HELSINKI

Helsinki Finland Shopping

Helsinki Finland Shopping - Finland is the place to be when you are looking for ceramics and other interior furnishings. The place is not known for having cheap buys so make sure your pocket is padded. You can also buy souvenirs for the folks back home and choose from various decors made from the skin of a reindeer.

Do your shopping weekdays as the shops open from nine in the morning to five in the afternoon. You will have shorter shopping time during Saturdays as the shops close at 2pm. The good news is that you can now go shopping at Forum and Stockmann even during Sundays, from June to August and the month December.

Shopping in Helsinki is easy as you need not leave the city center. Esplanadi is an ideal venue for window shopping as the prices are a bit steep. However, it is also a good place to buy Finnish crafts if you an afford them. If you want more affordable shopping then Kauppatori or the Market Square is a good place since you can find all sorts of peddlers selling different items.

As they say, all shopping activities in Helsinki starts at Esplanadi and ends up somewhere else, either at the open air market or the Helsinki rail station. You can get across to the Aleksanterinkatu which is another main shopping street

To get more value for your money, visit shops that have the Europe Tax-Free Shopping signs. This can equate to a 16% value added tax discount which will be refunded to non-European Union residents when they leave the country. Another good idea when shopping is to ship them to your home address not only to make you trip back home more relaxed but also to avoid filing a Customs Claim.

Cashless shopping is the trend nowadays and Helsinki shops accept Visa, American Express and other international credit cards. It would not hurt to ask in advance though to make your shopping more pleasurable.