Eurohostel

Located east of the city center within easy walking distance of most of Helsinki's main sights, the 135-room Eurohostel offers some of the cheapest rates we found in this costly town.

A professional, efficiently-run hostel through and through, this place is popular with both college-age backpackers and mature travelers. Rooms aren't exactly cosy, but they're spic-and-span and perfectly functional. Choose from single, twin, triple, or family rooms available in both the "Eurohostel" and slightly cheaper "Backpackers" category. There's no real difference in amenities between the two categories, though the "Eurohostel" rooms provide a bit more color than their rather bland counterparts.

Toilets and showers, with separate facilities for men and women, are shared by each floor and are very clean. An appreciated, particularly Finnish bonus is the free morning sauna on the seventh floor. (Evening use will cost you €5 per person.)

Each floor has a fully-equipped kitchen, and a laundry room with coin-operated machines is available as well. Eurohostel charges €5 per day for Wi-Fi access. Katajanmarja, the reasonably-priced restaurant right off reception, serves a breakfast buffet for €7.20.