Arkadia International Bookshop

Why locals love it

It’s a cafe in a bookshop that’s also an intimate concert theatre, a cultural hub and a community house. Basically, it’s a local institution – the kind of place Hemingway would have hung out in if he was still alive and he was Finnish.

Local Katariina recommends in Helsinki: Arkadia International Bookshop.

Things to do in Helsinki: Arkadia International Bookshop.

One of 360 things to do in Helsinki: Arkadia International Bookshop. Photo by Emilia V..

Local Katariina recommends in Helsinki: Arkadia International Bookshop. Photo by Emilia V..

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Why you should visit it

Curl up here for hours, reading your way through the whole collection or having literary discussions with the natives. Just lovely.

Special tip

The owner Ian has an incredible memory and remembers all the customers, so visit this place many times!

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3 Comments

Truly the best bookshop in the city - nay, the country! - but also so much more. From Arkadia you can find a wide array of used books in various languages (English, French, German, Spanish... the list goes on) on various topics, and for reasonable prices. It's also a cultural venue with almost daily events, and a friendly place where everyone is welcome to have a cup of coffee, read, play chess or a round of pool, or just hang out. An extraordinary atmosphere, an extraordinary place.