Kauppatori, or Market Square, has been Helsinki's noisiest and most cheerful gathering spot since the 1800s. Vendors hawking fresh fish, reindeer meat and handicrafts from spring through autumn, while seagulls dive bomb unwary tourists for their pastries. Every October the square hosts the Helsinki Baltic Herring Market, a tradition stretching back to 1743, one of Finland's oldest festivals.

At the square's centre stands the Empress' Stone, a red granite obelisk topped with a bronze globe and Russia's two headed eagle. Erected in 1833 to mark Empress Alexandra's first visit, it is Helsinki's oldest public memorial.

Kauppatori also doubles as Helsinki's launchpad to the sea. The ferry to Suomenlinna, the Unesco listed fortress island, departs from the harbour beside it. VoiceMap's audio tours use the square as a crossroads, tracing routes from the Empress' Stone's imperial history to the Old Market Hall's food stalls and on to the Suomenlinna waterfront.