The Finns are known for their steady diet of fish, thanks to the nearly 200,000 lakes across the Nordic country.

But there is much more to Finland's cuisine than smoked herring and salt-crusted pike.

There is the fantastically named Arctic cloudberry and the popular lingonberry, along with strawberries so red and sweet they put Australia's often tasteless supply to shame.

To learn more about the Finnish diet, I join Helsinki tour guide Ulla-Maija Rouhiainen, who shows me around the harbour city's markets.

We begin in the district traditionally home to Helsinki's working class, at the 100-year-old Hakaniemi Market Hall (Hakaniemen Kauppahalli) in Kallio.

The area ("across the bridge," Ulla says) has become a trendy enclave over the past five or so years, with low rent luring artists, young people and the gay community, and resulting in the opening of hip bars and restaurants.

As a result, Hakaniemi Market Hall has become more fashionable too.

This is where locals buy groceries and where the odd tourist may stumble upon lunch, after crossing Pitkasilta bridge. If you're staying in Helsinki for a week or more and have accommodation with a kitchen, this is where you should come to stock your pantry.

There are about 70 stalls here, and many stock organic herbs (dill is a staple) and vegetables, including numerous varieties of potatoes. There are also delis with rows of cured poro (reindeer) and hevonen (horse) meat.

I visit in early summer (June-Aug), and, as a result, sausages are popular for outdoor barbecuing.

Sausages, I'm told, are also a common snack after nightly saunas, and although they are still consumed in winter, they've been preserved.

Smoking meat is a Finnish tradition, explains Ulla, and some Finns will even use their personal saunas for smoking ham.

Other meat on display inside the hall is New Zealand lamb, sold in tenderloin strips, as well as whole rabbit.

During winter, the majority of stalls will be manned by fishmongers, with very little fruit and veg available.

During my summer visit, there is still a handful of seafood sellers, with silakkapihvit (smoked herring) and muikken (a sardine-type fish) common.

Lying next to them is domestic white fish, rainbow trout and pike perch, as well as salmon from Norway.

It doesn't take long before I come across another staple – mini pies called karjalanpii-rakka. These pies (sans lids) always contain the same fillings – rice, reindeer meat or purple lingonberry jam. They're mainly eaten as snacks after school, work or a sauna.

The sweet and sour lingonberry is my pick and the berries are a good source of vitamin C, says Ulla.

Lingonberries are popular here. The small, red fruit is similar to a cranberry in appearance, and is served as an accompaniment to venison (one of Finland's national dishes) and is also used in juice.

The high acidity in these berries, as well as in the yellow Arctic cloudberry, means they last through winter in a home pantry – without preservatives.

We leave the aromas of the food hall behind, and head upstairs to the quieter clothing and crafts area.

One woman has been selling old-fashioned woollen underwear here for 40 years.

Other locals cater for children, with boxes of stickers and trinkets. Some sell jewellery, others gift cards, juniper wood kitchen utensils, candles and even handbags crafted from recycled material.

Design enthusiasts will go weak at the knees at the relatively large selection of Marimekko goods. For the uninitiated, Marimekko is a famous Finnish design brand, known for its bright and bold prints, and for being worn on the campaign trail by Jackie Kennedy in the 1960s.

Back outside, more stalls fill a market square bathed in sunlight.

Although it's Saturday, the place is quiet. Tables are lined mostly with strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. The pavement is marked with bags of potted flowers, such as orange marigolds.

Ulla picks up a bunch of birch branches, turning them over in her hands. She purchases the bouquet 5 euros ($A7.50) as a present for her sister, extolling the tree's medicinal value when used as a thwacking tool in saunas.

Birch has natural sugars, she tells me, and antibacterial properties that are beneficial for the skin.

We walk and talk, and I learn that Ulla has been a Helsinki guide for six years. During that time, she has noticed an increase in the number of Australian visitors to the city.

They're often travelling to other parts of Europe or onto St Petersburg and include a stopover in Helsinki.

We leave Kallio and head to Market Square on Helsinki's waterfront.

This is the most obvious market for tourists to find, and is off Pohjoisesplanadi – one of the main thoroughfares. It's also where many day cruises depart from and is a short walk from where large international cruisers dock.

As a result, stallholders overwhelmingly cater to travellers.

You'll still find tables piled with berries, green beans and radishes, but many others are covered in souvenirs, such as reindeer skins, ornaments crafted from reindeer antlers and fridge magnets in the shape of reindeer heads (there's a clear theme).

Other items for sale include glass cheeseboards, beanies and artwork.

Most of the products are made in Finland, explains Ulla, with a concerted effort to keep imported goods out of the marketplace.

My final stop for the morning is at Helsinki's Old Market Hall, a short walk around the harbour.

The hall is a long merchant-style building that was constructed in 1889 and reopened in June, after two years of renovation.

It's more sophisticated than Hakaniemi Market Hall, with stalls set up in wooden alcoves.

Again, it's mostly food, but here you can stop for soup or a bakery treat in the small cafes.

It's a pretty place, and I'm tempted by the large meringues for sale on benchtops. But it's Market Square I return to for lunch.

Here, among the hustle and noise of locals and tourists, I dine on grilled white fish and "new" potatoes (as Finns call the first harvest) with a decent dollop of dill aioli.

It's a great place from which to people-watch and a quintessential market experience.

IF YOU GO:

GETTING THERE: Finnair flies from Australia to Helsinki, with connections with Oneworld partners through cities including Hong Kong and Singapore. For flights and fares, visit finnair.com/au.

STAYING THERE: To get a taste of how locals live, consider booking a room with airbnb.com.au. The site has local hosts in 190 countries, with a variety of room types and interesting accommodation, which is often cheaper than staying in a hotel.

PLAYING THERE: Hakaniemi Market Hall is open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm and Sat 8am-4pm. Central Market Square is open Mon-Fri 6.30am-6pm, Sat 6.30am-4pm, and, between May-Sept, also Sun 10am-5pm. Old Market Hall is open Mon-Fri 8am-6pm and Sat 8am-4pm.

Helsinki's city centre is easy to navigate on foot, but if you're staying outside the main hub, grab a public transport day ticket, which can be valid from one day up to seven days. Pricing is based on zones but starts from eight euros for a one-day adult ticket, which can be bought at kiosks and information centres around the city, including at the airport.For more on what to do in Helsinki, go to visithelsinki.fi/en and visitfinland.com.* The writer was a guest of Finnair, Visit Finland, Visit Helsinki and Airbnb.