Finland's offbeat third city — with 40,000 islands in its backyard

Times

a day ago

Let's get one thing out of the way: you're not here for gob-smacking architecture. Despite Turku's claim to being Finland's oldest city — it was first documented in 1229 and until the early 1800s was the country's capital — a fire in 1827 means all that's left of its medieval core is a cobblestone street, the castle and the cathedral. With a few exceptions, Turku is a homage to the concrete low-rises of the 1960s and 1970s.
Do not let that put you off visiting this city on Finland's southwest coast. In summer its creativity blooms in 18 hours of dazzling natural light each day and the Aura River's bar boats and banksides become somewhere to kick back. Rents are cheaper than Helsinki — 100 miles east and the nearest international airport – so offbeat chefs come here to whizz up seafood dishes and there are lots of artists' studios, most with an open-door policy. Gallons of the terrifying gin and grapefruit concoction known as Long Drink will loosen your tongue, helping you to roll your r's and (eventually) learn to pronounce 'Turrrrrrku' correctly.
It all combines for an easy urban stay ahead of a bigger trip to some of the 40,000 rural islands that make up one of the world's biggest archipelagos, stretching west into the Baltic Sea.
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• Morning: Forum Marinum (Maritime Centre)• Lunch at: Turku Market Hall• Afternoon: Walking tour with Magni Mundi• Drink at: Walo Rooftop Bar• Evening: Lana electric boat ride• Dinner: Smor
• Morning: Turku Castle• Lunch at: Café Eino• Afternoon: Villa Jarvela• Drink at: Café Qwensel• Dinner: MS Rudolfina boat buffet• Drink at: Panimoravintola Koulu or Rica
• As the Aura River and the Baltic have shaped this city it's wise to indulge your inner maritime nerd early. The Forum Marinum (Maritime Centre) is a walk through the city's ship-building history. Skip the big exhibition halls and get outdoors onto one of the five restored vessels on display. Our favourite is Sigyn, a classically pretty wooden barque trading ship — the last in the world — dating from the late 1880s (£19; forum-marinum.fi). • A guided tour with a local professional such as Pirita Seppala will reveal secrets of Turku's most obvious sites, including the cathedral (there are model boats hanging from the rafters) and the rebuilt medieval Old Great Square. But it also ensures you don't overlook the less conspicuous offerings, such as the open studios at Art House Turku in the former Rettig tobacco factory (tours from £13pp; magnimundi.fi).• Ahoy there, electric shipmates! Lana's eco-friendly boats are a great way to get out on the river, quietly. Available to hire by the hour, they're straightforward to navigate and can carry up to eight passengers up and down the Aura while hardly making a sound. Order a picnic or grab drinks from Lana's café on the riverside to take on board. Just don't Long Drink and drive (from £55; lanaturku.fi).• It doesn't look promising but Turku's dumpy granite castle provides an informative trot around 700 years of regional tension between Finland and Sweden, Russia and Denmark. The warren of 164 rooms connected by narrow corridors and staircases is like an Escher painting — once inside expect to lose at least an hour (£14; turunlinna.fi).• A 20-minute drive or cab gets you to the saunas and hot tubs of Villa Jarvela on the shores of Littoistenjarvi lake in the east of the city. This is a BYO flipflops and towels affair, but the views of the lake are delightful and really this is what you come to Finland for. There are kayaks and rowing boats for hire but hours can pass chatting to Turkuans while taking a dip (£11; jarvela.fi).• The buffet on board the 7pm dinner sailing of the MS Rudolfina feels like supper at your nan's circa 1983: loads of meatballs, lashings of potatoes and for reasons unknown, gherkins. The slap-up dining goes nicely with the warm service and the charming boat ride, a three-and-a-half-hour trip to Naantali, a pretty village resort in the archipelago with astonishing sunset views (£43pp; rudolfina.fi).
This food court has more than 30 stalls in a beautiful Victorian building, with everything from piispis (western Finland's podgy iced buns filled with strawberry jam) from MBakeryn kahvila (£4) to sautéed reindeer from Poronlihan Erikoisliike (£11; porokauppa.fi). The fishmonger and bistro Herkkunuotta, set up 19 years ago by the husband and wife team Johan and Taina Hellsten, is the countertop spot for lunch. The ever-changing menu here could include pike-perch in a crust served on mash with a creamy crayfish broth or Norwegian smoked salmon salad (mains from £11; herkkunuotta.fi).
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Priding itself on being the original of the two rooftop bars in town, Walo has a suntrap terrace above a lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows and a fun list of cocktails including the bourbon-based Out of Office. Plus it's open until 4am on Friday and Saturday nights (drinks from £8; raflaamo.fi).
This riverside restaurant, under the direction of the head chef Aleksi Lukka, made made the Michelin guide this year, and with good reason. The discreet entrance leads down to a pared-back cellar cellar dining room. Once inside, dishes are seasonal and precisely presented; the orange colours of the whitefish roe in the starter get a callback in the peach ice cream of the dessert. In between there's sole, peas and Finland's signature tiny, waxy summer potatoes (three-course tasting menu £63; smor.fi).
There aren't many truly budget places to eat in Turku, but Café Eino in the Market Square is one of them. Inside a flower-fringed tent (open even on snowy winter days) there's a selection of sandwiches and rolls made with local cheeses, siikatartar (bread with whitefish) and gluten-free options (from £5; cafeeino.fi).
Brits will feel at home in Turku, a city that seems to insist on a proper afternoon brew, made in a proper teapot. This café, inside an 18th-century red wooden building that was once the city's pharmacy, does it the best, with stacks of vintage china. The traditional Brita cake, made with whipped cream, berries and meringue is big enough to be shared by two (cakes £6; cafeqwensel.fi).
Round the evening off at Rica, a pub that covers all the classics and has house cocktails, such as the Tatanka (vodka, apple and cinnamon), that are actually drinkable (cocktails from £9; ricabar.fi). Beer fans should head to Panimoravintola Koulu, a brewery in an old schoolhouse with a lovely garden, a two-minute walk away. Order a Maisteri (Master of Arts) — it looks and tastes like a pint of mild (beers from £8; panimoravintolakoulu.fi).
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Modern central hotel with parkingVelvet chairs, squidgy headboards and brass lamps — the rooms at this hotel are modern and comfortable after a big refurb of the Victorian building in 2021. The hotel's key attractions are threefold: its location near the Market Square, parking underneath the building and air conditioning in the rooms — not something Finns do as standard. Bors Katto, the rooftop bar is open late too (B&B doubles from £103; scandichotels.com).
Former prison in a cool districtAvoid room 129, which has been left as a prison cell, complete with its original stainless steel loo for show — but happily the other bedrooms in this west of the city stay are more practical chic than criminal. Family rooms for four have bunk beds for kids while suites have Ekornes chairs and marble-style bathrooms. Rubens restaurant, where breakfast is served, was once the prison canteen. The only downside is there's a £22 fee to use the spa (B&B doubles from £119; hotelkakola.fi).
Great if you're going it aloneTurku isn't blessed with boutique hotels, but this is the closest thing the city has to a bijou bolt hole. There's a dash of mid-century modern with black lampshades and colourful big rugs in the 140 rooms. Eight categories means everyone is catered for, with dedicated rooms for solos and top-price suites with private in-room saunas — although there is also a small spa for general use with a sauna and cold shower too (B&B doubles from £146; sokoshotels.fi).
Fly to Helsinki, 100 miles east of Turku, then either hire a car for the easy two-hour drive or take the train; single fares from £5 (vr.fi). Once in Turku the key sights are easily walkable — it's a 30-minute riverside amble from the centre of town to the castle. Bus tickets can be purchased on an app and cost £3 (foli.fi). Finnair has flights from Heathrow and Manchester to Helsinki (finnair.com) while Ryanair flies from Stansted (ryanair.com).
Extend your stay with a self-drive island-hopping trip to the archipelago to see clock-stopped towns such as Pargas and Nauvo; five nights' B&B from £1,340pp, including flights and some extra meals (best-served.co.uk)
Laura Jackson was a guest of Visit Finland (visitfinland.com) and Visit Turku (visitturku.com)