Hietaranta Beach

Helsinki, Finland, Finland

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Hietaranta Beach, also called Hietaniemi Beach or colloquially "Hietsu," is the most popular sand beach in central Helsinki, Finland, located in the Etu-Töölö district at Hiekkarannantie 11 right next to the city center and Hietaniemi Cemetery.

The beach attracts visitors throughout the summer season with its shallow and safe swimming area, making it especially popular on hot summer days for locals and tourists seeking a beach experience just steps from downtown. It features a wide range of facilities including changing shelters, indoor and outdoor showers, toilet facilities accessible by wheelchair, a café and ice cream kiosk (with the summer terrace Badenbaden serving street food and drinks), beach volleyball and basketball courts, an outdoor gym, and a fairway for light water traffic.

Lifeguards supervise the beach during the swimming season, and the beach offers accessible swimming opportunities with a carpet for wheelchairs and a floating bathing chair available on request. The beach's history dates to the early 20th century when the remote area was converted from a landfill into a sand storage site, with sand barged from the sea floor, and locals adopted it as a beach in 1929.

Today it hosts the annual Hietsu Beach Volley tournament since 1995, has hosted major music festivals including Rock the Beach (2013, 2017), Sonisphere (2014), and Weekend Festival (2018), and is easily accessible by car with nearby parking, public transport, or city bike via a smooth, illuminated asphalt path.