Turku Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Bus

From the bus terminal at Aninkaistentulli there are hourly express buses to Helsinki (€28.10, 2½ hours), and frequent services to Tampere (€25.60, three hours), Rauma (€13.70, 1½ hours) and other points in southern Finland. Regional buses depart from the kauppatori.

Train

Turku is the terminus for the southeastern railway line. The train station is a short walk northwest of the centre; trains also stop at the ferry harbour and at Kupittaa train station east of the centre. Bus 32 shuttles between the centre and the main train station. Express trains run frequently to and from Helsinki (€24.90, two hours), Tampere (€22.70, 1¾ hours), Oulu (€62.50, six to nine hours), Rovaniemi (€71.40, 10 to 14 hours). For Oulu and Rovaniemi there's usually a change in Tampere.

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Boat

Turku is a major gateway to Finland from Sweden and Åland and smaller boats ply the waters up and down the coast. The MS Franz Höijer travels from Turku to Hanko (10am, Wednesday) and to Uusikaupunki (10am, Friday) from mid-May to mid-August. Both trips take eight hours one way and cost only €12.

Sweden & åland

The harbour, southwest of the centre, has terminals for Silja Line(335 255; www.silja.com), Viking Line (333 1331; www.vikingline.fi) and Seawind (210 2800). Ferries sail to Turku from Stockholm (11 hours) and Mariehamn (six hours). Prices vary widely according to season and class of service, with deck class one-way tickets ranging from €14 to €35. Finnlink offers a faster but pricier service from nearby Naantali.

Purchase tickets from one of the offices at the harbour, from the Viking Line office in the Hansa Shopping Arcade, or from Silja Lines on Käsityöläiskatu; you should book ahead during the high season if you plan to take a car or if you're travelling on a weekend (or Friday night). Bus 1 travels between the market square and the harbour. There are also connecting trains and buses from other cities that stop at the harbour itself.

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Air

Finnair flies to Turku from a number of Finnish cities and some European capitals, including Stockholm. Domestic flights are generally at least once a day but more often to Helsinki, Mariehamn, Tampere, Rovaniemi and Oulu. The Finnair office (415 4909) is at the airport

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