Helsinki
Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) is the only major airport in the world with a working sauna inside an airline lounge — the Finnair Premium Lounge, in Terminal 2's non-Schengen wing, includes a Finnish sauna in addition to the standard champagne-and-canapés setup. Finnair Business Class or oneworld Sapphire required. The drinking story alongside the sauna is also genuinely good: Finnish gin (Napue, Kyrö, Helsinki Dry), the local Finnish craft-beer rotation (Sonnisaari, Suomenlinnan Panimo), and a respectable Champagne pour.
City centre · $$$
A21 Cocktail Lounge is the senior Helsinki cocktail bar. The room has hosted three world-ranked bartenders behind the counter and the cocktail programme is one
City centre · $$$
A21 Decades is the second floor of A21 — a cocktail tasting room built around themed historical-decade menus. Each year features a different decade (1920s, 1950
Centrum · $$$
Bar Bloom draws a steady local crowd in Centrum. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Centrum · $$
Cinco Bar draws a steady local crowd in Centrum. Booking is recommended on weekends. Walk-ins are usually possible early in the evening.
Plays for Helsinki Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
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