City centre
First-timersAround the market square and the river: transport, the cathedral, the bars and most beds.
Turku city guide
Things To Do In Turku
Finland's old capital: a medieval castle at the river mouth, a student city along the water, and the gateway to an archipelago of some twenty thousand islands.
1
Hostels in the city
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Average, from 597 reviews
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Turku Castle begun
20,000
Islands in the archipelago
1827
The fire that destroyed most of the city
The old capital, and the way into the islands
Turku was Finland's capital until 1812 and its oldest city, and it still carries the two medieval buildings that survived everything since: the castle at the river mouth and the cathedral upstream.
Almost everything between them burned in 1827, in what remains one of the largest urban fires in Nordic history, which is why the centre is nineteenth-century and laid out on a grid.
The Aura river runs through the middle and is the whole social life of the place — riverboats converted into bars, walking paths on both banks, and the city's habit of living on the water in summer.
Out west is the Archipelago Sea, roughly twenty thousand islands and skerries, and the Archipelago Ring Road threads a route through the inhabited ones by bridge and free ferry.
Two universities keep it young. One or two days, more if you go into the islands.
Where to stay
A city strung along a river, walkable end to end in half an hour.
Along the Aura
River lifeThe banks between cathedral and castle: boat bars, walking paths and the city's summer.
Port and castle
Ferries and historyWest at the river mouth: the medieval castle, the Stockholm ferries and cheaper beds.
Orange labels are neighbourhoods, dots are the 1 top-rated hostels. Map © MapTiler © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Things to do
Things to do in Turku
Turku Castle, begun in the 1280s at the river mouth, is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland and about €14. It is a genuine warren — dungeons, a Renaissance floor, halls added over four centuries — and it takes longer than people expect.
The cathedral upstream is the national shrine of the Lutheran church and free to enter.
Aboa Vetus and Ars Nova is built over an excavation of medieval streets found under the building, with a contemporary art museum on top, at about €14.
Walk the river. Both banks have paths between castle and cathedral, the converted boats along it are bars in summer, and the small Föri ferry crosses the river for free — it has run since 1904 and takes about ninety seconds.
Then go into the archipelago. Even a short hop to Ruissalo island, with its oak woods and wooden villas, gives you the idea.
Free things
Free things to do in Turku
The Föri ferry across the Aura is free, has run since 1904, and is the shortest and most charming boat trip in Finland.
The cathedral is free, and so are the riverbank paths on both sides between it and the castle.
Ruissalo island is free to walk, with oak woodland rare this far north, a beach and nineteenth-century wooden villas.
The market square, the market hall's public areas and the old wooden houses in the Port Arthur district cost nothing.
Everyman's Right applies across Finland — you may walk, swim and pick berries and mushrooms on most uncultivated land regardless of who owns it, which makes the archipelago and the forests genuinely open.
Food and drink
Eating and drinking in Turku
The weekday lunch buffet is the Finnish saving and Turku does it well — €11 to €15 between about eleven and two, often from kitchens charging double in the evening.
The market hall, open since 1896, has counters doing soup, fish and sandwiches at €8 to €14 and is the best cheap lunch in the city.
Archipelago bread — dark, sweet, malty rye — is the local thing and turns up everywhere once you notice it.
The riverboats are bars rather than restaurants, and in summer they are where the city drinks.
A beer is €6 to €8, cheaper than Helsinki, and anything above 8% comes from Alko, which closes at 9pm on weekdays and 6pm on Saturdays.
Nightlife
Going out in Turku
Student-driven and concentrated on the river. In summer the converted boats moored along the Aura become the whole nightlife of the city, and it is a genuinely distinctive way to drink.
The bars around the market square and Humalistonkatu carry the rest, and there are a couple of clubs running to three or four.
A beer is €6 to €8 and cocktails €10 to €14.
Finns buy from Alko before going out, and the state shops shut at 9pm on weekdays and 6pm on Saturdays.
Term time from September to May is when the two universities fill the place. July is warm, lovely and much quieter, since a large part of Finland is on holiday.
Getting around
Getting around Turku
Walk. The centre is small and the riverside path connects most of what you want, with castle to cathedral about half an hour on foot.
City buses are about €3, and the Föri ferry across the river is free.
Trains reach Helsinki in two hours for €15 to €30 and Tampere in about the same.
Ferries to Stockholm leave from the port and take around eleven hours, usually overnight, calling at the Åland Islands.
For the archipelago, the Ring Road is the point: a marked route through the inhabited islands using bridges and free connecting ferries, best done by bike over two or three days between May and September.
Costs
What Turku costs
Cheaper than Helsinki but still Nordic. Dorms are €25 to €40, a main €16 to €25, and a beer €6 to €8.
A day is €55 to €95.
The lunch buffet at €11 to €15, the market hall, the free Föri and Ruissalo, and Everyman's Right in the archipelago all take the edge off.
The castle at about €14 and Aboa Vetus at about €14 are the two entries worth paying.
The Ring Road is unusually cheap for what it is — the connecting ferries are free, so the cost is a bike and somewhere to sleep.
Safety
Staying safe in Turku
Turku is a safe city and crime against visitors is rare.
Winter brings ice on pavements and roof ice falling into the street, and short days — about six hours of light around the solstice.
The Aura freezes in parts and the sea ice in the archipelago varies enormously. Do not walk on it without local knowledge.
In summer the archipelago is open water with changeable weather, and anyone kayaking or taking a small boat out should check the forecast and tell someone the plan.
Ticks are present across southern Finland from spring to autumn and tick-borne encephalitis exists here, particularly in the archipelago and on Ruissalo — check yourself after walks. Emergency number is 112.
Day trips from Turku
Twenty thousand islands start at the edge of town.
Naantali
A small wooden harbour town with a medieval church, and Moomin World on the island beside it in summer.
Helsinki
The capital, easy in either direction.
What's on
What is on while you are there
A Christmas Peace declared from a balcony since the Middle Ages.
24 December
Declaration of Christmas Peace
Old Great Square
Read from a balcony at noon on Christmas Eve, a tradition dating to the Middle Ages and broadcast nationally.
July
Ruisrock
Ruissalo island
One of the oldest rock festivals in Europe, running since 1970, on an island in the archipelago.
Late June
Juhannus (midsummer)
Countrywide
Bonfires and lakeside cottages. The city empties and much of it closes.
Late June or July
Medieval Market
Old Great Square
A large medieval fair in the old square by the cathedral.
May to September
Archipelago season
The islands
When the Ring Road ferries, island guesthouses and boat traffic are all running.
Hostels
Where to stay in Turku
A modest scene at below-Helsinki prices, mostly near the centre and the river. Live from Hostelworld.
When to go
May to September, and the archipelago only really works in that window.
Jan
Cold and dark. Six hours of light and cheap beds
Feb
The coldest month. The river and shallows freeze
Mar
Cold and bright. Students in, city busy
Apr
Thaw. Grey and quiet
May
Good. Riverboats open and the archipelago season starts
Jun
Excellent. Long light and midsummer at the end
Jul
The warmest month. Finland on holiday, city quieter than you expect
Aug
Superb. Warm water and the Ring Road at its best
Sep
Good value. Term restarts and the city refills
Oct
Autumn, closing down, dark by six
Nov
Dark and grey. The hardest month
Dec
Cold. Declaration of Christmas Peace on Christmas Eve
Bar height is temperature. Colour is how busy it gets:
quiet
busy
peak
Average highs. The archipelago ferries, riverboats and island accommodation are broadly a May to September proposition — outside that window the islands go very quiet.
What your trip will cost
Pick how you travel. Per person per night, in euros.
The food line assumes the weekday lunch buffet. The Ring Road ferries are free, so an archipelago trip costs little beyond a bike and a bed.
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- Beds—
- Food and drink—
- Getting around—
- Doing things—
Turku travel questions
The ones we get asked most.
Is Turku worth a trip from Helsinki?
Yes, and it is two hours by train for €15 to €30. It is the old capital, it is cheaper, and it is the way into the Archipelago Sea — which is the real reason to come this way.
What is the Archipelago Ring Road?
A marked route through the inhabited islands west of the city, using bridges and free connecting ferries. It takes one to three days, it is best cycled, and it runs roughly May to September. The ferries costing nothing makes it remarkably cheap.
What is the Föri?
A small free ferry that has crossed the Aura river since 1904. The trip takes about ninety seconds, it costs nothing, and locals use it as an ordinary part of getting around.
Is the castle worth €14?
Yes. Begun in the 1280s, it is the largest surviving medieval building in Finland and a proper warren of dungeons, halls and later Renaissance floors. Allow more time than you think.
Why is the city centre not medieval?
A fire in 1827 destroyed most of it — one of the largest urban fires in Nordic history. The castle and the cathedral survived; everything between them is nineteenth-century and laid out on a grid.
When should I visit?
May to September. The archipelago, the riverboats and the island guesthouses are all seasonal, and outside that window the islands go very quiet. Term time from September to May is when the city itself is liveliest.
Should I worry about ticks?
Worth knowing about. Ticks are present across southern Finland from spring to autumn, tick-borne encephalitis exists here, and the archipelago and Ruissalo are among the areas where they are most common. Check yourself after walks.
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