THE SPIRIT OF HELSINKI: The yellow lightning bolt

Brightly-coloured with three gears, excellent manoeuvring and a GPS system. That’s what the spanking new Helsinki city bike is like.

The cycling lane network in the centre is great. Cycling lanes are marked at the sides of the streets or next to the sidewalks. The Baana lane gives you direct access from the centre to Ruoholahti. A final word of warning: keep your eyes peeled and wear a helmet. Car drivers in Helsinki are not, unfortunately, extremely polite.

City bikes. €5/day or €10/week. Stands all around town, see website for details. hsl.fi

City bikes will be back on the streets of Helsinki from 2 May 2017.