Get in there and eat lots of the Scandinavia goodness. Herrings done 10 ways. Cured salmon done…read moremore ways than one can eat. Lot of great breads... It's a wonderland of food. This is a food hall with class. If you love fresh seafood, great cakes and berries then get in there. Great place to have breakfast or lunch, or pick up some goodies to take back to the hotel or pack a picnic.

Lovely multilevel department in downtown Helsinki. I was even able to buy postage stamps for my…read morepostcards here as well as enjoy a wonderful lunch in their beautiful atrium style restaurant. I found some fun Marimekko items in the clearance section. The employees were nice, the store was clean and bright and I enjoyed shopping there. Highly recommend recommended.

This is a fancy, old, classy, expensive department store in the middle of downtown Helsinki. It's…read morelike "All the roads lead to Stockman". At the grocery department you can find all kinds of goodies, pastry, fresh meat, fish, specialty products, and international foods. You also have several options to have something to eat either at the restaurant located upstairs, or at the many coffee/snack shops. This is like a huge fancy shopping opportunity for demanding shoppers. You can shop for beautiful handbags, high-end clothing and shoes, or if you favor a certain domestic or international cosmetic brand, they have it. Don't forget souvenirs, toys, home goods and Finnish design items. The customer service department will ship things for you to destinations all over the world and help you with duty free shopping. Among many other notable things is a big Alko store. This is the government monopolized liquor store. So, if you find great delicatessen for lunch or dinner, you will also have the opportunity to purchase alcoholic beverages to go along with your meals. Really, if you want to spend time and money here, it is truly worth the trip, and everlasting experience while in Helsinki. The best thing at Stockman building is electronics store called Power that I just discovered last Summer. They sell variety of appliances, phones and so on. Found a table phone for my mom who needed to replace her old one. She uses it for Skype calls from the USA. Customer service at this place is priceless. The young men helping me during my visits were so knowledgeable, patient and friendly. One nice traditional point about Stockman is, that they have a clock on the Alexanterinkatu side of their many entrances. That is famous among all people living in Helsinki. When meeting friends, we used to say: "Meet me under the Stockman's clock." Happy shopping and maybe I will see you there.

A great mall downtown Helsinki, just as small or big a mall should be, plenty of shops but not too…read moremany. Get most of the good stuff you'd need from here. Lindex for those with kids, Stadium for sports goods, Specsavers for those who'd need new affordable glasses, and other.. nice coffee shops to stop by and nice opening at the top floor.

Not much like the original Forum in Rome, but A-Ok shopping mall…read more This is a fairly good shopping mall in the downtown Helsinki area. It's home to a large variety of shops and department stores. They had lots of places to get shoes, clothes, and other things you'd usually get at the mall. There's some wonderful architecture in here, how they've converted a big courtyard into an atrium with a glass roof covering the open area. There is a food court here, but nothing special in there- McDonalds and other chain restaurants. I recommend going elsewhere for food. The mall is huge- about a whole city block. It serves as a good way to cut through to the next block while staying warm and out of the snow. While here, be sure to check out the wide spiral staircase that ascends to the top floor. The mall is moderate to high end shops, with well organized shops. The mall felt safe, well lit, and clean. There's free wifi, and plenty of seating throughout the mall. I couldn't find the public restrooms. It's a pretty good place to go shopping, or just do some browsing in the Design District of Helsinki! Every other shop here seems to sell Moomin stuff. For some reason, the Finns are into a cartoon hippo, Moomin. What do hippos have to do with Finland??! I looked and looked for actual hippopotami while in Finland, and didn't see any.

I'm sorry to say, but this area with a blend of residential houses, outlets and cultural…read moreinstitutions is just depressing. The architecture is of that indistinguishably, modern, depressing, soul-less kind you've sadly seen popping up all over Stockholm/Sweden these past 10-15 years. Everything looks the same and completely lacks character and charm. I'm sure the lake view here is great in the summer, but that won't really help the architecture and overall ambiance of the area. If you're looking for great bargains at outlets you'll be disappointed too. The prices aren't very low and the selection doesn't impress. I'm all for independent shops, lovely architecture and a wonderful, quirky atmosphere - this area certainly and sadly doesn't bring any of that. A tram trip here is just not worth your time.

This is an absolutely great place to attend workshops or smaller conferences and they have some…read moregood working places as well. Modern, great places, airy spaces and inviting atmosphere. Nice food, often great vegetarian options as well. Clean restrooms, the only bummer is that they're unisex. The Rosebud bookstore in the corner of the first floor is fabulous and they sell some cool University of Helsinki clothing and memorables. Check out Think Corner's online streaming site as well!

Love this place. As a tea drinker I haven't found a coffee shop in America where I love the coffee…read more But today, I tried the cappuccino and it was fantastic here! Not bitter, not sugary, creamy and delicious. The service is friendly and quick. Free wifi. Coffee, Tea, Beer, Whiskey, Sandwiches, Pastries.

I came to Helsinki for a few days back in October. You'd think I would have been prepared for cool…read moreweather (I'm from Canada so I definitely know what cold is like), but I wasn't. I had apparently forgot to pack along some mitts or anything like that (and the fact I'd just been in Madrid for a week probably didn't help). So I wandered around for a bit and came across Tiger, which is sort of like the dollar stores we have back home, but better. Everything here was just a few € each. There's lots of design and home decor type stuff, as well as art supplies and crafts and little knicky knacky things. It's not a huge store but it was cool to browse around, and I found a pair of gloves to wear for just €3. If I lived in Helsinki this would be a store I could see myself coming back to a lot.

Tiger stores are pretty amazing shops. Their assortment doesn't seem to follow any rules. They have…read moreall kinds of household equipment but at the same time also toys, decoration and candies. The concept of Tiger is to have round prices. You won't find anything for 1.59 € or 3.75 €. Things are 1 € or 2 € and are hardy every much more expensive then 3 €. That makes it fun to walk through there. You'll find so many things at Tiger that you didn't even know you need before. And since everything is so cheap you'll find it tough to leave this place without buying anything. At least a chocolate bar next to the counter for 1 € will always end up in your shopping basket. You can really find some useful stuff here for a good price. But don't come here to often! It might get expensive otherwise.