The city is located on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, a picturesque place with a characteristic northern beauty. The old city center (Helsingin kantakaupunki) is located on a peninsula, and cliffs are a familiar element of the landscape.
Despite this "proximity to nature", the city is considered one of the most comfortable in the world - in 2014 Helsinki took fifth place in the rating of "25 best cities in the world" (the list was compiled by the British publication Monocle).
The population of Helsinki is about 600 thousand, and 10% of the citizens are foreign citizens. There are two languages in common use - Swedish and Finnish, and 4% consider Russian to be their native language (and, of course, all the city's young people have a good command of English). Nevertheless, be prepared that all signs and other useful information will be in Finnish.
This linguistic diversity is due to historical realities: Helsinki was founded by the Swedish king, from 1809 the city became part of the Russian Empire (it was during this period that it began to acquire a modern architectural appearance), and after the October Revolution of 1917 Helsinki became the capital of independent Finland.
