is at. There are two other large doors that lead to the actual club, but depending on the event they could be open or closed. Upstairs is usually VIP, which is great because you can sit and chill upstairs with the bar up there. This is a staple in Helsinki when you are here and want to experience the awesomeness of Finnish music. Have fun! Happy yelping my amigos

Tavastia is the number one rock club in Helsinki. The club was built in the 1930s and is located…read moreright next to Kamppi Kauppakeskus. Almost every night bands from Finland and abroad play here. Over the years Finland's biggest bands such as HIM, Hanoi Rocks, PMMP, The Rasmus, Von Hertzen Brothers, The 69 Eyes, Nightwishas well as international several international stars like Nick Cave, Hurriganes and Gary Clark Jr. have rocked Tavastia's stage. With a capacity of just around 700 people manages to give gigs even with big stars an intimate atmosphere. So if you have the chance to see any of your big idols performing here don't miss the chance to see them.

We had the pleasure of spending the day with Liisa, aka your Helsinki local, for the Midsummer eve…read morefestivities yesterday in town. She met us in our hotel lobby with a big smile and immediately gifted us with these very thoughtful travel bracelets, we already felt like fast friends. She explained what we would be doing for the day and no detail was spared, I appreciated how she always asked us if walking x distance was ok and offered use of her wifi hotspot. (I'm a writer so this was brilliant). The day was simply fantastic, we got to see the traditional bonfire on an island off Helsinki where we also had dinner (a beautiful grilled salmon with new potatoes) and Liisa was quick to provide valuable info on the history of this famous festival and points on Helsinki and the islands. She is such a wonderful person to be around, her energy is contagious. I definitely don't think we would have gotten the same experience out of our day in Helsinki without her, she was able to navigate the transportion/reservations with ease and gave us all sort of valuable insight on local culture. I've been on many guided tours but this was more like being with a good friend, who wants to show you what they live about the city where they live. We stayed with her until the wee hours and she even took the time to show us an incredible sunset at 2:30 am on a hidden area of Helsinki bay by the train station which was magical. She followed up with tips and a website she mentioned she would let us know about. I would be happy to recommend her to anyone and everyone, she made our midsummer or 'juhunnus' experience once in a lifetime!

From the owner: Day With A Local Helsinki provides personalized tours and local experiences in Helsinki area from a…read morelocal's point of view. The price is based on the length of your day, not on the size of your group (1-8 persons). Tell us about your wishes, and we will do our best that you will experience an amazing day with us! What would you like to do with a Local?