Minna Parikka – the flagship store Back in November of 2012, Minna Parikka, the acclaimed ‘Scandi Queen of Shoes’, opened her flagship store on Helsinki’s trendiest shopping street, Aleksanterinkatu. To ensure her store reflected all that the Minna Parikka brand is best known for, Minna chose the Helsinki based Joanna Laajisto Design Studio, whose work [...]
Founded in 1935 by four young Finns (Alvar and Aino Aalto, Maire Gullichsen and Nils-Gustav Hahl), Artek has become renowned for being one the most innovative companies in modern design. Originally Alvar Aalto began designing furniture as an extension of his architecture, and in 1931 created his first furniture for a sanitorium at Paimio. The [...]
Following the success of his restaurants in Tampere and Turku, American Top Chef finalist Stefan Richter has opened a third restaurant, the latest located near the top of the Esplanade on Korkeavuorenkatu in Helsinki. The newest Stefan’s Steakhouse opened mid November 2012, and is already garnering rave reviews from customers. Stefan Richter first came to [...]
This coming weekend will see the official beginning of the Christmas season in Finland, with Advent Sunday taking place on December 2nd. Already in Helsinki, and in many other Finnish towns and cities, the Christmas tree is up and illuminated in the square, and festive lights adorn the main shopping streets, as well as the [...]
This Sunday Helsinki will once again host its oldest traditional event, the Baltic Herring Fair, which has been held every year since 1743. Helsinki may be celebrating 200 years as capital of Finland, but this event is celebrating 270 years! From the 7th to the 13th of October, Helsinki’s Market Square will attract fishermen from [...]
// By now, anyone who has already visited Helsinki in 2012, or indeed anyone who has considered visiting Finland’s capital, will be aware of its proud designation of World Design Capital 2012. There are reminders everywhere, from the brand new Chapel of Silence in Narinkka square to the bright red public seats that have popped [...]
With 35,000 square metres of retail space, the Verkkokauppa home-electronics store is the largest of its kind in Europe, and one of the best in Helsinki for shoppers looking for all kinds of electronics, computers, digital cameras, phones, appliances, games and toys. The store is conveniently located in Jatkasaari, by the Helsinki West Harbour where [...]
Celebrating its 150th anniversary and located in the heart of Helsinki, the Stockmann department store is the largest in Finland with around 17 million customers visiting the store annually. It is also the largest department store in the Nordic countries in terms of area and total sales. Stockmann’s is renowned for carrying all of the [...]
At the beginning of the new millenium Helsinki was celebrating its 450th birthday, and was also the European Capital of Culture. To mark this special year the city initiated a project called the HelsinkiMenu, with the aims of increasing global awareness of Finnish cuisine, introducing the world to the high quality of locally sourced ingredients, [...]
Visitors to Helsinki looking for something a little different or a little special to take home should visit Bock House on Senate Square, as it is the perfect place to begin their search. This impressive Empire-styled building facing the majestic Lutheran Cathedral contains a number of Finnish handicraft stores, offering a wide range of traditional, [...]
