Tourists fly 10 hours for European destination's main attraction but reality leaves them floored

A tourist who flew over 10 hours to see a European travel hotspot’s main attraction was left floored when he arrived. Young Cho flew from South Korea to Finland in order to visit Helsinki.

The city is well known for its cultural destinations boasting a raft of museums, art galleries, theatres, and a huge national concert hall. One of the most popular tourist spots in the city is the Senate Square and cathedral.

The square contains some of Helsinki’s oldest buildings, dating back to the 1700s, and is surrounded by the city’s historic cathedral, Government Palace, and the University of Helsinki. The area has long fought to be dubbed a World Heritage Site.

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However tourists visiting Helsinki are today welcomed by a sight much different from what they might expect. The cathedral has currently been covered by a picture of itself and the facade fenced off with barriers as work is being done to build a new underground power station, water well, and sewage system.

Officials hope it will help events held in the area and improve basic infrastructure. It is thought the work will be carried out in phases until November.

Questions had been asked as to why the work had been done in the height of tourist season. But project construction team manager Annina Mattsson explained: “The square was reserved for a defence forces event at the beginning of July, so work could not start before that. The work on the stairs will be completed before the Helsinki Festival in August.”

It will be little relief to Young Cho however, after he travelled hundreds of miles to see a picture of the cathedral. He told MTV Uutiset: “I think it’s very beautiful but this is just a picture. We flew here for 10 hours so it is a little bit disappointing.”

Kristina Almén from Sweden would have liked to take home a photo of the real church as a souvenir. “Now I don’t know what this actually looks like.”

Other tourists however have accepted that the building work has to go ahead. Henrik Caroe Gjellebol, who was visiting from Denmark, said: “Of course it would be nice to see it finished with the renovation but I fully understand it needs to be done from time to time.

“What can I say? I would love to see it another time when the renovation is finished.”

While Canadian Cindy Hardy says there are other buildings to visit in Helsinki. She commented: “It’s a little disappointing because it would be nice to see it as it’s meant to be seen but Helsinki though has so many beautiful buildings so there’s lots to see.

“We did notice that there’s a lot of construction going on or renovations but there’s so much beauty in all of the buildings around.”