This tutorial review provides insight into helical columnar assemblies based on thermotropic as well as lyotropic liquid crystals on the basis of the structural characteristics that promote hierarchical self-organization. The structural features of molecular materials that can present helical organizations imply the action of different driving forces that include pi-interactions, hydrogen bonding or metal-coordination. In addition, columnar liquid crystals offer the possibility of combining these interactions towards the control of the geometry and orientation of the supramolecular organization leading to well-defined helical columnar assemblies.