Home / Experience / Lappeenranta city centre

Lappeenranta city centre

The small size of the Lappeenranta city centre, affectionally known as the City, makes it easy to reach the shops, cafeterias and restaurants, simply by walking along the streets.
The charming city centre combines the old with the new, wood with steel, lindens, parks and stone paving. The Lappee Church of St Mary is nestled in Maria Square, right in the heart of the City. The museums and monuments in the city lure visitors to travel back in time through the town's history.


Underground garages offer ample parking in the city centre.

Experience these

Shopping

Lappeenranta is a tourist and shopping city. The city’s retail surface area equals that of a city double its size. In addition to the ground floor shops and boutiques in the city centre, the largest shopping centres are IsoKristiina and Galleria, which are right next door.  
The Leiri and Myllymäki market areas are located on the outskirts of the city centre. Leiri hosts the hypermarket Prisma and other shops with everyday consumer goods, as well as a flea market. In Myllymäki, you will find furniture, construction and renovation equipment, clothes, gardening products, car spare parts and accessories and much more.

Restaurants in the city centre

Many of the restaurants in the city offer good lunch: At the Kauppakatu block, comprised of wooden buildings, you can find Restaurant Wolkoff and in the Market Square Aleksandra Café and My Bakery Cafe, that boasts an excellent brunch. The city’s ethnic restaurants include Dharahara and Viet Bao. At the food court in the IsoKristiina shopping centre, you will find a wide array of options to choose from – Chinese, sushi, pizza, sandwiches, and much more. In the Kauppakatu street you will find e.g. Angus Steak and Wine.

Theatre in the shopping centre

Lappeenranta City Theatre is located in the city centre, on the top floor of the IsoKristiina shopping centre. Performances have returned to their roots, to the marketplaces and to where the people are. You can find all kinds of services under one roof, including a hotel.

Cinemas

 The new cinemas belong to the Finnkino cinema chain and are located in the IsoKristiina shopping centre. 

See you at the market!

Lappeenranta residents enjoy a nice cup of coffee at the square and they may even speak to strangers. If you are not afraid of this very un-Finnish trait, you should definitely visit the Market Square! In addition to fresh, local produce sold at the market, local delicacies such as vety (“hydrogen”) and atomi (“atom”) pies are sold at the market: in them, traditional Finnish meat pies are filled with boiled eggs and/or ham and condiments. The vety and atomi pies are sold at small market cafeteria stalls, located on the side of Oksasenkatu Street, along with other savoury and sweet treats and coffee. And, of course, there is Market Hall next to Market Square.
In the summer, the area expands all the way to Harbour Square. The market cafeteria, SatamaSanni, offers the same delicacies at the Harbour Square.

Harbour Square

An essential part of summer in Lappeenranta is busy Harbour Square (Satamatori) with its alluring atmosphere; here, the hustle and bustle starts in the early hours of the day. Snacks (such as the vety and atomi pies) or sweet treats are available at the coffee kiosks, in the Square. Near Harbour Square, you will find a couple of restaurant ships anchored, and among them is the legendary Prinsessa Armaada.
The idyllic Kasino Restaurant in the City Bay (Kaupunginlahti Bay) or the Wanha Makasiini restaurant that is located farther towards the point of the Linnoitusniemi Peninsula, offer local delicacies.