Finland · Uusimaa · Helsinki
East Helsinki, Helsinki — Area Guide & Where to Stay
East Helsinki, or Itä-Helsinki, is the eastern reach of Helsinki in southern Finland, a spread of residential districts around Roihuvuori.
About East Helsinki
Where to stay in East Helsinki
Each area has its own feel; here's who each one suits.
This is the residential east. Roihuvuori and the surrounding districts of Itä-Helsinki run mostly to apartment blocks and quiet streets rather than hotels, so most visitors base themselves in central Helsinki and ride out to the eastern side. The area suits travellers who want a calmer footing away from the centre.
Roihuvuoren kirkko anchors the local skyline. The Näkövammaismuseo at the Iiris centre gives the east a fixed point on the map.
About East Helsinki
What are the main landmarks in East Helsinki?
Two buildings define the east. Roihuvuoren kirkko, the parish church of Roihuvuori designed by Lauri Silvennoinen, marks the district from its completion in 1970 and carries the Swedish name Kasbergets kyrka. The Näkövammaismuseo keeps the history and culture of blind people in Finland, housed at the Iiris service centre.
Both sit within the spread of Itä-Helsinki.
What is the history of East Helsinki?
The east grew outward from the city. As Helsinki expanded across the twentieth century, the districts of Itä-Helsinki filled in around Roihuvuori with housing and parish life. Roihuvuoren kirkko, completed in 1970, stands as a marker of that postwar growth.
Lauri Silvennoinen shaped its lines. The Näkövammaismuseo later gathered the record of blind people in Finland on the eastern side.
Where is East Helsinki?
Itä-Helsinki stretches across the eastern flank of Helsinki in southern Finland, a broad band of neighbourhoods that gathers around Roihuvuori and runs out toward the city's eastern edge.
More areas in Helsinki
Updated July 2026