One of Finland's most enticing old quarters, this tangle of cobbled alleys and wooden warehouses is entrancing. Once a vibrant port and market, Porvoo now has craft boutiques, galleries, souvenir stores and antique shops jostling for attention on the main roads, Välikatu and Kirkkokatu. The rows of rust-red storehouses along the Porvoonjoki are a local icon: cross the old bridge for the best photos. The relatively less-touristed area is east of the cathedral; Itäinen Pitkäkatu is one of the nicest streets.
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
Suomenlinna
29.02 MILES
Suomenlinna, the ‘fortress of Finland’, straddles a cluster of car-free islands connected by bridges. This Unesco World Heritage site was originally built…
Ateneum
29.35 MILES
Occupying a palatial 1887 neo-Renaissance building, Finland’s premier art gallery offers a crash course in the nation’s art. It houses Finnish paintings…
Design Museum
29.54 MILES
An unmissable stop for Finnish design aficionados, Helsinki's Design Museum has a permanent collection that looks at the roots of Finnish design in the…
Kansallismuseo
29.52 MILES
Built in National Romantic art nouveau style and opened in 1916, Finland’s premier historical museum looks a bit like a Gothic church with its heavy…
Helsingin Kaupunginmuseo
29.17 MILES
This museum complex spreads over five buildings from different eras, including Sederholmin talo, Helsinki’s oldest central building (dating from 1757 and…
Esplanadin Puisto
29.34 MILES
Locally known as 'Espa', oblong-shaped Esplanadi stretches for four blocks between the squares Erottaja to the west and the kauppatori to the east…
Kaivopuisto
29.56 MILES
On the waterfront, this sprawling park dating from 1834 is a favourite Helsinki idyll. There are expanses of lawns; numerous sculptures and winding paths;…
Sinebrychoffin Taidemuseo
29.97 MILES
One of Helsinki's finest collections of classic European paintings is in these 1842-built former brewery offices, which also contained living quarters for…
Nearby Turku & Finland's South Coast attractions
1. Tuomiokirkko
0.23 MILES
Porvoo’s historic stone-and-timber cathedral sits atop a hill overlooking the quaint Old Town. This is where Tsar Alexander I convened the first Diet of…
2. Porvoon Museo
0.27 MILES
Porvoo’s town museum occupies two buildings on the beautiful cobbled square at the heart of the Old Town. The town-hall building (Vanha Raatihuoneentori)…
3. Porvoon Nukke- ja Lelumuseo
0.3 MILES
Houses over a thousand dolls, tin toys and other childhood curiosities, making it Finland’s largest toy museum.
4. Walter Runeberg Sculpture Collection
0.49 MILES
This gallery has 150 sculptures by Walter Runeberg, the eldest son of national poet JL Runeberg. Walter Runeberg produced the town’s sculpture of his…
5. Runebergin Koti
0.5 MILES
National poet JL Runeberg’s former home has become a museum, with a period interior including stuffed foxes and muskets that demonstrate the poet’s love…
6. Taidetehdas
0.66 MILES
This former tractor factory is now an exhibition space, with rotating exhibitions of contemporary art. The centrepiece is the permanent display of the…
7. Loviisan kirkko
19.55 MILES
Dominating the market square is the red-brick neo-Gothic Loviisa Church, built in 1865.
8. Loviisa Town Museum
19.69 MILES
About 200m north of the town square, Loviisa Town Museum is set in an old manor house with three floors of interesting historical exhibits, particularly…