The capital of Finland, Helsinki, is built up of 330 islands scattered across the Baltic sea just south of the country. Finland is widely known for it’s Santa Claus village in Lapland but Helsinki is home to comforting local seafood food, activities out on the water and buildings designed by some of the world's best mid-century modern architects. Read on to find out what to do in the capital of the world's happiest country, Helsinki Finland.

Finland is highly regarded in the world of art and design and there is no better place to showcase this than the Artek store. A 10-minute walk from the Oodi library this two-storey shop stocks the best in Scandinavian home textiles, curtains, furniture, lighting, books and more in both historic and contemporary designs. My top 5 would be Alvar Aalto, Juha Leiviskä and Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.

If you would rather stay on the architect's path skip this and walk to the Helsinki Cathedral. The city's largest landmark was built in honour of the Tsar Nicholas I of Russia and was also known as St Nicholas's Church until the independence of Finland in 1917. It is no surprise then the design is influenced by St.Peterburgs most famous landmarks The Hermitage Museum and The Church Savior on the Spilled Blood. You can do this either self-guided or as part of an organised tour.

With such a range of things to see and do Helsikini is perfect for a long weekend or as the starting point for a longer trip to either Lapland, Estonia or Russia. Being part of Scandinavia Helsikini is an expensive country therefore even the smallest items such as water on the go or lunch out do come at a cost which is why Finland tends to attract more mature tourists. This should not put off anyone from visiting as long as money is managed well as Helsinki is the best city for those with a love of design and the great outdoors.

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