Forum (Helsinki)

The Forum is a shopping centre in the middle of Helsinki. It's only a few hundred metres from another shopping centre, Kammpi, which also houses the bus station and a metro stop. You'd think that two large shopping centres might struggle so close together, but both seem to be thriving.

The Forum is built on several floors and has what you'd expect of a shopping centre: a lot of shops. Most of them are clothes shops, generally aiming ...
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Beneath the Forum there are tunnels that go to Stockmann (a very large and fairly famous department store) and Sokos (another big shop). This means if you're in Helsinki when its wet or cold (and it gets very, VERY cold in winter) you can do most of your shopping without ever having to set foot outside.

I'm not a huge shopper. I go to the shops when I need to buy something rather than for fun, but if you do enjoy shopping ... more

The Forum is a shopping centre in the middle of Helsinki. It's only a few hundred metres from another shopping centre, Kammpi, which also houses the bus station and a metro stop. You'd think that two large shopping centres might struggle so close together, but both seem to be thriving.

The Forum is built on several floors and has what you'd expect of a shopping centre: a lot of shops. Most of them are clothes shops, generally aiming at the teenage/early twenties market. So, like a lot of UK shopping centres in that respect. Wandering round, you'll see a few shops with familiar names. I spotted a H&M in there and the inevitable McDonalds.

There are cafes and food shops as well. I had a very nice (only slightly expensive) sandwich from the Fazer café. There is plenty of choice of what to eat, whether you want a stylish sandwich, a quick bite or a burger and chips from Hesburger (you'll see this one even more often than McDonalds!).

It's not all clothes and food. There's a wide variety of shops in here. I went there on my first weekend in Helsinki to get the apartment key copied in preparation for my boyfriend's arrival, so I know there's a cobblers and key cutters. Clothes, accessories, music and DVDs, computing goods, mobile phones... basically, if you'd expect to find a type of shop in a British mall, they'll probably have it here.

There's an information desk clearly labelled. The person behind it will be wearing a little badge with various flags on. These represent the languages this person speaks. They're almost certain to speak excellent English and, if not, they'll be able to get someone who can to help you. There are maps of the mall by the escalators and lifts, but unfortunately, these will be in Finnish. Unless you know the name of the shop you're looking for, you're probably best going to the information desk. When I was there, the person at the desk was very pleasant and helpful.

Beneath the Forum there are tunnels that go to Stockmann (a very large and fairly famous department store) and Sokos (another big shop). This means if you're in Helsinki when its wet or cold (and it gets very, VERY cold in winter) you can do most of your shopping without ever having to set foot outside.

I'm not a huge shopper. I go to the shops when I need to buy something rather than for fun, but if you do enjoy shopping then you should definitely take a look at the Forum.

There are brilliant public transport links in Helsinki and the Forum is close to several tram lines, the bus station, the railway station (where a lot of buses also stop) and a metro station. It's very easy to find: it's right in the middle of the city and it has "FORUM" written in a roof-level sign in huge letters. 

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