Hämeentie is the longest street in Helsinki

Helsinki

Helsinki is the capital and largest city in Finland. It is in the region of Uusimaa, located in southern Finland, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, an arm of the Baltic Sea. The population of the city of Helsinki is , making it by far the most populous municipality in Finland. Helsinki is...

, Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

, and among its major thoroughfare

Thoroughfare

A thoroughfare is a place of transportation intended to connect one location to another. Highways, roads, and trails are examples of thoroughfares used by a variety of general traffic. On land a thoroughfare may refer to anything from a rough trail to multi-lane highway with grade separated...

s. Hämeentie is a multi-lane street beginning at the Hakaniemi

Hakaniemi

Hakaniemi is an unofficial district of Helsinki, the Finnish capital. It is considered a part of the Helsinki city center. Historically, it was often associated with the working class and worker's associations. However, the cost of living has risen considerably in recent years and is now on par...

 square in Siltasaari

Siltasaari

Siltasaari , Broholmen is a central neighborhood of Helsinki, Finland....

, and ending near Vanhankaupunginkoski on Koskelantie.

Old streets were made into main roads in the 1850s, and the eastern one was named Itäinen Viertotie (Swedish: Östra Chaussén) from 1909 to 1928. It was one of Helsinki's main entryways, the other being Läntinen Viertotie (Swedish: Västra Chaussén), from 1942 named Mannerheimintie

Mannerheimintie

Mannerheimintie , or Mannerheimvägen , named after the Finnish military leader and statesman Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim, is one of the most famous streets in Helsinki, Finland. It was originally named Heikinkatu , after Robert Henrik Rehbinder, but was renamed after the Winter War...

. True to its name, Hämeentie originally formed the starting part of a main road leading from Helsinki to Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna

Hämeenlinna is a city and municipality of about inhabitants in the heart of the historical province of Häme in the south of Finland and is the birthplace of composer Jean Sibelius. Today, it belongs to the region of Tavastia Proper, and until 2010 it was the residence city for the Governor of the...

, travelling through the districts of Viikki

Viikki

Viikki is a neighbourhood of about 5,500 inhabitants in Helsinki, Finland. It is located at the bottom of Vanhankaupunginlahti bay, some 7–10 km from the city centre....

, Malmi

Malmi, Helsinki

Malmi is a regional center and a major district on the north-eastern part of Helsinki, Finland.It has a population of 24,312 . Malmi is divided into six subareas, which are Ylä-Malmi, Ala-Malmi, Pihlajamäki, Tattariharju, Malmin lentokenttä and Pihlajisto.Malmin peruspiiri is a related but...

 (nowadays Kirkonkyläntie) and Hyrylä

Hyrylä

Hyrylä is one of the three villages and the administrative center of Tuusula, with a population of about 19,500 residents.It is located at the southern side of Lake Tuusula, approximately 10 minutes driving distance from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and 25 kilometers away from Helsinki.-References:...

.

There is fairly little personal car traffic on Hämeentie, because most of it has been directed to the Sörnäisten rantatie street running nearby. Hämeentie is an important route for public transport

Public transport

Public transport is a shared passenger transportation service which is available for use by the general public, as distinct from modes such as taxicab, car pooling or hired buses which are not shared by strangers without private arrangement.Public transport modes include buses, trolleybuses, trams...

. Almost all local buses in the Helsinki Metropolitan Area towards Lahdenväylä and Tuusulanväylä run along it. Hämeentie also has tram

Tram

A tram is a passenger rail vehicle which runs on tracks along public urban streets and also sometimes on separate rights of way. It may also run between cities and/or towns , and/or partially grade separated even in the cities...

 traffic from Hakaniemi to Arabia, where the Helsinki tram

Helsinki tram

The Helsinki tram network forms part of the Helsinki public transport system organised by Helsinki Regional Transport Authority and operated by Helsinki City Transport in the Finnish capital city of Helsinki. The trams are the main means of transport in the city centre. 56.6 million trips were made...

 line 6 turns from Arabiankatu to the right towards its endpoint, in front of the University of Art and Design

University of Art and Design Helsinki

Aalto University School of Art and Design , known commonly as TaiK, is the largest art university in the Nordic countries, and was founded in 1871. Media Centre Lume – the National Research and Development Center of audiovisual media – is also located in the university...

 on Kaj Franckin aukio. Near the start of Hämeentie, the tram lines 1(A) (Käpylä

Käpylä

Käpylä is a neighbourhood of Helsinki with 7,600 inhabitants. Administratively speaking, Käpylä is a part of the Vanhakaupunki district.It is located between Kumpula, Oulunkylä and Koskela...

) and 3B/T (Alppila

Alppila

Alppila is a quarter of Helsinki, Finland. It is located north of the city centre, between the districts of Kallio and Pasila, and together with Harju it forms the district of Alppiharju. Alppila has a population of 4244 and an area of 0.60 km². The Linnanmäki amusement park is located in...

) turn to the left to Siltasaarenkatu (Linjat).