It was my last day in Helsinki. Well, to be precise, I only had a few hours remaining. My husband had left on an earlier flight and mine was in the afternoon. I hopped on the tramway, got off at the railway station, and begun my own little good bye tour of Helsinki. The sun was shining, it was 27C and the more I approached the place where I would have coffee, the more I could hear the seagulls.
The Market Square is a lovely place by the sea in the center of Helsinki. The farmers sell their fruits and vegetables next to vendors specialized in souvenirs such as reindeer skin. The square is always full of locals as well as tourists, many who stop by for a cup of coffee or salmon soup.
The Market Square is located on prime location by the sea, next to the Town Hall of Helsinki and the Presidential Palace.
Like everywhere in the world, visit the Market Square in the morning to find the best products.
I ordered take-away coffee and begun walking around. The breeze was lovely. People were happy and I felt excited as a first-time tourist in Helsinki. There was an abundance of berries, potatoes, smoked fish and girolles. I bought strawberries for breakfast. Talking about natural sugar!
Finns are crazy about strawberries and I was not an exception.
While I was enjoying these local delicacies something struck me. I sort of went crazy and purchased blueberries, strawberries, salmon and girolles to take back to Paris…. as if Paris didn’t have them –of course it does! However, my moment of craziness was moderate, I think, because I did not buy potatoes and onions…. and not even dill!
No, I did not bring potatoes to Paris… even if they looked delicious and so clean!
Pleased with my purchases, I started walking toward the Old Market Hall (The Old Market Hall in Helsinki). I don’t know if they have always been there, but for the first time I noticed some boats in the harbor, between the Market Square and the Old Market Hall. The boats were very cute: small and inhabited by individual farmers selling few selected food products (fish and potatoes, of course). I almost wished that I could sail to one of the many islands of the Finnish archipelago with them.
These small boats had sailed from the archipelago to sell vegetables and fish in Helsinki. How romantic!
The Market Square is a lovely place to hang out, to buy food, to drink coffee or eat salmon soup and other Finnish delicacies, so make sure you make it your stop when visiting Helsinki!
PS This is where most of the archipelago cruises depart. The Suomenlinna ferry that I took in winter (The Best Part of Public Transport in Helsinki) can also be found in the proximity. If you hold a valid public transport ticket, do not miss this great opportunity!
pearlspotting 
What a vibrant place and my, look at those delicious-looking berries! Your ‘grocery shopping’ was definitely justified! 😉 Thanks for sharing these lovely photographs. 🙂
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Thanks for taking time comment 🙂
A bit embarrassing to bring all that food from Finland to France, but I could not help myself!
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great article! I came from Finland few days ago and I love this market 🙂
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Saw your lovely post about Finland! Please write more 🙂 Where did you visit in Helsinki and outside?
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Thank you 🙂 🙂 I think I have seen almost whole city because my Finnish friends had plenty of time to show me every corner in Helsinki and we went to typical Finnish summer house which was out of the city but I don´t remember the name (all those Finnish names are so difficult to remember 😀 )
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Did you eat out in Helsinki –anything particular that you remember really liking?
Glad to got some summer house time!
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not that much because my friend´s mom usually prepared smth for us 🙂 I just tried the food from the markets which was delicious, and hesburger 😀 But I really liked those Karelian pies which I had to buy everyday in supermarket 😀
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Me too, I like Karelian pies! One of the only things made of wheat I eat! I have some in the freezer here in Paris 🙂
Did you have them with egg butter or cheese?
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unfortunately I haven´t tried them with egg butter in Finland but I heard about it and when I bake them I will definitely prepare them with egg butter 🙂
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Waiting for you post about Karelian pies with egg butter 🙂
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I love exploring markets when we are traveling. No potatoes or onions…glad you could hold yourself back. 🙂
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But I am sure they are naturally organic there compared to what we get here around Paris 😉
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Hi Miia,
ThisIsFinland website brought me here and I’m so glad it did! I enjoyed reading some of your posts and look forward to reading more in the future. 🙂
Jess
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Hi Jessica! Thanks for your kind message. You may have to wait until this summer to read more posts about Finland and the summer house but they will come 🙂
FYI: I am pregnant at the moment and taking it easy. Soooo behind in blog writing but will be back soon……
Will now have a look at your blog too. Have a great weekend!!
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