flyctory.com

Watching Helsinki from the Olympic Stadium Tower

Florian Buechting Places & Sights No Comments

Helsinki Olympic Stadium Tower

6.50 EUR
Helsinki Olympic Stadium Tower
4.2

Rating

 4.2/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Likely the best view of Helsinki
  • Great way to have a look into the stadium
  • Lovely stadium cafe

Flyctory.com Cons

  • Not suitable for mobility-reduced visitors

Even though it hosted the Olympic Summer Games of 1952, Helsinki Olympic Stadium is still in use, e.g. for home matches of the Finnish soccer national team. Thus, the area around the stadium is still somehow vibrant. One of the attractions open to public is going up to the top of the Olympic Tower, which hosted the Olympic Fire during the event – and nowadays gives a great view of the area. I had a visit in September 2021.

 

Helsinki Olympic Tower – Location & Admission

The Olympic Stadium and the tower are located in the heart of the Finnish capital. There are major parking lots, but I felt that parking is a bit of confusing for foreigners, as there are just very scattered parking ticket machines – Finnish people typically pay their fee online. There is a small parking lot in front of the Finnish Sports Museum close to the tower, which is driven by the stadium and not by the city. It is more expansive, but therefor has a ticket machine on ground. If you use the excellent Helsinki tram, you can leave at Auroran sairaala (lines 2/2B, 3) or Töölön halli (same lines, plus 4 and 10). Bolt Arena, which is majorly used for soccer, is next to Olympic Stadium.

The best times to visit Helsinki Olympic Tower are weekdays, as they open Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 21:00 hrs. The Saturday opening times are 10:00 to 17:00 hrs and Sunday 12:00 to 17:00 hrs. There are a couple of exceptions due to national holidays. Admission is 6.50 Euro for adults – you may go for a combined ticket with the Finnish Sports Museum for 18 Euro. which saves you 3.50 Euro.

 

Helsinki Olympic Tower – The Visit

From the reception desk, you simply head into an elevator, which takes you to the eleventh floor. You do have a limited view already from the level at which you exit the elevator, but as you have two more levels in narrow staircases, the place is not suitable for people with limited mobility.

The first staircase already takes you to a level which gives you a nice view over the Finnish capital – however, it is just limited to certain directions. Another staircase leads you to the in-fact observation deck, which is open, but you are protected by a heavy steel cage-alike construction. This also means that you are quite exposed to the Scandinavian winds up there.

 

Views from Helsinki Olympic Tower

Here are some views from Helsinki Olympic Tower. You have a lovely view over the Olympic Stadium and the more modern Bolt Arena, but finally also over the whole city including the Baltic Sea.

 

 

Helsinki Olympic Tower – Services

The staff at the tower is really friendly. There is also a small gift shop.

The real highlight regarding services is the cafe which is next to the reception desk. Not only that the staff there is very nice and the cakes are delicious, you can also walk outside and have your drink or your bite (or: just a view) from a fenced part of the athletics track. For colder days, there is still the view of the Olympic Stadium through the windows. If you need a rest, this is a really nice place to do so.

 

Helsinki Olympic Tower – My View

The Helsinki Olympic Stadium Tower is maybe not that well-known to many travelers to the city, but it should definitely be on your list if the weather is allowing having you a great view. It is not too far away so that even if you are not a sports junkie and go for the FInnish Sports Museum as well, it is worth the trip. I really love it up there. The only down side is that the tower is very narrow – during my visit a couple just felt to stay at one position for more than ten minutes, which can be very annoying.

 

(Greater) Helsinki

Here are my Flyctory.com postings related to the Helsinki Metropolitan Area:

 

Flyctory.com Views from Above

Here are all postings tagged as Views from Above, dealing with any kind up-in-the-air viewpoints:

, , ,

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *