04-Market Square

MARKET SQUARE (25 images)
Although elegant Senate Square may be the brains of Helsinki, free and easy Market Square is the heart. Full of life and happy people, the area along the waterfront is the fun spot in town. There is a traveling market there most days where one can buy anything from vegetables to earrings made of teindeer antlers. When the market is present, the elongated space is filled with stands and sometimes even tents with plastic tables and chairs where local cooks prepare all sorts of foodstuff from simple hotdogs or ice cream cones to elaborate pizzas, meat pies, and fresh seafood. The fried fish I had there ranks among the best meals on the whole trip. The prices in Market Square are among the most reasonable in Helsinki and definitely lower than those in other downtown restaurants, and I don't see how the pricier places could have served food that tasted any better.

From the waterfront in Market Square most of the boats depart for trips around the bay and to some of the nearby islands.

Click a picture to see a larger view.

The Foiuntain in Market Square