Originally founded by architects and designers Alvar Aalto and his wife Aino Aalto in 1935, this iconic Finnish company maintains the simple design principle of its founders. Textiles, lighting and furniture are among its homewares. Many items are only available at this 700-sq-metre, two-storey space.
©Tim Bird/Lonely Planet
Artek
Top choice in Helsinki
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
1.94 MILES
Suomenlinna, the ‘fortress of Finland’, straddles a cluster of car-free islands connected by bridges. This Unesco World Heritage site was originally built…
0.16 MILES
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
0.35 MILES
An unmissable stop for Finnish design aficionados, Helsinki's Design Museum has a permanent collection that looks at the roots of Finnish design in the…
0.62 MILES
Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy…
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2.33 MILES
Situated 5.5km northwest of the city centre, this excellent island-set museum has a collection of 87 historic wooden buildings transferred here from…
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0.34 MILES
One in a series of elegant, contemporary buildings in this part of town, curvaceous, metallic Kiasma, designed by Steven Holl and finished in 1998, is a…
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29.46 MILES
One of Finland's most enticing old quarters, this tangle of cobbled alleys and wooden warehouses is entrancing. Once a vibrant port and market, Porvoo now…
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0.27 MILES
Set beneath the iconic 1936 Lasipalatsi building, art museum Amos Rex opened in 2018. Sweeping staircases take you below ground to the exhibition halls…
Nearby Helsinki attractions
1. Johan Ludvig Runeberg Statue
0.16 MILES
Finland's national poet and composer of the Finnish national anthem, Johan Ludvig Runeberg, is commemorated by a statue in the city's central Esplanadin…
0.16 MILES
Locally known as 'Espa', oblong-shaped Esplanadi stretches for four blocks between the squares Erottaja to the west and the kauppatori to the east…
0.16 MILES
Helsinki’s most venerable church is this white wood 1826 beauty, designed by CL Engel. Opposite the church is a memorial to Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the…
0.16 MILES
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
0.16 MILES
Across from the Vanha Kirkko is this memorial to Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the Kalevala epic, depicting the author flanked by his most famous character, …
0.25 MILES
Rautatientori (Railway Sq) flanks the eastern side of Helsinki's glorious National Romantic art nouveau train station. Designed by Finnish architect Eliel…
0.27 MILES
Set beneath the iconic 1936 Lasipalatsi building, art museum Amos Rex opened in 2018. Sweeping staircases take you below ground to the exhibition halls…
0.27 MILES
Built in 2012 by Helsinki architectural firm K2S, this exquisite, ultracontemporary curvilinear chapel is constructed from wood (wax-treated spruce…