Shopping in Helsinki

Helsinki Shopping Guide featuring best local stores for design & fashion – photo © Visit Finland / Elina Sirparanta

As befits the capital city of a country whose citizens display a keen sense of style, Helsinki offers the widest range of shopping opportunities in Finland, indeed it would be hard to find a better city for shoppers in all the Northern countries.

From the broad pedestrian-friendly avenues in the city centre packed with malls, shopping centres, department stores, countless boutiques and speciality stores, to the side streets just off them – Helsinki has it all. No wonder that it is the favourite shopping destination for neighbours from Russia and Estonia.

Then there’s the Design District in Punavuori. This area in and around the city centre is the perfect place to discover world famous Finnish designs whilst exploring picturesque streets. The Design District Helsinki packs design and antique shops, fashion stores, museums and galleries, showrooms, restaurants and cafés into a compact area that ensures window shopping, browsing, and shopping itself is as relaxed as the friendly folk who work here. You’ll find world famous names like Arabia, Marimekko, and Iittala among the classics and trend setters here. Conveniently for shoppers, Design District Helsinki provides a map showing 170 spots within 25 streets, making it easy to stroll around while soaking up the uniqueness of Helsinki city culture