The quintessential Finnish experience. Within Helsinki there's Löylo, a hip communal sauna on the southern tip of the Helsinki peninsula.

Lots of Finnish, and not just tourists, hang out at the contemporary wooden structure, where there is a great view of the sea and the Helsinki city area.

The highlight is dipping in the icy Baltic Sea after steaming in the sauna and running back again to melt in the warmth of the sauna.

Read more here.

TIPS:

• It's recommended that you warm up in the sauna before jumping into a cold pool, and head straight back to the sauna after. Do it twice for the best effect.
• Sauna etiquette requires that you lay a towel on the bench before you sit down, and remove it when you leave
• I picked up lots of tips from locals, who were very friendly. If you don't know what to do, just ask!
• Most of the saunas allowed both men and women, and you don your swimsuit.
• We did do sauna au naturel in one of the rooms where the temperature went up to 90 deg C, but there were separate rooms for men and women.
• We were told this is because the high temperature in the room would evaporate the chlorine in the suits - not something you want to be inhaling.
• On Helsinki Sauna Day, to be held on March 11 next year, normally private saunas all over the city are open to the public.

2. WALK IN THE WOODS

Helsinki is a great break from bustling, jostling Asian cities. The traffic was sparse and there was not a queue in sight the weekend we were there.

If this serenity appeals to you, try heading a little out of the city to the isle of Emäsalo near Porvoo.

Adventure lodge Seikkailulaakso organises meditative walks in the woods for city dwellers who need a hiatus from their frantic lives.

They have rooms for guests, and can offer outdoor activities such as kayaking, boating and archery.

TIPS:

• Bring warm clothing and practical walking shoes for outdoor activities in autumn and winter. Boots with low heels are ideal, and they should be waterproof.
• Don't forget gloves, a hat and thick socks as temperatures go down to -15 deg C in winter and reach single digits in autumn.
• In summer though, it's a cool 20 to 25 deg C and even in spring, temperatures can be below 10 deg C.
• Boots and walking shoes will come in handy for city jaunts too, as the Helsinki city centre is immensely walkable.

3. SHOP DESIGNER

As you walk around the city centre of Helsinki, look out for shops with stickers indicating that they are part of the Helsinki design district.

There are more than 200 design-focused outlets along 25 streets, including stores for fashion, jewellery and homeware, cafes, hotels, and design studios.

A handy map of the district and all its members can be found online and at any tourist information centre.

For gifts, try TRE, a new lifestyle and fashion store focused on Nordic design, or Lokal, which stocks products and works by independent Finnish designers .

For fashion, Minna Parikka's quirky bunny-eared loafers and sneakers had most of the girls hopping with excitement.

If you like glassware, be sure to visit the Iittala flagship store, which first opened in the 1950s. The brand is a Finnish classic.

TIP:

• If you plan on shopping, schedule your stopover on weekdays as many shops are closed from Saturday afternoon, and remain shuttered on Sunday.
• Bring your own bag for supermarkets and food shops.

4. EAT FRESH

The staple at each restaurant we went to was fresh, seasonal Nordic and Finnish produce.

In October, when I visited, that included unctuous Arctic char, and Baltic herring, cloudberries, and root vegetables like parsnip and celeriac.

We had tasty Sapas - a Finnish take on Tapas at Restaurant Juuri, which excels at fresh takes on traditional Finnish flavours. It is a regular entry on the Michelin Guide to Helsinki.

One of our best meals was at Vinkelli, a new eatery run by food industry veterans, which had classically good food and service.

For local produce, including (to our surprise) canned bear meat, the Helsinki Market Hall has been operating since 1889.

No, I didn't get any bear meat and can't tell you how it tastes. But there are other less exotic, but tasty items that you can purchase, including lingonberry jams, artisan cheeses, and salty liquorice.

TIPS:

• Here's what is in season at different times of the year:
  • Winter: Reindeer, Christmas pies (joulutorttu), beetroot salad, blinis
  • Spring: Lamb, Finnish Easter pudding (mammi), pasha (Easter dessert), perch
  • Summer: New potatoes, salmon, Atlantic herring, blueberries, sea buckthorn
  • Autumn: Baltic herring, lingonberries, hare, vendace, root vegetables
• Tipping is not expected in Finland
• The one Finnish word we used most often - "kippis", or cheers.

5. TOUCH HISTORY

The Helsinki City Museum is a new addition to the city's museum scene which opened in May 2016.

It's a lovely museum for anyone, but great for children as there is a child-friendly wing just for them.

The museum tells the people's history of Helsinki - the way they lived, the music they listened to, the food they ate - through interactive exhibits such as a virtual reality "time machine" and replicas of rooms from the past which you can visit and sit in.

There was even a room harbouring the smell of Helsinki, where you can breathe in specially formulated perfumes with the scent of spring, or construction. That exhibit is on till Jan 15, 2017.

TIP:

• Continue the trip back in time with a cocktail at speakeasy Trillby & Chadwick, which is right beside the museum. The 'secret' cocktail lounge serves up yummy, instagrammable drinks, but in keeping with its Prohibition-era theme, photographs are not allowed.

6. BE A SAVVY TOURIST

There are also sights around Helsinki which are perennial favourites with tourists, such as the Helsinki Cathedral, the Design Museum and the Suommenlinna Sea Fortress, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

There is plenty of information about them available online, and Visit Finland has a well-designed website with information about most of the attractions.

TIP:

• Take advantage of StopOver Finland's travel guides and packages that offer travel itineraries from between five hours and five days.
• 2017 is the year to go to Finland, especially for those who still can't get over SG50. The country is celebrating the centenary of its independence after centuries of colonisation by Russia and Sweden. There will be more than 1,700 programmes by organisers all over the country concerts, festivals and sporting events.