Transport and the shape of the city in Helsinki

Zones, and the clock on the ticket

HSL runs the region on four zones, A, B, C and D, and you buy the zones you cross rather than a distance. Helsinki city centre is zone A, Tapiola and Leppävaara in Espoo are zone B, and Helsinki Airport station, Tikkurila, Aviapolis and Kivistö are zone C. A single is also a time ticket with free transfers inside its window: 80 minutes for AB, BC and DE, 90 for CD, ABC and CDE, 100 for BCD and BCDE, and 110 for ABCD and ABCDE. Season ticket and day ticket prices are not quoted here because they move, so check hsl.fi or the HSL app for the current figures.

The airport, and the metro into Espoo

The airport link is the ring rail, HSL commuter lines I and P, which both run Helsinki to Helsinki around the loop in opposite directions via Lentoasema. Because the airport is zone C and the centre zone A, the ticket you need is an ABC at €4.50. The metro has two lines, M1 from Kivenlahti to Vuosaari and M2 from Tapiola to Mellunmäki, and both reach well into Espoo, which is why an Espoo address on the metro is a realistic commute rather than a compromise.

Cycling, including in winter

The city's own recommendation is to cycle anything under five kilometres, on a path network it monitors with 22 automatic counters. Selected routes get intensified winter maintenance and ploughing, so winter cycling here is ordinary rather than heroic. HSL runs the city bike scheme across Helsinki and Espoo, with passes bought and bikes located through HSL, and the season is fixed rather than year-round, so check the current dates on hsl.fi before buying a pass. The city's Bike Centre in Töölönlahdenpuisto Park offers maintenance and advice on weekdays from 09:00 to 17:00 from April onwards.

Driving, parking and the permit

On-street parking costs €4 an hour in Zone 1, the city centre, and €2 an hour in Zone 2, the inner city, charged on weekdays from 09:00 to 21:00 and on Saturdays from 09:00 to 18:00. Pay at a ticket machine, which takes cards, contactless, Apple Pay and Google Pay, and coins at some machines, or through the Aimo, EasyPark, eParking.fi, Moovy or ParkMan apps; paying by text message adds a €1 service fee, and low-emission cars get 50 per cent off when paying by app. A resident parking permit costs between €45 and €69.30 a month in 2026 depending on zone, and covers the inner city only, which is divided into 16 zones lettered A to P. You must live in a resident parking zone, hold a valid licence and own or possess the vehicle; permits run from one to twelve months or as a rolling monthly payment, a second vehicle's permit costs 1.5 times the normal price, and electric vehicles get a discount. Apply online or in person at Työpajankatu 8, not by phone.

• Winter tyre requirements and the rules for exchanging a foreign driving licence are set nationally by Traficom. Check the current position there before your first Finnish winter.