Introducing Naantali
With water lapping at its wooden mooring-posts in front of picturesque timber houses, Naantali (Swedish: Nådendal) is one of Finland's most idyllic port towns and makes a great, and popular, day-trip destination from Turku - it's only 18km away.
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Once you get over the shock of the summertime crowds - and the fact that the majority of them are making a beeline for a children's theme park - it's difficult not to like Naantali. The compact boat-filled harbour is ringed with pleasant cafés and restaurants, the cobbled Old Town has a quaint (if slightly dressed up) old-world feel, and there's plenty of sights and shopping to occupy an afternoon. The main attraction for all those Finnish families is Moominworld, a theme park celebrating characters from the storybooks by Tove Jansson. Out of season, Naantali is pretty quiet, and feels a little like a filmset after the actors have gone home.
Last updated: Feb 17, 2009
Thorn Tree forum discussion
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RE: Helsinki Day Trips
by chriskean1 27 September 2011
If you have the possibility to stay a night, Turku would be worth a shot; it's about two hours by car. It's the former capital, and has…
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RE: Helsinki, Turku and St Petersberg
by akana 10 July 2011
+We just don't want to be in a town when everything is closed because it is off peak+ Helsinki is the capital and Turku the second or…
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Re: I'm looking for the best way to get to Tallinn - drive/sail or fly?
by eurozhongguo 30 June 2011
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