The hustle and bustle of the marketplace
Market Square and Wanha Kauppahalli market hall are busy throughout the year.
The colourful and busy Market Square with a market hall by the South Harbour is the place to experience the unique Helsinki marketplaces.
The market sells everything from vegetables to souvenirs. The ever-popular market café is a good place to have a cup of coffee and watch the hustle and bustle of the market and the cruise ships leaving the harbour. Ferries to Suomenlinna and sightseeing vessels, on board which you can have a lunch or dinner in a marine setting, depart from the Square. In the summer, Market Square is busy till late in the evening.
In the first week of October, Market Square hosts the traditional Baltic Herring Festival, when fishers sell a variety of seasoned fish, black islander bread and handicrafts from their boats.
Wanha Kauppahalli (Old Market Hall) is located beside Market Square and it is home to thirty specialist shops. The offerings include cheeses, coffee beans, seafood and sweets. A great souvenir idea is, for example, to select something from the wide variety of tinned foods.
Of course, there are also other marketplaces worth visiting in Helsinki. For example, the Hakaniemi market and its market hall which has been divided between food and specialist shops, the Töölö market and the popular Hietalahti flea market with its Hietalahti market hall specialis-ing in antiques are full of life during the weekends.
Links:
Market Square Hietalahti antique and art hall Wanha kauppahalli (in finnish) Hakaniemen halli (in finnish)
Text. Mari Vilkki
Photo: City of Helsinki Picture Bank
