“Have you seen the toilet in the Torni hotel?” It really is a must-see.

I went to Helsinki, the Finnish capital, in 2018 to visit my high school friend Tina, who was studying there. Upon meeting one of her friends and asking what he’d recommend I see or do in Helsinki, he immediately said: “Have you seen the toilet in the Torni hotel?” After several uncontrollable fits of laughter, because why would anyone in the world go see a toilet or much less recommend it as the first thing on the list, we did indeed go to check out the toilet. However, when we got there, the sign said the hotel bar where the toilet is located was closed until noon.

We wandered around until then, accidentally traumatising an elderly couple who wanted to use the elevator, and shopping for Moomin souvenirs. At 12 pm on the dot, we went straight up to the hotel bar. Likely looking like a quartet of idiots, all 4 of us immediately went down the stairs to the famous toilet and let me tell you, it was amazing (I shit you not!).

The Torni hotel building is pretty high, so you can see most of Helsinki from there – you really feel on top of the world sitting on that toilet. You need to go to the female toilet though, because the male toilet is located in the centre of the hallway and only has one glass wall. The female toilet sits in the corner, surrounded by panoramic glass walls, so disregard social conventions for a bit and go feel like the queen of Finland for the duration of your toilet business.

P. S.: The hotel also has a very nice terrace, if the toilet is not your thing, but it really should be.