The flagship of Finland's largest bookstore chain, Akateeminen Kirjakauppa, is located in the center of Helsinki. It occupies several floors of the legendary Stockmann department store, built to a design by the famous Alvar Aalto and worth visiting even as an architectural attraction.
The selection of the Academic Bookstore includes almost half a million titles - from textbooks and popular science books to fiction. The section of books in English would put many bookstores in English-speaking countries to shame, and on the third floor there is a large department of guidebooks and literature about Finland in various languages of the world.
Also take note of the huge selection of art albums and design publications. In addition to books, you can buy foreign newspapers and magazines here, as well as postcards and souvenirs. Strolling leisurely from shelf to shelf, you can find many interesting things, and then have a cup of coffee in the cozy cafe.
With good planning or a bit of luck, you can catch a meeting with a writer, an exhibition, or another themed event, which are held here with enviable regularity. You can happily spend many hours in the Academic Bookstore, the main thing is not to lose track of time.
