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Turku

Country:
Finland
State:
Lansi-Suomen Laani
City:
Turku
Type of Location:
Multiple
About Location

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Places to Visit
How to Reach

By plane

Turku Airport (IATA: TKU) is located 8 km north of the city. There are domestic flights from Helsinki, Mariehamn, Oulu, and Tampere. International scheduled flights from Budapest, Warsaw, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Riga, Tallinn and Gdansk. Bus line 1 (€2.50) connects the airport to Kauppatori and the port.

By train

  offers direct day connections from Helsinki (2h), Tampere (1:40), Pieksämäki, and Kuopio. There is also overnight car train to Rovaniemi. The railway station is in the northern part of the city center. Note that some trains continue onwards to the Port of Turku (Turun satama), which is quite handy if connecting to a ferry.

By boat

The Port of Turku  is next to Turku Castle and is easily accessible on bus line 1 from the Market Square (Kauppatori). The port also has its own railway station, and some trains depart at the port.

The two biggest ferry lines are Viking Line  and Silja Line . Each one has a morning and an evening departure from Stockholm, Sweden, with a brief stop at the Åland Islands. For a scenic view, a morning departure is advisable. Evening departures provide adequate night club activities on board if you want to cut loose before arriving in Turku.

By car

Turku is well connected by road. Route E18 leads west from Helsinki (2 hours). Route E63 leads south-west from Tampere (2:15), while E8 heads south from Pori .
 

Key places to visit
Turku Castle, Turku Cathedral, Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova, Waina Aaltonen Museum of Art, Sibelius Museum, Kuralan kylamaki

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Places to Visit

Turku Castle

   At the south tip of the city, near the ferry terminals. A must for everyone visiting the city and is one of the country's most popular tourist attractions. This old castle dates from the 1280s, and has been carefully renovated. There is always some exhibition in the castle premises. Highlights include the two dungeons and magnificent banquet halls, and a historical museum of medieval Turku in a maze of restored rooms in the castle's old bailey. Tours of the stronghold are given hourly in English. They give a good account of the castle's history. €7, optional guided tour €2.
 

Turku Cathedral
 
 Towers over the river and the town and is one of Finland's most important Cathedrals. Tours run 9AM-7PM during mid September to mid April and 9AM to 8PM mid April to mid September. Free

Aboa Vetus & Ars Nova
 
 This museum is actually two museums: Aboa Vetus tells about the history of Turku, and Ars Nova is a museum of modern art. Aboa Vetus is based on ancient remainings of old buildings and the Aboa Vetus exhibition is located there.  
 

Waina Aaltonen Museum of Art
 
  An art museum named after Finnish artist and sculptor Wäinö Aaltonen (1896-1966), whose statues of famous Finns and various nationalist themes can be found throughout Finland. Perhaps the best-known is the classical Greek-style statue of "Flying Finn" and nine-time Olympic gold medalist Paavo Nurmi. Five copies of the statue exist, one in the museum, and the statue's best known exploit was when students from the Helsinki U. of Tech. snuck one onto the wreck of the 17th-century Swedish warship Vasa just days before it was salvaged. The museum also hosts changing exhibitions of other artists. 7€.
 

Sibelius Museum

    Located only 150 meters from the Turku cathedral is a low modern concrete building, housing an interesting collection of musical instruments as well as displays of Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, the man and his music. On display are more than 1400 musical instruments and music art from all around the globe. These include instruments hundreds of years old, such as lutes and early viols; harpsichords, clavichords and early pianos; and downstairs, many organs. Additionally, a room is reserved for Sibelius´s life and work. During the autumn, winter, and spring seasons the museum hosts chamber music concerts on Wednesday evenings. The collections available at the Sibelius museum are of interest to both experts and ordinary music lovers. The museum was founded in 1926 by Otto Andersson, the first Professor of Musicology and Folklore at Åbo Akademi University.
 

Kuralan kylamaki
 
 Dubbed a "Village of Living History", here you can see newborn lambs and chicken (depends on time of year), as well as a genuine Finnish farm from the 1950s. Very close to the city center but yet you feel like you are in the country side.
 

Right Time to Visit

April - September

Temperature

Information not available


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