Helsinki Christmas Market 2026: Dates & Location

The Helsinki Christmas Market runs from Friday 27 November to Tuesday 22 December 2026 on Senate Square (Senaatintori), in front of Helsinki Cathedral. Its organiser, Helsinki Events Foundation, opens the stalls from 11:00 to 19:00 Sunday to Thursday and from 11:00 to 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and entry is free.

When is the Helsinki Christmas Market in 2026?

The Helsinki Christmas Market (Tuomaan markkinat) is open from 27 November to 22 December 2026, according to the market’s own website. The organiser has published the dates and the opening hours, and it will announce the 2026 vendors and programme later. The key dates and hours are listed below.

The last confirmed edition ran from 28 November to 22 December 2025 with the same hours, so the 2026 market opens a day earlier in the calendar and closes on the same date. The market always ends on 22 December because of its name: Tuomaan markkinat means St Thomas’ Market, and St Thomas’ Day, 21 December, was traditionally the day Finns began celebrating Christmas, according to MyHelsinki, the city’s tourism site.

Where is the Helsinki Christmas Market?

The Helsinki Christmas Market is on Senate Square in the centre of Helsinki, below the steps of the white Helsinki Cathedral. The cathedral was designed by Carl Ludwig Engel and completed in 1852, according to Visit Finland. The market has run since 1994, first in Esplanadi Park and later on Senate Square, and the organiser calls it the oldest outdoor Christmas market in Helsinki.

The square is cobbled and slopes down towards the cathedral, so MyHelsinki advises sturdy shoes and extra time with a pushchair or wheelchair. The heart of the market is a vintage carousel with wooden horses, which children ride free of charge.

How big is the Helsinki Christmas Market?

The Helsinki Christmas Market has more than 100 stalls, according to Visit Finland and MyHelsinki. In 2024 the organiser counted nearly 100 artisans and small producers from across Finland plus more than 20 deli, café and restaurant vendors, and more than 600,000 visitors in just over three weeks, a record for the market.

What food and drink can you try at the Helsinki Christmas Market?

The Helsinki Christmas Market serves Finnish Christmas food in two heated areas, the Restaurant Yard and the Deli Yard, where covered shelters keep you out of the wind. Rice porridge and glögi are the classic order: rice porridge was the market’s top-selling dish in 2024, with around 55,000 portions eaten. Listed below are the dishes and drinks the organiser named for the 2025 market.

• Christmas rice porridge. Christmas rice porridge is served in several spiced variations from different food stalls.
• Glögi. Glögi is the Nordic spiced mulled drink, sold alongside mulled wines and glühwein in various flavours.
• Lörtsy. Lörtsy are handmade Finnish fried pastries, folded over a meat or apple filling.
• Fish and game dishes. Fish and game dishes are on the menu at several of the restaurant stalls.
• Street food. Street food, such as khachapuri, Korean corn dogs, bubble waffles and croffles, sits next to the traditional dishes.
• Spruce shoot and chaga lattes. Spruce shoot and chaga lattes are the market’s more unusual hot drinks.

Nearly 30 restaurants and cafés traded at the 2025 market, with organic, local, vegetarian and vegan options, and many portions are sold for takeaway.

What can you buy at the Helsinki Christmas Market?

The Helsinki Christmas Market sells gifts made by the craftspeople who stand behind the stalls, with less mass-produced decoration than most European markets. The organiser builds the market around sustainable gifts and reserves some stalls for weekly rotating sellers. Listed below are the typical buys.

• Wool socks and hats. Wool socks and hats are the classic Finnish handmade gift, according to MyHelsinki.
• Jewellery. Jewellery ranks among the market’s top-selling gifts, according to the organiser’s 2024 report.
• Food gifts. Food gifts, such as fish products, chocolate, handmade sweets and bottled mulled wine, sold strongly in 2024.
• Natural cosmetics. Natural cosmetics and Finnish designer fragrances come from small makers.
• Handmade crafts. Handmade crafts come straight from the makers, and in 2024 vendors demonstrated glass blowing, chestnut roasting and forging at their stalls.

What happens at the Helsinki Christmas Market?

The Helsinki Christmas Market runs a weekly programme of Christmas music, Santa Claus visits and two traditional processions. The 2026 programme is not yet published, and the events below follow the pattern of the 2025 market.

1. Opening evening. The Mayor of Helsinki opens the market on the first day and switches on the Christmas tree lights; in 2025 the lights came on at 18:00.
2. Santa Claus. Santa Claus visits the market several times a week.
3. Independence Day, 6 December. The students’ Torchlight Procession ends on Senate Square on Finland’s Independence Day.
4. Lucia Day, 13 December. The Lucia procession leaves from the square, and the newly crowned St Lucia descends the cathedral steps, according to Visit Finland.
5. Live music. Choirs, a cappella groups, brass ensembles and jazz DJs play through the season.

What other Christmas markets are there in Helsinki?

Helsinki has 3 more Christmas markets with published 2026 dates, according to MyHelsinki’s events listings. Each one is free to enter and has its own character, and they are listed below by length of season.

1. Manta’s Christmas Market (Mantan joulutori). Manta’s Christmas Market runs from 4 December 2026 to 6 January 2027 on Havis Amanda Square, next to the Market Square, and it is the only one of the four still open after Christmas.
2. Vanhan Joulutori. Vanhan Joulutori runs from 15 to 22 December 2026 indoors on two floors of the Old Student House at Mannerheimintie 3, with ceramics, jewellery, graphic art and design.
3. Teurastamo Christmas Market. Teurastamo Christmas Market runs on 19 and 20 December 2026 at Teurastamo, Työpajankatu 2, a former 1933 abattoir that is now a food and culture venue.

Aleksanterinkatu, the shopping street that runs past the top of Senate Square, has been Helsinki’s official Christmas Street since 1949, and its lights stay on from late November into January.

How do you get to the Helsinki Christmas Market?

You reach the Helsinki Christmas Market on foot or by tram, because Senate Square is in the city centre. The routes into Helsinki and to the square are listed below.

1. By air. Helsinki Airport is 19 km (11.8 mi) north of the centre, and the I and P trains of the Ring Rail Line run from a station under the terminal to Helsinki Central in about 30 minutes.
2. On foot from the station. Senate Square is less than a 10-minute walk from Helsinki Central Station, according to MyHelsinki.
3. By tram. Several tram lines stop on Aleksanterinkatu, right next to the square.
4. By ferry from Tallinn. Ferries cross between Tallinn and Helsinki in about 2 hours on the fastest services.

Flights to Finland rise steeply in December, so compare flights to Helsinki on Trip.com as soon as your dates are fixed.

Can you combine Helsinki with the Tallinn Christmas Market?

You can combine Helsinki with the Tallinn Christmas Market by ferry, because the two capitals are about 2 hours apart across the Gulf of Finland. Tallinn’s market on Town Hall Square runs from 20 November 2026 to 6 January 2027, so it overlaps the whole Helsinki season. Read our guide to the Tallinn Christmas Market for its dates and food, and our Riga Christmas Market guide if you are continuing south through the Baltics. Check sailing times and fares for the crossing on Direct Ferries.

Where to stay near the Helsinki Christmas Market?

The most convenient base is the city centre around Senate Square and the Esplanadi, which puts the market, Aleksanterinkatu and Manta’s Christmas Market on Havis Amanda Square within a few minutes’ walk. The area around Helsinki Central Station is a short walk further and suits an early airport train.

Hotel prices and availability for the market weeks are easiest to check side by side, so compare hotels in Helsinki on Booking.com for your dates.

Tours to book during the Helsinki Christmas season

A ferry day trip to Tallinn and a winter visit to the Suomenlinna sea fortress are the two outings most visitors add to a Helsinki Christmas market break. The tours below update live with current prices and availability.

For the rest of the country, from Lapland to the Lakeland, see our Finland travel guide.

Helsinki Christmas Market FAQ

Does Helsinki have good Christmas markets?

Yes, Helsinki has good Christmas markets, led by the Helsinki Christmas Market on Senate Square, which CNN Travel included in its lists of the world’s top Christmas markets in 2023 and 2024, according to MyHelsinki. It focuses on Finnish handicraft, design and local food rather than mass-produced decorations.

What are the Helsinki Christmas Market dates for 2026?

The Helsinki Christmas Market dates for 2026 are 27 November to 22 December. It is open 11:00 to 19:00 Sunday to Thursday and 11:00 to 20:00 on Fridays and Saturdays.

Is the Helsinki Christmas Market free?

Yes, the Helsinki Christmas Market is free to enter, and its carousel is free to ride. You pay only for what you eat, drink or buy.

Is the Helsinki Christmas Market open after Christmas?

No, the Helsinki Christmas Market closes on 22 December 2026. Manta’s Christmas Market on Havis Amanda Square stays open until 6 January 2027, and the Aleksanterinkatu Christmas lights stay on into January.

What is the weather like in Helsinki in December?

Helsinki in December is usually around freezing, often damp or windy, and the sun sets at around 15:15 in mid-December, according to MyHelsinki. Dress in layers with a warm hat, gloves and waterproof shoes.

What are the best Christmas markets in Finland in 2026?

The Christmas markets in Finland most visitors plan around are the Helsinki Christmas Market on Senate Square, the markets of Turku, Tampere and Porvoo, and Santa Claus Village in Rovaniemi, which Visit Finland describes as one giant, year-round Christmas market.

WonderfulWanderings Pro Tips

The 4 tips below come from the organiser’s published dates and hours and from MyHelsinki’s 2026 listings, and each one changes when or how you go.

1. Arrive by mid-afternoon on weekdays. The stalls close at 19:00 Sunday to Thursday and the sun sets at around 15:15 in mid-December, so arriving around 15:00 gives you both the daylight square and the lit market before closing.
2. Plan around 6 and 13 December. The Independence Day Torchlight Procession ends on Senate Square on 6 December, and the Lucia procession leaves from it on 13 December, both of which fill the square.
3. Use Manta’s market if you arrive after 22 December. The Senate Square market closes on 22 December 2026, but Manta’s Christmas Market on Havis Amanda Square runs until 6 January 2027.
4. Catch Vanhan Joulutori in the final week. The indoor design market at the Old Student House on Mannerheimintie runs only from 15 to 22 December 2026, so a visit in the last week before Christmas covers both markets under cover from the cold.

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About the author. This guide is written and maintained by the Wonderful Wanderings editorial team. Wonderful Wanderings was founded in 2012 by Sofie Couwenbergh, and the team covers Helsinki and the rest of Finland for independent travellers, including the Christmas markets, hotels, ferries and tours worth booking, and updates this page when dates, hours and prices change.