The Finland Thread

[Frances]

Thankyou all for the info- I will definately go as I have always had an obsession with Scandinavia! I suppose being Australian it is almost my polar opposite...

Are there any really unusual things you can think of that I should see/do when I am there?

 

[Ella]

If you do come all the way to Finland you should definately go to the north to Lappland because in summer the sun doesn't set, it's really worth seeing. They organize reindeer safaris and husky safaris and all sorts of activities. There are lots of reindeer and the nature is so different there, when I went I felt like I went to another country even though I live in Helsinki!
But if you only go to Helsinki you should go to Suomenlinna (it's an island with an old sea fortress)- it's really pretty there, you can go swimming or have a picnic etc. Also go to a club called Uniq, they have this arctic ice bar where the walls are made of ice and it's -5 Celcius (23°F) and they give you a coat, mittens and boots. This website is pretty good for things to do here: http://www.finland.com/youngpeople.htm

 

[icey]

here's couple of good restaurants, it depends on what's your budget.my personal favorites are Santa Fe in Aleksanterinkatu, it's quite cheap, but has great atmosphere and yummy Mexican food.and water is free.

My other fave is Farouge, but it's not that cheap. It serves Lebanonian food.

Therused to be a really, really good italian restaurant, but I cannot remember the name...I'm not sure if it even exists anymore.

as for shopping...well, you aren't gonna find Gucci and Chanel here.there are some cute shops in Eira and Punavuori.also check out Bulevardi (boulevard).and Aleksanterinkatu, there's cheaper shops like Mango, Zara, Esprit,H&M, and this little shopping centre called Kämp.there's also the biggest department store in Finland, Stockmann.If you want to buy Marimekko, it has two shops in Esplanadi.

everything depends on what's your budget,actually.

You can find Roberto Cavalli etc. on Fredrik's street

 

[Arug]

I agree to Santa Fe.. Go visit if you come to Helsinki, but be prepared, because they don't take reservations at all..
I also love Kappeli Bar, it's in Esplanadi and the building is beautifull. And the music is groovy.
If you want some culture, go to see some Finnish paintings to Ateneum Museum. It's in Rautatientori. (or Rautatie square, if you like)
I'm sure you will fall in love with our city.. I know I can't never let go of my hometown..

 

[adle]

I've been to Helsinki and I really enjoyed it. I was only there a couple days and it rained all day both days but I still wandered about and I found it to be quite lovely. I was actually thinking about going back for a study abroad.

This doesn't scare me....This is a familar sight to see in Chicago. =)

 

[dancingellecat]

ma perty

 

[tuomas]

This is what I posted in the "Second hand shopping in Helsinki?"- thread (I'll just copy and paste:
"In Helsinki there's a shop called Ruuturouva (Fredrinkatu 16) which is quite good, they don't always have a lot of stuff but I found a really cute Jil Sander dress there once and they have a lot of nice jewelry.
Play it again sam (Rauhankatu 2) is good if you're looking for clothes from a certain era, '60s, '70s etc.
Also Ivana Helsinki (Merimiehenkatu 22) and Nanso (Mikonkatu 2) are good for the vintage look."
So that was for vintage shopping. And as for designers, go to Della Marga on Esplanadi for Chanel (bags), Giorgio Armani(via Borgonuovo, Collezioni, Jeans), Sonia Rykiel, D&G, Voyage, Versace, Cavalli, Ungaro, Krizia and See by Chloe. Then Kaarina K. (Kasarmikatu 25) for Charles Jourdan, Chloe, Lacroix, Givenchy, Gaultier, Moschino and Narciso Rodriquez. There's Mulberry on a small street off Esplanadi. Then on Korkeavuorenkatu there's Valkoinen Elefantti, they have really interesting clothes, I love it. And there are some other stores on that street and good restaurants as well.

More shops and bars in Helsinki...I can't believe nobody mentioned the Comme shop, especially cos most of the other shops are either for lawyers or the Russian nouveau riche...

-Comme des Garcons Guerilla Store in Kruunuvuorenkatu 1, Katajanokka. Beautiful area, beautiful clothes, beautiful shop, open for another year!!!who said that Finns didn't buy avant garde fashion?

- Lux on Uudenmaankatu sells interesting young designers like Peter Jensen, Bernhard Willhelm and Henrik Vibskov + some Finnish labels

-Beamhill has the best of streetwear from Umbro by Kim Jones and Levi's Vintage to Red Ear Paul Smith and Acne Jeans

-Nina's on Uudenmaankatu has a selection of shoes by Marc Jacobs, barbara Bui and Marni

-Gaudete on Fredrikinkatu is stocking Burberry Prorsum, Hugo, Bruuns Bazaar, Earl Jeans...

-Kaarina K nowadays sells Dolce&Gabbana, John Galliano, Lagerfeld Gallery and Chloe

-D'Anna on Fredrikinkatu has Missoni, Cavalli, Ferre, Antonio Marras, Sergio Rossi...

- Nicolas on Ferdrikinkatu (D'Anna's menswear shop)=Dolce&Gabbana, Neil Barrett,Antonio Marras, Ferre, Armani, Gaultier...

- Seven on Eerikinkatu (Mixed) has DSquared2, Hugo, Calvin Klein Collection and D&G

- Enele on Kluuvikatu has a conservative stuff like Anna Molinari, Celine, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan

There's also the usual Boss and Max Mara stores, but who cares...

The fashion kids tend to hang out in following bars:
Bar Number 9, Åbo and Oujee, all on Uudenmaankatu
Rosegarden & We Got Beef, both on IsoRoobertinkatu
Eottaja in the corner of Erottajankatu and Ludwiginkatu

All of there bars are relaxed and mixed places, not glitzy fashionista hangouts...

 

[Arug]

Thanks, and welcome to tFS tuomas! This thread is OLD, but sometimes it just keeps popping up.. Helsinki is cool, not hot.

 

[miss6o]

More shops and bars in Helsinki...I can't believe nobody mentioned the Comme shop, especially cos most of the other shops are either for lawyers or the Russian nouveau riche...

-Comme des Garcons Guerilla Store in Kruunuvuorenkatu 1, Katajanokka. Beautiful area, beautiful clothes, beautiful shop, open for another year!!!who said that Finns didn't buy avant garde fashion?

- Lux on Uudenmaankatu sells interesting young designers like Peter Jensen, Bernhard Willhelm and Henrik Vibskov + some Finnish labels

-Beamhill has the best of streetwear from Umbro by Kim Jones and Levi's Vintage to Red Ear Paul Smith and Acne Jeans

-Nina's on Uudenmaankatu has a selection of shoes by Marc Jacobs, barbara Bui and Marni

-Gaudete on Fredrikinkatu is stocking Burberry Prorsum, Hugo, Bruuns Bazaar, Earl Jeans...

-Kaarina K nowadays sells Dolce&Gabbana, John Galliano, Lagerfeld Gallery and Chloe

-D'Anna on Fredrikinkatu has Missoni, Cavalli, Ferre, Antonio Marras, Sergio Rossi...

- Nicolas on Ferdrikinkatu (D'Anna's menswear shop)=Dolce&Gabbana, Neil Barrett,Antonio Marras, Ferre, Armani, Gaultier...

- Seven on Eerikinkatu (Mixed) has DSquared2, Hugo, Calvin Klein Collection and D&G

- Enele on Kluuvikatu has a conservative stuff like Anna Molinari, Celine, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan

There's also the usual Boss and Max Mara stores, but who cares...

The fashion kids tend to hang out in following bars:
Bar Number 9, Åbo and Oujee, all on Uudenmaankatu
Rosegarden & We Got Beef, both on IsoRoobertinkatu
Eottaja in the corner of Erottajankatu and Ludwiginkatu

All of there bars are relaxed and mixed places, not glitzy fashionista hangouts...

thank you so much for the info!!! im going shopping in helsinki on friday and this was very helpful!

 

[FashionFinn]

From Finland

Yes, we most certainly do. Everything is sooooooo expensive here in Finland. After we got Euros, it's gotten a bit worse. Cup of coffee (just regular filtered coffee) is about 2€ (about 2,4$), which I find just outrageous. I found London very expensive but for everyday life in Finland, it definitely is expensive and it unfortunately doesn't show on the salaries. Of course it has something to do with our location here in the Northern Europe but all the fashion we get here from abroad is always so much more expensive than in other countries, even in Europe. At the moment I find the US pretty cheap but that's just because of the currency issues. I recently went to NYC and went totally crazy with my shopping

But yes, overall, Finland is the most expensive Euro country in the world, I think.

 

[castorpollux]

Always thought Japan was pretty expensive.
I was in Tokyo last year, and a slice of cake was 25 American dollars... I didn't buy any.

I'll never again complain about prices in the US...

 

[Ella]

I wonder if this takes taxes into account.. Because VAT in Finland is 22% so it obviously makes things more expensive here than in many other countries.

 

[yourbestfriend]

and people think paying 14% tax here is bad

 

[tott]

25% VAT here in Sweden...

 

[indie]

Finland is so good place to live that I don't complain about the prices

 

[Yppe]

It's not always bad to have the highest prizes, it usually means that the salaries are higher too. Finnish people must find everything so cheap when they travel, lucky you!
Being Spanish means that your credit card dies when you travel to another european country and that, on the other hand, Finnish, Sweddish or Danish people, for example, can live two months in Spain with the money they would spent in two weeks in their countries.

 

[indie]

And besides, Mars bar here costs 40 euro cents!

 

[icey]

Anyone have any more shopping tips for Helsinki ?

 

[Ella]

More shops and bars in Helsinki...I can't believe nobody mentioned the Comme shop, especially cos most of the other shops are either for lawyers or the Russian nouveau riche...

-Comme des Garcons Guerilla Store in Kruunuvuorenkatu 1, Katajanokka. Beautiful area, beautiful clothes, beautiful shop, open for another year!!!who said that Finns didn't buy avant garde fashion?

- Lux on Uudenmaankatu sells interesting young designers like Peter Jensen, Bernhard Willhelm and Henrik Vibskov + some Finnish labels

-Beamhill has the best of streetwear from Umbro by Kim Jones and Levi's Vintage to Red Ear Paul Smith and Acne Jeans

-Nina's on Uudenmaankatu has a selection of shoes by Marc Jacobs, barbara Bui and Marni

-Gaudete on Fredrikinkatu is stocking Burberry Prorsum, Hugo, Bruuns Bazaar, Earl Jeans...

-Kaarina K nowadays sells Dolce&Gabbana, John Galliano, Lagerfeld Gallery and Chloe

-D'Anna on Fredrikinkatu has Missoni, Cavalli, Ferre, Antonio Marras, Sergio Rossi...

- Nicolas on Ferdrikinkatu (D'Anna's menswear shop)=Dolce&Gabbana, Neil Barrett,Antonio Marras, Ferre, Armani, Gaultier...

- Seven on Eerikinkatu (Mixed) has DSquared2, Hugo, Calvin Klein Collection and D&G

- Enele on Kluuvikatu has a conservative stuff like Anna Molinari, Celine, Ralph Lauren and Donna Karan

There's also the usual Boss and Max Mara stores, but who cares...

The fashion kids tend to hang out in following bars:
Bar Number 9, Åbo and Oujee, all on Uudenmaankatu
Rosegarden & We Got Beef, both on IsoRoobertinkatu
Eottaja in the corner of Erottajankatu and Ludwiginkatu

All of there bars are relaxed and mixed places, not glitzy fashionista hangouts...

Good list, I'd also like to add (although it might belong it the "Second Hand Shopping in Helsinki" thread) that the UFF on Roba is good for vintage shopping. Oh and I don't think Kaarina K sells Chloé anymore, at least I haven't seen anything by Chloé there for ages.

 

[tuomas]

Yep, Kaarina K skipped Chloé. They're selection's really bad these days...Luckily there's more news for the ones with less glitzy taste:

- Martin Margiela 10 at Seven
- Fred Perry blank canvas by Siv Stoldal, Eley Kishimoto (from Jan on) and
Finsk shoes at Lux
- AF Vandervorst accessories at 2+OR (Eerikinkatu), they'll get the clothes
in January plus Tsumori Chisato