Esplanade Park

The Esplanade Park has long been lined by cafés and restaurants. Down each side are lively shopping streets, the North (Pohjois-) and South (Etelä-) Esplanades. The Park runs from Erottaja in the west to the Market Square in the east.

The Neo-Renaissance buildings reminiscent of other European cities were built on the Esplanades to replace the old wooden houses in the latter half of the 19th century. One of the most splendid is the Kämp Hotel on the corner of Kluuvikatu.

In the centre of the park stands Helsinki's first public monument, the statue of Finland's national poet J.L. Runeberg (1804-1877). At the western end of the park are statues to the writer Zacharias Topelius (1818-1898) and the poet Eino Leino (1878-1926).