Helsinki

Mikado is going strong. Lot's of girls, the price hasn't changed lately. Expect to pay around 150 - 200 Euro for at least an hour. But remember that since these girls are all somewhat independent, the terms can be negotiated a bit. Don't expect to get the price much lower than 150 though, that would be a rare exception.

As Mikado is a "normal" bar, with no entertainment, you could go to Alcatraz where there is striptease every 15 minutes and all the girls you will meet (except the strippers) are available as in Mikado. Not as many girls here though.

Hi,
I've read through previous posting, but can anyone recomend a place with the best selection in the 30-40 year range ? Thanks......

For that age range of women, Alcatraz is the best bet. There are quite a few nice women at Mikado. Quite a few are Russians, married to Finns and have residency. (yeah, go figure!)

They are there every night, looking good and fading slowly!

Night Club Simppu located in Iso Roobertinkatu 4-6 (pedestrian street) is open from 6pm every day of the week, closes at 3am (2am Sun-Tue). The place keeps a low profile and is hard to spot, from the street you can only see a small sign saying "Gentleman's club". Walk into the yard and you can see a bigger sign with the name "Simppu" above the door. No obvious proffessional girls spotted the night I visited, but there are some 3-4 exotic dancers performing. Definitely worth popping in for a beer or two while checking out the dancers as there is no entrance fee. Warm bar food also available and major credit cards accepted. The establishment is operated by the same friendly couple who opened the legendary "St. Petersburg" restaurant (Pikku Pietari) on the other side of the block 10 years ago.

Hot spots in Helsinki, Finland (October 2002):

Restaurant "Mikado" in Mannerheimintie opposite to the Swedish Theatre is still the #1 place for professional ladies. You can watch them passing by on their way to work if you are sitting in the Hotel Marski bar (corner of Mannerheimintie and Lonnrotinkatu). Most of the girls are Russians or Estonians, but there are Finns and other nationalities among them as well. Price range from EUR 150 and up. You can dine or gamble while you are trying make up your mind. Open from 8pm to 4am, entrance fee EUR 10.

A few blocks to the west you can find the "Alcatraz" Club (corner of Eerikinkatu and Annankatu) is a slightly smaller establishment. In addition to the proffessianal ladies the club has 3-6 exotic dancers performing every 10 minutes (be a gentleman and tip them!). Price range for the pros from EUR 120 and up. Open from 8pm to 4am, entrance fee EUR 10.

Occasionally you can also find some pros or half pros in the Hotel "Marski" bar or in night club "10th Floor".

There is a sudden strong movement in the press and Parliament in Finland to criminalize paying for sex. While it is currently entirely legal, paid sex could be criminalized as soon as some time during the year 2003, if the pressure groups succeed. According to a recent poll amongst Members of Parliament, there is already a majority in the Parliament willing to criminalize BUYING sex.

Even according to the current proposals, SELLING sex would still be legal.

What is the rational? No one pays for sex in Finland anyway, do they?
They just get drunk and fight. :D

Haha yeah that was also my impression of Finland. Street bums with no life yelling at you for no reason, drunken losers singing into your ear at bars, people not helping you when you ask directions, people hesitating to talk to you as they realize you're not Finnish.. I don't really recommend the place. Though Finnish girls are VERY attractive, and they can be quite nice when they actually talk. Which they hardly ever do :-) They're not so hard to get either. If you're dark and handsome, you could very well lay a cleaner girl without paying for it in Finland. Stay away from the area called Kallio though, because you won't find anything cleaner than a hooker there :-)

With regard to the previous 2 messages, I will not lower myself to that level of discussion.

However the latest message contained 2 fairly serious factual errors which I wish to rectify.

1) I did not understand the referral to "laying cleaner girls" at all. Certainly females in any profession can be sweet-talked in a bar. If the cleaners referred to were hotel cleaners, the report is simply false. That is something you can do in 3rd world countries.

2) The Kallio district happens to be the most populous district in central Helsinki. Lots of students, for ecample, living there. So is the President, when at her private residence. There is one (1!) well known SW area in Kallio, but it would be wrong to generalise.

It is my hope that we all shall stick to facts and avoid substandard postings henceforth.

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Elton
[i]With regard to the previous 2 messages, I will not lower myself to that level of discussion.

However the latest message contained 2 fairly serious factual errors which I wish to rectify.

1) I did not understand the referral to "laying cleaner girls" at all. Certainly females in any profession can be sweet-talked in a bar. If the cleaners referred to were hotel cleaners, the report is simply false. That is something you can do in 3rd world countries.

2) The Kallio district happens to be the most populous district in central Helsinki. Lots of students, for ecample, living there. So is the President, when at her private residence. There is one (1!) well known SW area in Kallio, but it would be wrong to generalise.

It is my hope that we all shall stick to facts and avoid substandard postings henceforth. [/i][/QUOTE]

Elton, why do you use such difficult English (words like "henceforth, rectify, substandard") on an international board where we should all try to make sure that everyone can understand us.

It looks like you are showing off because you have taken a years English course - it's obvious that you are not a real Englishman because you would have realised that "cleaner" just means "more clean". Pencil that into your dictionary.

Sorry for answering in the same tone as your message but you deserve it.

Dear manofkosice,

I do not think I have claimed anywhere that I would be an Englishman - nor would I, as I am indeed a Finn, as I think I may have mentioned in an earlier mail already on this forum.

I apologize if my style of writing is not to your liking, but there is little I can do about that.

The fact is, that the previous 2 postings before mine contained claims that were incorrect and that I found patriotically offensive.

In case anyone on this forum wishes to have more info on the situation regarding the "services" in this country, I am more than willing to help - just ask and I will try my very best to reply.

At the same time, I will still continue to shoot down incorrect and offensive rantings.

*******************

The key point in all this? Simple: at the moment prostitution, with the exception of brothels and pimping which are strictly illegal, is allowed in Finland. This may well change in the future. Watch this space.

You're talking crap you perkele! All I said is absolutely true. I had to leave the bar in Kallio because I couldn't stand the nasty drunkards disturbing me and the girls with me. The girls didn't mind but they're Finnish so they must be used to this shit. It's the worst place in Helsinki if not the worst place in Europe.

For my part I will end this discussion at this point.

I invite anyone to draw their own conclusions freely from the past few postings.

All I can say is, that while Kallio is hardly a polished district, it is certainly not even in the Top 50 of "Europe's worst city districts". I would suggest taking a look at places like London's Brixton or Naples's Quartieri Spagnoli before making that claim.

The above is of course not meant as an insult for any member who might happen to live in those districts - just a couple of random examples.

For anyone wishing to receive an answer to a real question, I will be here and happy to try and answer.

This pointless bickering, however, ends here as far as I am concerned.

Elton-

You are entirely correct in saying that Kallio is hardly the worst place in Europe. However, the point Cachondito made about bar life is not entirely untrue... :(

I live in Helsinki. I noticed the behaviour of Finnish guys very early on. I prefer to go into Helsinki centre for my nights out. Working class districts, of which Kallio is the largest and best known, are not pleasant places to spend time in the bars and for the reasons Cachondito gave. Life can be a little unpleasant for the girl friend of a foreign guy in some of the more downmarket bars. (not helped by the fact that most Finish bars are pretty high standard in terms of decor etc. You dont always know what you are walking into ;)

Even the centre is not immune though. Last night I was with a girl in Hotel Marski, sitting by the window facing out to Marski Kengat. We were having a chat, we've known each other for a long time. Finnish guy rolls up, asks to join us. We told him that our friends were rejoining us but there was space at the end of the sofa. He sat and whilst Kara and I were talking, he tried to 'secure her services'. This is not the first time I have experienced this kind f behaviour, same thing at Memphis a couple of weeks ago.

What is with some FInnish guys, are ALL women prostitutes to them? And worse, when the woman is obviously with someone...

Nowhere but FInland have I ever had a drunk bloke come and proposition a woman, obviously accompanied... There are some places that one leaves before 3:15 am to avoid the 'last chance dance' session!

I am also a Helsinki regular visitor. I have to comment on this last exchange..
It still is one of the easiest cities in the world to get "no-commitment" sex, paid or not paid. It is a generally clean city, the people are friendly, and not that expensive.
The down side: for a culture in whch drinking is popular, The finns have a very low alcohol threshold - and get very uncultured and obnoxious ( as most drunks do). You can't help but notice this staying a few days and nights city center, going to pubs and....just walking the streets.

Elton and dusty bin -
As locals you may know: are there any mixed sex saunas in helsinki, like there are in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland? Any "sauna clubs" like in London?