Christmas in Finland 2026 starts at noon on 24 December, when the Christmas Peace is read out from a balcony in Turku, and from that moment the whole country shuts down. In Helsinki the sun sets at 15:15 on Christmas Eve, shops close in the early afternoon, and museums and most restaurants are closed on 24 and 25 December. If you fly in expecting a bustling festive city, you have picked the wrong one. If you come for silence, sauna and candlelight, you are in the right place.
This guide covers Helsinki’s Christmas week from 18 to 27 December: markets, concerts, saunas, the Christmas table, the Turku Christmas Peace, and what is genuinely open from 24 to 26 December. Three warnings up front. The big Helsinki Christmas market ends on 22 December. The Seurasaari Christmas Path is cancelled for 2026, although older guides still list it. And Linnanmäki amusement park is closed all winter. Where a date or price says 2025, it is last year’s.
1. Tuomaan Markkinat on Senate Square: ends 22 December
27 November to 22 December 2026, Senate Square, free entry. Confirmed.
Finland’s biggest Christmas market: more than a hundred wooden stalls under the white steps of Helsinki Cathedral, and a record 650,000 visitors in 2024. In 2025 it opened from 11:00 to 19:00, later at weekends, and the carousel was free for children. The catch is the date. The market closes on St Thomas’s Day, two days before Christmas. Arrive on 23 December or later and you will find a tree and an empty square. Either come from 18 to 22 December for the market and the concerts, or from 24 to 27 December for the quiet; you cannot have both in one trip. Full guide: Helsinki Christmas Market 2026; organiser’s site tuomaanmarkkinat.fi.
2. Mantan joulutori at Market Square: the only market open over Christmas
4 December 2026 to 6 January 2027, daily 11:00 to 19:00, free. Confirmed.
By the Havis Amanda fountain at the edge of Market Square. A small market with a heated pavilion for performances and seasonal food: glögi, grilled sausages, salmon soup. It is not Senate Square and does not pretend to be, but between 23 and 27 December it is the only place in Helsinki where you can drink glögi outdoors. Hours on 24 and 25 December are not confirmed; expect the pavilion to be closed on Christmas Eve afternoon. Before 22 December, if it is sleeting, the better option is Vanhan Joulutori in the Old Student House (Mannerheimintie 3): two floors of indoor craft stalls, free. Listing: myhelsinki.fi.
3. The Declaration of Christmas Peace in Turku: 24 December at 12:00
24 December 2026 at 12:00, Old Great Square (Vanha Suurtori), Turku. Free, no tickets. Confirmed.
The one public Christmas event the whole of Finland watches, and it does not happen in Helsinki. The crowd gathers under the balcony of Brinkkala House from about 11:15, the Red Cross hands out song sheets and glögi, the Navy Band and men’s choirs sing carols, and at 12:00 the bells strike and the city’s chief of protocol reads the declaration in Finnish and Swedish. Two and a half minutes, then the national anthem, finished by 12:20. Expect 10,000 to 15,000 people. From Helsinki the train takes about two hours; on 24 December VR runs a reduced timetable, so book the 09:00 departure and a return between 15:00 and 17:00 in advance. After 12:30 everything in Turku is closed except the cathedral. If an hour in a cold crowd does not appeal, Yle Areena streams it live from 11:55. Details: joulukaupunkiturku.fi.
4. Christmas concerts: Cantores Minores in the Cathedral on 18 December, YL on 19 December
Cantores Minores: Friday 18 December 2026 at 18:00 and 20:00, Helsinki Cathedral, €10 to 40. Confirmed, tickets on Ticketmaster.
About 60 boys singing Finnish carols in the candlelit cathedral. It sells out most years, so buy in November. The same evening, Temppeliaukio (the Rock Church) has Anna Airola and the UMO Helsinki Jazz Orchestra playing a jazz “Nutcracker” at 18:00 and 20:30. On Saturday 19 December the YL male choir sings at St John’s Church (Korkeavuorenkatu 12) at 15:30, 18:00 and 20:30, tickets to come on yl.fi. And the free option, which is what Finns actually do: a congregational carol sing-along in the Cathedral on Friday 18 December at 12:00, thirty minutes, no ticket. Christmas Eve devotions in the Cathedral were at 15:30 and 23:00 in 2025. Tickets: cantoresminores.fi.
5. Christmas sauna: Löyly, Allas Sea Pool or Kotiharju
Löyly €29 for two hours, Allas €19 to 24 for three hours, Kotiharju €16. Christmas hours not yet confirmed at any of the three.
Löyly at Hernesaarenranta is the photogenic one: a smoke sauna and a ladder straight into the Baltic. In previous years it has been closed on 24 December and open from the afternoon of 25 December, and slots go fast. Allas Sea Pool next to Market Square is the easy one: a heated 27 °C outdoor pool, five saunas, open every day of the year, no slot booking, weekend price (€24) on holidays. Kotiharju in Kallio is the one a Finn would choose: Helsinki’s last wood-heated neighbourhood sauna, since 1928, €16, towel €4, cooling off on the pavement. Christmas Eve sauna is a Kotiharju tradition; check the 2026 hours. For 24 December itself I would pick Allas, because its hours are the most generous.
6. Candles at Hietaniemi Cemetery on Christmas Eve afternoon
24 December from about 14:00 until dark, Hietaniemenkatu 20, free.
Guidebooks skip this because it is a cemetery. Finns visit family graves on Christmas Eve and light a candle, and by 16:00 tens of thousands of candles glow in the snow, or the slush, at Hietaniemi. HSL even runs an extra bus, 24X from Asema-aukio by the station, every 15 minutes on 24 December; trams 1 and 2 also stop there. It is the most atmospheric free hour of the day; the only rule is to behave as in any cemetery, quietly and without flash photos of people.
7. The Christmas table in a hotel on 24 and 25 December
In 2025: Hilton Strand on 24 and 25 December from 15:00 to 22:00, Mestaritalli €72, Meritorppa €78, Meripaviljonki on 24 December €75. The 2026 Christmas Eve menus were not yet published in October.
Most Helsinki Christmas buffets run on weekdays from 1 to 23 December and stop before Christmas. On 24 and 25 December only a handful of hotel restaurants lay the table. On it: gravlax, herring in several sauces, rosolli beetroot salad, liver casserole, swede, carrot and potato casseroles, glazed ham carved at the buffet, prune tarts, and rice porridge with one almond hidden in it. Book in November; Christmas Eve seatings sell out, and the hotel where you sleep may be the only restaurant open within walking distance. Overview: brunssit.fi.
8. Museums: closed 24 and 25 December, open on 26 December
On 26 December: Ateneum and Kiasma 10:00 to 17:00 (€23, €21 online), Amos Rex 11:00 to 17:00, Helsinki City Museum 11:00 to 17:00 free, Heureka 12:00 to 18:00. Confirmed for 2026.
Every major museum is closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. 26 December, tapaninpäivä, is the best sightseeing day of the period: Ateneum, Kiasma, Amos Rex and the City Museum at Aleksanterinkatu 16, whose Children’s Town is the best free option for families. Under-18s get into Ateneum and Kiasma free. The exception is Korkeasaari Zoo: open every day, following the 2025 pattern 10:00 to 14:00 on 24 December and 10:00 to 16:00 from 25 December. Adults €24, bus 16 from Rautatientori.
Tours and experiences in Helsinki
If you would rather have a guide on a dark afternoon, these tours can be booked ahead.
Christmas in Finland 2026: if eight is not enough
- Korkeasaari Christmas weekend, 19 and 20 December, 10:00 to 16:00, Santa’s workshop, included in the zoo ticket. The family replacement for the cancelled Seurasaari path.
- Suomenlinna on Christmas Eve. The HSL ferry runs on 24 and 25 December on a Sunday timetable. The island is always open, most cafés are closed, and the church held a Christmas Eve service at 16:00 in 2025. Stay off the sea ice.
- Tampere Christmas Market on Keskustori, 21 November to 22 December; its Glögi restaurant is open on 24 December from 11:00 to 15:00, the only Christmas market in Finland serving on Christmas Eve morning. Under two hours by train. joulutori.tampere.fi
- Porvoo. Red wooden shore houses 50 km east, an hour by bus from Kamppi. From 24 to 26 December the shops and cafés are closed; the walk itself is the reason to go.
- If you want snow and Santa, Helsinki is not the place. For that, read Lapland at Christmas 2026.
The Finnish Christmas Eve: why the city closes at two
Finland celebrates on 24 December, and the day has a fixed order that explains the empty streets. Rice porridge in the morning, with one almond hidden in the pot. At 12:00 the Christmas Peace from Turku, watched on television by around two million people. In the afternoon the cemetery and the candles, then the sauna, then the Christmas table with ham, casseroles and glögi, often alcohol-free by default. That is why the shops are shut by four and everyone is at home. Alko, the state alcohol shop, opens from 09:00 to 12:00 on 24 December and is closed on 25 and 26 December, so buy wine by 23 December. The police call Christmas Eve the quietest night of the year; the only real hazard is ice. The city wakes up on 26 December, when the museums open again.
Practical
- Weather: minus 2 to 0 °C by day, minus 6 to minus 8 at night. Snow on the ground about one Christmas in three. Plan for wet pavements and ice: waterproof shoes with grip, and shoe spikes from any pharmacy for €10 to 15.
- Daylight: on 24 December the sun rises at 09:20 and sets at 15:15. Museums and sauna at midday, walking between 15:00 and 16:30 when the lights come on.
- Open and closed: on 24 December shops close between 14:00 and 16:00, Alko at 12:00. On 25 December the big hypermarkets open, city-centre shops stay closed. On 26 December Sunday hours. Yliopiston Apteekki at Mannerheimintie 96 is a 24-hour pharmacy.
- Getting around: HSL AB single €3.30 in the app, day ticket €10.60. The airport is in zone C, so the train into town (30 minutes) needs an ABC ticket. 24 December runs on a Sunday timetable, on 25 December services only start around 10:30, 26 December is a Sunday timetable. Holiday changes: hsl.fi.
- Where to stay: Christmas is low season for Helsinki’s business hotels: mid-range doubles in the centre around €100 to 160, Kallio €80 to 120. If you arrive on 24 December, book Christmas dinner at the same hotel.
- Book ahead: Cantores Minores, the hotel Christmas buffet, Löyly, the Turku train, and the ferry back on Sunday 27 December, the busiest return day of the holidays.
- Coming from Tallinn? From 24 to 26 December Tallink sails, Eckerö Line pauses, Viking runs one crossing a day. Exact sailings below.
| Ferry | 24 Dec | 25 Dec | 26 Dec |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tallink Megastar / MyStar | 07:30, 10:30, 13:30, 16:30, 19:30 from both ports | same five sailings | same five (the 22:30 night sailing does not run 24–26 Dec) |
| Viking XPRS | Tallinn 07:00 → Helsinki 09:30; Helsinki 10:30 → Tallinn 13:10 | Tallinn 17:00 → Helsinki 19:30; Helsinki 20:30 → Tallinn 23:10 | normal timetable |
| Eckerö Line Finlandia | last departure 12:00 from both ports | no sailings | normal timetable from 06:00 |
| Tallink Victoria I | no sailings | no sailings | from Tallinn 12:30 |
Flying in? Finnair flies Tallinn to Helsinki in about 35 minutes from €67 one way, and from further afield you can compare flights to Helsinki on Kiwi.com.
If you are planning more than one stop, read these next: Helsinki Christmas Market 2026, Tallinn Christmas Market 2026 and my day trip from Helsinki to Tallinn. From the same series: New Year’s Eve in Helsinki 2026 and Christmas in Tallinn 2026.
Read also
- Lapland at Christmas 2026
- Best Christmas Markets in Europe 2026
- Halloween in Helsinki 2026
- New Year in Finland 2026
- Best Museums in Tallinn
Christmas in Finland 2026: what I would pick
Arrive on Friday 18 December, the carol sing-along in the Cathedral at 12:00, Senate Square in the afternoon, Cantores Minores at 20:00. Saturday at Korkeasaari and Ateneum, Sunday at Kotiharju sauna, then home. If the trip has to include Christmas Eve: the morning train to Turku, the Christmas Peace at 12:00, back by five for the candles at Hietaniemi, the hotel buffet, and the 23:00 night devotion in the Cathedral. Allas on 25 December, Kiasma on 26 December, and the 19:30 Tallink sailing that evening rather than the 27 December crowds.
Frequently asked questions
Is Helsinki dead on 24 and 25 December?
Largely, yes. Shops close on the afternoon of 24 December, museums and most restaurants are closed on 24 and 25 December. What works: the candles at Hietaniemi, church services, the saunas, Korkeasaari Zoo, hotel buffets and the Suomenlinna ferry. Museums reopen on 26 December.
When is the Helsinki Christmas market 2026?
Tuomaan Markkinat on Senate Square runs from 27 November to 22 December 2026, free entry, and is not open over Christmas itself. Mantan joulutori at Market Square runs until 6 January 2027, daily from 11:00 to 19:00.
Can I take the ferry from Tallinn on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day?
Yes. Tallink’s Megastar and MyStar keep five sailings each way on 24, 25 and 26 December; only the 22:30 night sailing is dropped. Viking XPRS runs one crossing each way on 24 and 25 December. Eckerö Line does not sail from the afternoon of 24 December until the morning of 26 December.
How do I see the Christmas Peace declaration in Turku?
Be on the Old Great Square in Turku before 11:30 on 24 December 2026. The declaration is at 12:00 and it is over by 12:20. Free. From Helsinki take a morning train, about two hours, and book ahead. Or watch it live on Yle Areena from 11:55.
Information checked on 6 October 2026. Where a date or price is marked “2025”, it is last year’s and the organiser has not yet published the 2026 details. I will update this guide in December when HSL, the saunas and the restaurants publish their Christmas hours.
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