In a large square in the shadow of the city’s cathedral, the Helsinki Christmas market is not to be missed. Honestly, we were surprised how much we loved this experience, and we now recommend it as often as we can.
This lovely place has everything you could want from a Christmas market. There is local merchandise that you actually want to buy and excellent food, all in a welcoming and easy-going setting. There is nothing not to love here.
Before I dive into our thoughts about the Helsinki market, I feel like I need to level set. We love, love Christmas markets. We’ve been to markets in about 25 cities across a dozen countries, so we have lots of others to compare to. Helsinki is absolutely among the top. Why do we think that? Well, read on for our reasons.
The market was open November 29 through December 22, 2024. Hours are 11 am-7 pm on Sunday through Thursday and 11 am-8 pm Friday and Saturday.
Everything is local
The overwhelming majority of Christmas markets we’ve visited in Europe feature some amount of low-quality, mass-produced items likely made in China (Prague is an unfortunate example). Sometimes they’re at just a few booths and sometimes they’re at most of them. When those items make up the bulk of what’s available at a market, that place automatically drops on our list. Fortunately, that’s not a concern in Helsinki.
All the chalets we visited at the Helsinki market sold specialty items from across Finland. In many stalls, the artisans and small producers made the gifts themselves. I bought some earrings for myself, and we got some wooden toys for our nephew. There were also lots of knitted scarves and hats, warm jackets, candles, a huge selection of games and toys, and decorations like wreaths and ornaments.
During our visit, a handful of crafters were busy making things in their booths. We saw a few people carving, knitting, and putting jewelry together. Two larger stands had a glassblower at work (not easy in sub-freezing temperatures) and a blacksmith making items on a forge, who enticed us to buy a candle holder.
This is definitely a place to go shopping for gifts for loved ones and things for yourself with a handful of Finnish souvenirs thrown in. Some of the vendors rotate weekly, so there is always a good variety.
It’s tourist-friendly but not specifically geared toward visitors
The Helsinki market has been included on several lists of “best markets” in recent years, which has significantly increased the tourist presence here. Even so, it feels like it’s meant for Finnish people. The signs are mostly in Finnish, and that’s the language we heard most as we wandered through the stalls and sampled food.
None of this means that it’s unfriendly to tourists. That’s not the case at all. Everyone speaks English, and there are some signs in English (plus pictograms). Unlike some markets, it doesn’t feel like it’s purpose-built to sell a bunch of items locals would never buy and food locals would never eat. It has the feeling of authenticity and welcoming everyone, which is just about as good a scenario as we can imagine.
The food is great, and there is a huge selection
The market stalls are divided into two sections that are separated in the middle by a massive Christmas tree, a sculpture that’s part of the square year-round, and an old-fashioned carousel that’s free to ride. Each side has a food court.
The food courts have about a dozen food and drink vendors and lots of high-top tables where you can stand to enjoy your food. Both sides also have a convenient seating area decked out with garland and beautiful lights. And, best of all, they have heaters (!!), which is rare in our experience. Any source of heat outdoors during December in Finland is truly a beautiful thing.
Vendors on both sides offer a wide selection of choices of traditional Finnish food and international options. When it comes to traditional food, we found:
Salmon soup (lohikeitto laxsoppa): it’s hard to go anywhere in Finland without seeing this staple and salmon itself in multiple forms
Rice porridge (riisipuuro): topped with cinnamon sugar, caramelized apple, or prune sauce; it’s one of the most popular dishes at the market
Rye bread (ruisleipä) with butter: Dense bread is served with many of the soups available
Gingerbread (piparkakkutaikina): The spiced treat is made with dark treacle syrup
Glogi: Mulled wine that comes in lots of different flavors like lemon and ginger, cherry, and traditional, glogi is everywhere. Spike it with a shot from the local distillery like we did.
In addition, there were empanadas with smoked salmon or reindeer and a pulled deer hot dog. We also saw currywurst, onion pie, and leberkase, a traditional Viennese pork loaf sandwich that we tried at the Christmas market there.
Although many of the foods I’ve listed here include meat, you will find vegetarian and vegan options. We had an incredible mushroom soup alongside some rye bread, which was the perfect thing to warm us up a bit (as a bonus, it was served by a man wearing a gnome hat).
Visiting tips
Crowds: If you’re hoping to avoid crowds, time your market visit for a weekday morning. That said, we visited on a national holiday when all the locals were off from work and school, and we did not find the crowd to be bad. The layout of the market and the sheer amount of space helps to keep things moving. Even the lines for food and drinks were reasonable.
Money: Credit cards are widely accepted, but it’s a good idea to have some cash, especially for food or lower cost items.
Drinks: Unlike most other markets, you can’t walk around the Helsinki Christmas market with mulled wine or other alcoholic drinks. One of the food courts has a fenced-in area where you have to finish your drink.
Santa: On select days, you can find Santa and his elves at the market. They visit on opening day plus every Saturday and then on the last weekend on the market.
Laura Longwell is an award-winning travel blogger and photographer. Since founding Travel Addicts in 2008, she has written hundreds of articles that help over 3 million people a year get the most out of their travel. In that time, she has visited nearly 60 countries on 5 continents, often returning to favorite destinations over and over again. She has a deep love of history, uncovering unexpected attractions, and trying all the good food a place has to offer.
In addition to Travel Addicts, Laura runs a site about her hometown of Philadelphia—Guide to Philly—which chronicles unique things to do and places to see around southeastern Pennsylvania. Her travel tips and advice appear across the web.