Quick guide: Cycling in Helsinki
Pedal power is one of the best ways to get around Helsinki. Even easier done than said. Over 1,200 km of paths, connecting vibrant urban areas, tranquil parks and beautiful seaside views and routes. Your pace propelled by flat terrain. If you don’t have your own bike – no problem! You can use the iconic city bikes or rent one.
Fresh air, wind in your hair – okay, sometimes a gale by the shore. That’s what stoic faces are for. People here ride year-round.
Here’s to exploring Helsinki on two wheels!
Helsinki – a city made for cycling (yes, even in winter!)
On a weekday morning, Helsinki’s bike paths can seem busier than the bus stops. Commuters, parents with cargo bikes, people in suits – no need for double takes, just two wheels. The routes are everywhere, in good nick and take you past all of the city’s main sights and well beyond.
Helsinki looks different from a saddle, at a pace that’s slower than a tram, faster than walking. Cycling is the right speed for a city that reveals itself gradually: the coastline, the architecture, wild strawberries on the edge of the path. Post-ride sauna? Obviously.
Cycling is one of the most sustainable ways to travel in Helsinki. 12 months a year. Winter cityscapes can be jaw-dropping. Think: ice fishermen alone offshore, their bikes beside them. But then there’s the slush of melted snow on your path. Helsinkians greet it all with a shoulder shrug and keep rolling. Find your own way to visit Helsinki like a local. Ding Ding.
The cycling rules – shorter than you’d expect:
Do as the locals do
Keep right, obey lights and stay in your lane. Unmarked footpath? Walk it – kids under 12 excepted.
Find your path
Cycle lanes, cycle paths and shared-use paths (with pedestrians). Look for the bike symbol.
Note that cycleways are shared with e-scooters and mopeds. Keep ‘em peeled!
Signal everything
Hand signals when turning are expected, not optional. Practice in advance!
Ring your bell
Have your thumb at the ready. Blind corners, shared paths and dog walkers all warrant a polite ring.
Use lights after dark
White or light-yellow at the front, red at the rear. Check the batteries.
Extend your adventures
You can bring bikes on trains, the metro and Suomenlinna ferry if you don’t feel like cycling all the way.
HSL information for cyclists Watch those tram tracks
Cross tram tracks at 90 degrees. Always. Cross at less? Slippery tracks are always indifferent to your confidence.
Wear a helmet!
Required by law. Unpunishable without. Rent or buy from the bike shops listed further below. Your brain, your choice!
Getting a bike
OK, first and foremost there are the City Bikes.
Over 4,600 bright yellow bikes and 460 docking stations are peppered across Helsinki and neighbouring Espoo. Grab one. Any one. Go. Take your bike to Kaivopuisto Park, lock it up, get coffee.Register on the HSL website or app, choose a daily, weekly, or season pass, and unlock with your cyclist ID or HSL Travel Card, and your PIN. The season runs 1 April to 31 October.
Good news: the first 60 minutes are on the house. You won’t be done in 60 minutes. The meter starts running at 1 € per additional 30 minutes (max. 5 hours). Vantaa runs its own separate scheme – worth knowing before you end up stranded in Tikkurila.
Then there are Helsinki bike rentals. Or shopping second hand!
Suitable for short stints, city bikes are not built for the long haul. Looking for more?
Bicyclean Helsinki, Breakaway and Ecobike stock a variety of e-bikes, gravel bikes, fat bikes and necessary accessories.
Settling in for good? Kierrätyskeskus (Helsinki Metropolitan Area Reuse Centre) resells donated bikes at fair prices in the Reuse Centre Itäkeskus shop and Reuse Centre Kyläsaari online. The above-mentioned Bicyclean Helsinki and Ecobike sell used bikes too. Tori.fi is Finland’s go-to second-hand online marketplace. Flea markets are also worth a look – Hietalahti is a good place to start. The Helsinki Police hold occasional auctions of unclaimed bikes, too. Check the Finnish Police website for dates. Arrive early. Leave with a Helkama (a Finnish classic!).
Of course, you could also take the fanciest option on offer and shop at Helsinki-based bike shop Pelago Bicycles, for example.
Some more cycling tips and help
Bike storage. Your bike deserves better than a lamp post. The bicycle garage at Kaisantunneli tunnel at Helsinki Central railway station is one of the city’s best. Wash station. Maintenance tools. Free e-bike charging. Nice. Open daily 5.00–23.00. Register here.
Repairs. Flat tyres and snapped cables happen. The Bike Centre at Töölönlahti park has been helping cyclists out since 2012. Tools. Staff. Free. The volunteer-run Bike Kitchen Helsinki does similar. Smaller stands with basic tools are dotted around town. Enough to get you home.
Public toilets. Not glamorous, but essential. Helsinki has 54 free public toilets across parks and streets, mostly wheelchair accessible. The full map is worth a look before a longer ride (especially with little ones).
Now, why not cycle along the paths leading to Helsinki’s archipelago, starting with the shores of Lauttasaari. From there, you can explore bridges and coastal trails with panoramic sea views. Caution: the sunsets here are spectacular.