Top 5 museums in Helsinki

Helsinki features an extensive selection of distinguished museums, each providing valuable insights into the Finlands cultural heritage and historical development. If you’re pressed for time, it’s wise to choose your top picks together. Here’s a curated selection of five must-see museums—four situated right in the heart of Helsinki, with the fifth, the Cable Factory, just a short and convenient metro journey away. For those arriving by sea, Helsinki’s West Terminal is also within easy reach of the Cable Factory

1 Ateneum, 2 Amos Rex, 3 Helsinki Art Museum HAM, 4 Kiasma, 5 Cable Museums

1 Ateneum Art Museum

Located in the city centre, the Ateneum Art Museum houses the Finnish National Gallery’s renowned collection of classic Finnish art. The museum itself, an impressive building designed by Theodor Höijer in 1887, stands as a symbol of Finland’s national identity. Its permanent exhibition, "A Question of Time", is arranged around four themes: Nature, Finnish Identity, The City, and The Users of Power in Art—highlighting the significance of collection-building and notable donations.

Visitors can admire works by revered Finnish artists such as Albert Edelfelt, Akseli Gallen-Kallela, Helene Schjerfbeck, and Tove Jansson, as well as the only Vincent van Gogh painting in a Finnish public collection. Currently, the museum is hosting a major exhibition that delves into the connections between Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Vienna’s Wiener Secession movement, led by Gustav Klimt around the turn of the 20th century. With its ten themed sections, the exhibition showcases the revolutionary spirit of the era, including a reconstruction of the Beethoven Frieze and Klimt’s poignant unfinished portrait of Amalie Zuckerkandl. The exhibition is open until 01/02/2026.

More about the Ateneum and its Permanent exhibition 

Akseli Gallen-Kallela and Wiener Secession (in Finnish)

Ateneums website

 2 Amos Rex

Amos Rex, inaugurated in August 2018, continues the legacy of the original Amos Anderson Art Museum. Set within the historic Lasipalatsi (Glass Palace), the museum’s striking architecture—designed by JKMM Architects—features underground galleries illuminated by large, dome-shaped skylights that create a distinctive urban landscape above. The renovation of the 1936 Lasipalatsi building also restored the Bio Rex cinema, now serving as the museum’s auditorium.

Currently, Amos Rex presents the interactive exhibition by Leandro Erlich, where illusion and perception are playfully challenged, making it a favourite for visitors of all ages. Architectural installations such as "The Cloud" and "Bâtiment" invite active participation, emphasising Erlich’s belief that art is only complete through viewer engagement.

You can read more about Leandro Erlich from here

Amos Rex website

3 Helsinki Art Museum (HAM)

HAM is housed in the Tennispalatsi (Tennis Palace), a notable example of Finnish Functionalism, originally built in 1937 and designed by Helge Lundström. Once a sports venue and service building for the Olympics, Tennispalatsi was transformed into a cultural centre in the late 1990s. Today, HAM showcases contemporary and modern art in spacious, renovated galleries. I used to play badminton at Tennispalatsi (Tennis Pal during my student years. The magnificent arched halls were excellently suited for that. However, the premises are apparently not the best possible for museum use, as the art museum is planned to move near the Market Square to Eteläsatama (South Harbour) sometime in the future.

Marguerite Humeau Exhibition 11/21/2025–3/15/2026. The Torches exhibition is structured like an opera, with scenes that explore alternative narratives about the future of life, particularly focusing on the possibility of humans evolving into collective beings seeking harmony with other life forms.

French artist Marguerite Humeau (b. 1986) creates meticulously crafted sculptures and immersive installations using a diverse range of materials, including walnut wood, glass, alabaster, beeswax, and wasp venom, and incorporates light and sound. Her work delves into early life forms, ancient human history, and potential future life scenarios, prompting audiences to contemplate alternative realities.

The artist describes her practice as a way to “structure and channel the knowledge I collect” in order to “bring physical worlds to life,” envisioning both extinct and prehistoric subjects as well as future worlds.

Marguerite Humeau - Soihdut - Facklor – Torches. HAM 2025. Marguerite  Humeau. Photography Julia Andréone. Courtesy of the artist

HAM website

4 Kiasma

Kiasma, a landmark of contemporary art in Finland, opened in 1998 and was designed by Steven Holl. Its name refers to the intersection of optic nerves, and this concept is reflected in the dynamic architecture. The museum’s current collection exhibition invites visitors to consider the impact of materials on meaning and preservation, featuring works by artists such as Joseph Beuys and Claes Oldenburg.

On the top floor, the Sarah Lucas exhibition "A Naked Look" runs until 08/03/2026, showcasing provocative sculptures, photographs, and installations that explore gender, power, and the human body. Meanwhile, Essi Kuokkanen’s solo exhibition "The Cloud Holder" on the fourth floor presents imaginative paintings that intertwine reality and fantasy, with dogs as symbolic figures representing human-animal interaction. Kuokkanen’s exhibition is open until 22/02/2025.

You can read more about Collection exhibition (in Finnish) from here

More about Sarah Lucas: Naked Eye from here

Essi Kuokkanen, until 22.2.2026 (in Finnish)

Kiasma website

5 Cable Factory Museums

Situated a little outside the centre, the Cable Factory (Kaapelitehdas) is Finland’s largest cultural complex, transformed from an industrial site into a thriving hub for the arts in the 1990s. The sprawling building hosts over 300 tenants and three notable museums: the Finnish Museum of Photography, the Theatre Museum, and the Hotel and Restaurant Museum.

Hotel and Restaurant Museum

Its permanent exhibition, "Taste Matters", explores Finnish food and drink culture through sight, sound, and scent. Highlights include the history of alcohol regulation, iconic food traditions, and recipes for visitors to try at home. The museum offers a rich sensory experience and serves as a fascinating substitute for the National Museum during its closure.

The picture shows the preparation of pies in 1929. Tyyni Vahter, Ethnographic photo collection, Museovirasto

You can read more about Taste Matters from here 

Turbulent Decades – Photos of Restaurant Life in the 60s and 70s' is on display at the museum from September 19, 2025 – August 30, 2026

Finnish Museum of Photography

Europe’s first museum dedicated to photographic art, this institution presents "The Viewfinder"—an engaging, non-chronological exploration of Finnish photography. The museum covers key historical moments, including the introduction of photography and its role in documenting change, memory, and identity. The current exhibition, "The Invisible Race", confronts themes of racial discrimination and institutional critique, using powerful images and video installations. Open until 01/03/2026.

Viewfinder (in Finnish)

The Invisible Race (in Finnish)

Theatre Museum

With its interactive exhibition "The Third Call", the Theatre Museum invites visitors to experience every stage of performance creation, even stepping onto the Arkadia Theatre stage themselves. The exhibition features costumes, set designs, and technical equipment, and is best enjoyed with a guide. Another highlight is "Amaze! Tales and Magic of Circus", which celebrates Finnish circus history and artistry, on display from 10/10/2025 to 10/01/2027.

The Third Call (in Finnish)

Cable Museums website

For more information on the Cable Factory visit their official website.

Cable Factory 1978. Sky-foto. Helsinki City Museum, Finna