Helsinki, FinlandA UNESCO World Heritage sea fortress on six islands in the Helsinki harbour — an 18th-century Swedish and Finnish military installation that is now a vibrant island community of museums, restaurants, and 800 permanent residents. The 15-minute ferry from the market square is included in the Helsinki transit card.
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The most recognizable building in Finland — a neoclassical white cathedral with a green dome rising over Senate Square, designed by Carl Ludwig Engel in 1852. The monumental Senate Square it faces is the civic heart of Helsinki; the view from the cathedral steps across the granite plaza to the sea is pure Nordic grandeur.
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Helsinki's most talked-about cultural space — a 2018 art museum with an underground gallery beneath the city center plaza, its domed skylights creating extraordinary bubbles in the square above. The contemporary art program is ambitious and internationally significant; the architecture alone is worth the visit.