Built along a series of curving peninsulas and islands that jut into the Gulf of Finland, Helsinki is a classic harbour city. Streets curve around bays, bridges connect to nearby islands, and ferries can be seen crisscrossing the horizon.

The city’s central hub is clustered on a small waterfront peninsula, but Helsinki’s Greater Metropolitan region covers 764 square kilometres and includes over 300 islands as well as the suburbs of Espoo and Vantaa. Together, these districts form Finland’s largest urban area and offer buyers an array of lifestyle options from contemporary villas on the coast to historic apartments downtown.

As a strategic port, Helsinki has a history of international trade and foreign occupation. Originally founded by a Swedish king in 1550, the city became the Finnish capital in 1812 when it was rebuilt by Russian tsars along the lines of a miniature St. Petersburg. Today, a fascinating blend of architectural influences dot the skyline, including Byzantine-Russian, Art Nouveau, as well as Functionalist and Modernist Finnish styles. Following an isolated Cold War period, today’s Helsinki is once again a cosmopolitan meeting point of eastern and western Europe, a vibrancy that is reflected in an influx of Russians and Estonians, a multilingual population, and an increasingly international mix of property buyers.

“Over the last 50 years, Finland has become much more of an international city”, says Kenneth Katter, Managing Director at Snellman Sotheby’s International Realty in Helsinki. “Today we might get a request from investment bankers in Los Angeles or Swedish nationals who work in Finland”.

The draw, according to Katter, is Helsinki’s reputation as a clean, secure and dynamic place to live. “The city is quite active. The old harbour has moved out and this has freed up a lot of energy. Essentially, people have become the focus. How does the city enable people to live, work and play”?

Part of the municipal strategy has been a focus on building density. Construction of new single-family homes has decreased over the past decade and spatial planning instead favours density and connectivity. Many new apartment complexes are situated next to public transportation. The proposal for a new Helsinki city master plan is based on a prediction that there will be 865,000 inhabitants and 560,000 jobs in Helsinki in 2050; it calls for increased density in the city centre, northward extension towards Pasila, new rail connections, and new mixed-use schemes that combine housing and commercial spaces.