Turku: Finland's oldest city and the archipelago

Why go

Turku feels relaxed and historic. For centuries it was the centre of Finland under Swedish rule, and it still has a strong Swedish speaking heritage. The Aura river runs through the heart of the city, and in summer its banks fill with people walking, eating and sitting by the water. Beyond the city, tens of thousands of islands and skerries stretch west towards Sweden, linked by bridges and small ferries.

Top things to do

**Turku Castle**, founded around the thirteenth century at the mouth of the river, is one of the largest medieval buildings in Finland, with banquet halls, dungeons and exhibitions about life under the Swedish crown. **Turku Cathedral**, the national shrine of the Lutheran church, has stood in various forms since the thirteenth century. Under a modern museum sits **Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova**, where you walk through excavated medieval streets before seeing contemporary art.

The **Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum** is the only area of old wooden houses to survive the great fire of 1827, with craftspeople demonstrating traditional skills in summer. The **Turku Market Hall** is a fine old covered market, and the riverside **Föri**, a small free ferry, has carried people across the Aura for over a century. **Forum Marinum** displays ships, including museum vessels moored on the river.

The archipelago

The **Archipelago Trail** is a ring route of roads, bridges and ferries through the islands south and west of Turku, around a couple of hundred kilometres long. You can drive it, cycle it or travel parts by bus and ferry, stopping in villages such as **Nagu** (Nauvo) and **Korpo** (Korppoo). Summer is the season, when guesthouses, cafés and boat services run fully. **Ruissalo** island, on the edge of the city, offers oak forest, beaches and the summer rock festival.

Naantali

**Naantali**, about twenty minutes away, is a pretty seaside town of wooden houses and a convent church. It is home to **Moomin World**, a summer theme park on its own island inspired by Tove Jansson's Moomin stories, much loved by younger children. The president's summer residence, Kultaranta, has gardens open for guided visits in summer.

Food and drink

Eat along the river, at the Market Hall, or in restaurants in the old town area. Look for archipelago bread, a dark sweet rye loaf, smoked fish and Baltic herring. The river has several restaurant boats, and the city has a good café culture.

Getting there and around

Trains and buses connect Turku with Helsinki in about two hours. Large overnight and day ferries sail from Turku to Stockholm through the islands, calling at the Åland Islands, a beautiful crossing in itself. In the city, walk or use buses and city bikes.

Where to stay

Stay in the centre near the river and the Market Square for easy walking. In summer, guesthouses and cottages in the archipelago and Naantali are lovely, but book ahead.

Good to know

Turku comes alive in summer, with river festivals, the Ruisrock festival on Ruissalo in July and long light evenings on the terraces. In winter the city is quieter but cosy, and it calls itself Finland's Christmas City, with the official Declaration of Christmas Peace read from the Old Great Square every Christmas Eve, a tradition dating back centuries. Many archipelago guesthouses and cafés close from autumn to late spring, so check before planning an island trip outside summer. Swedish is widely spoken here and in the islands, and many place names have both Finnish and Swedish forms.

Plan your Turku days

Find cafés and sights in the places to visit list, and use the free trip planner to link Turku with Helsinki and Tampere.