Happy Helsinki: World’s happiest city doubles up as an open-air museum

From the design district with pop-up bazaars, sustainable shops and a thriving vintage scene to its unpretentious, gastronomic cuisine, Helsinki is the hippest city you’ve never been to

Crowded Aleksi street, Helsinki, Finland.

Helsinki was crowned with the title of Happiest City in the World by the UN in its World Happiness Report, though the joy isn’t exactly bursting out of its inhabitants during a particularly cold spell.

However, after speaking with some Finnish women, I find them to be urbane, self-deprecating and remarkably open, breezily chatting about anything from politics to history, relationships and culture. The streets of Helsinki feel safe and there isn’t an obvious class divide amongst its citizens. It’s not self-consciously cool and contained. It just is.