Kamppi neighbourhood
Right in the middle of everything!
Kamppi is a district in the middle of downtown Helsinki. The name Kamppi derives from the Swedish ‘Kampen’, which referred to the military training field in the area. Historically a wooden house district for workers on the northern side, Kamppi also includes the western side of Mannerheimintie, Helsinki’s central road, starting from Bulevardi where houses still stand luxurious. A central area for offices and shops, the district also has around 12,000 inhabitants.
Your Helsinkian heart
Ready to dive headfirst into the heart of Helsinki? While admittedly, the capital can’t be fully captured in a single visit, Kamppi is as close as it gets to a Helsinki all-in-one! Here, you get a front-row seat to the city’s beating heart, where history, innovation, and energy collide. Located directly at the centre, under 30 minutes from the airport and a short walk away from Helsinki Central Station, Kamppi is where people and businesses bloom. From 1600s military training fields to 1800s suburbs of upper and lower class to today’s bustling focal point of the city, the area’s seamless blend of history and high-tech makes it a particularly rewarding place for growing and exploring. This is where you’ll find the ‘stadi’ (that’s Helsinkian slang for Helsinki) that everyone talks about!
Art and culture
Kamppi is known as one of the cultural centres of the city. Some even say it’s the official art museum district of the city, and for a good reason: the area has multiple museums specialising in different things and art styles, offering a vibrant and versatile selection of art to enjoy.
The functionalist landmark buildings Lasipalatsi (‘Glass Palace’) and Tennispalatsi (‘Tennis Palace’) were built in the mid-1930s in an effort to boost the profile of the city, which was under consideration to host the Olympic Games. The games were finally organised in Helsinki in 1952 and the Tennis Palace halls were used as practice areas for basketball. These days, the building hosts the HAM Helsinki Art Museum as well as the largest multiplex cinema in the country. The Amos REX art museum opened to the public by Lasipalatsi in 2018.
Kamppi is the heart of the Finnish music scene: more than half of the city’s live music venue capacity is filled here. In addition, many music-related operations are managed here, from record companies to festival headquarters. Musicians and music industry professionals meet in the district’s restaurants, and the Urho Kekkosen katu stretch has even been nicknamed Rock and Roll Street. If you add to the equation all the other offerings, it is safe to say that Kamppi has culture for all the senses.
-Mirva
Local Helsinkian
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East, west or center – Helsinki has it all and more.
