WHERE TO STAY Helsinki
National Geographic Traveller (UK)|January/February 2024
FINLAND'S CAPITAL HAS AN OFFBEAT SIDE THAT SHINES THROUGH IN ITS CREATIVE HOTEL SCENE
PAULA HOTTI
WHERE TO STAY Helsinki

Hotel AX

Finland's biggest city is also its most stylish. Once the home of influential local architect and designer Alvar Aalto, the capital's art nouveau core is today complemented by contemporary Nordic architecture and offbeat design hits, including clothing and home furnishings company Marimekko's flagship store and the subterranean Amos Rex Art Museum. Adding another dimension to the city is the harbour district of Jätkäsaari, a former backwater that's reinvented itself in the past two decades with sleek apartment blocks anchored by restaurants, cafes, shops and a new public sauna. In spring 2022, this maritime hub welcomed Hotel AX, an art-focused property with an entrance marked by a fantastical metal sculpture titled Orc, setting the tone for the offbeat interiors that lie within.

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