Stories / Cultural tourism / Finland
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“Amazing Porvoo (Borgå)”. This “chapter of the journey” is dedicated to a very amazing
town of Porvoo (or Borgå in
Swedish). Since there are two official languages in Finland, many towns and cities have two names in both
languages. So, Porvoo is one of them.
Where: Porvoo,
Finland
What: “Travel Smart”
series
Porvoo is
situated almost on a shore of the Baltic
Sea. If you travel from Russia
and go to Helsinki, you are more
likely to drive on the E18 road,
which is a local speedway. If you follow that road towards Helsinki, you are
going to pass such big towns as Kotka,
Hamina, and the next one is Porvoo. After it you definitely get to the capital of
Finland.
To get to Porvoo
you have to turn to the road which has a number
170, it is Loviisantie. It is
headed directly to the required destination. Once you are in town, you will see
a nice mix of old and contemporary buildings. It seems like half of the town is
completely new, and the rest of it historic. I would like to concentrate now on
some parts of this beautiful town. I believe it was very important for Finland
since it has a river going to the north almost till Lahti. Definitely, it was used for transportation of goods, food
and wood, or maybe something else. The other end of the river goes directly to
the sea.
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| Porvoo |
Once you get to
Porvoo, you are about to have one of the most enjoyable trips. It is quite
simple but charming at the same time. There is a good option between traveling
on your own or purchasing a tour. Well, it is up to you what to choose, perhaps, combining both would be great
so that you could see whatever is not covered in the guided tour and something
according to your wishes.
Traditionally, the old part of the town
is considered to be its heart, and thus, perhaps, the city center. It is called
Vanha Porvoo. However, Mannerheiminkatu is kind of splitting
Porvoo into two parts: the old one and the new one. It is the central street in
the town, from which you can easily get to Kaivonkatu
and get to Kaupunginpuisto, the
central park of Porvoo. If you start moving towards the river being in “new Porvoo”, you are about to cross Rauhankatu, which is one of the edges of
the bus station. There basically you can find a lot of central and major
buildings of the town, as well as administrative offices. If you continue your
walk to the river, you will walk through a beautiful park and get directly to
the embankment and there you can enjoy your life under the bright sun. From
there you can cross the bridge and get to another part of Porvoo. But we are
going to concentrate on that part in our next part of “the journey” in Porvoo.
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| Retro car |
What comes to accommodation, you are always able to find the most appropriate one for
yourself. There are different hotels both in the old and in the new part of
Porvoo. Among the best offered and interesting options, there are a couple of
hotels. We will start with Ida-Maria (Old Town) hotel B&B. It is one of the most exciting experiences you can get being in the heart of
the place. Another good option would be Hotelli Onni
which is also in the very heart of the town. It has charming design and perfect
location for tourists. You can rest and have no noise from the speedway, but at
the same time being really close to it.
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| Onni hotel |
One more option that I would like to
cover in here is Hotel Sparre. It is just a few meters away from the bus station and near to
Mannerheiminkatu. It is a very modern and comfortable hotel, offering a good
service. It can be a perfect option for business travelers or those, who prefer
modern to rare old design. But all of the mentioned options are very good and
there are more hotels in Portvoo, of course. You can always choose the best way
of accommodation for yourself, your friends and/or your family.
Porvoo holds different local marathons
for runners (as well as any other town and city in Finland). It has lots of
entertainment both for young and for elderly people. In case if you are not
satisfied with what you are offered in Porvoo, you can always go to Helsinki
and enjoy your day in there. Besides, there is a good bus connection between
them. But Porvoo will not make you bored; it is very entertaining to be in the
town.
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| Porvoo (view from the old bridge) |
Moreover, Porvoo has one of the campuses
of one of the largest universities in Finland, I mean Haaga-Helia University. We will get back to it in our “journey” in Helsinki and have a closer look at
Pasila, a very important district of
Helsinki.
Once you have
chosen the hotel, seen some places in the “new Porvoo”, you can walk to the old
part of the town and enjoy its uniqueness. First of all, if you walk on Mellangatan (Välikatu) and continue your
way to the nearest intersection and there you will see a small square where
different fairs take place. It is a lovely square with local hand-made
souvenirs and some local concerts. Basically if you walk either on Välikatu or Jokikatu, you find plenty of shops where you might find souvenirs
and also some other stuff. Once you get to the old part of Porvoo, you can
mention all sings are in two languages, so you will have lots of names in
Swedish. Basically, Porvoo was made during the reign of Sweden and it affected the style of the town, especially its small
streets and design.
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| Välikatu |
Let us get back
to Välikatu, from which you might get to a very beautiful church, if you turn
to Flensborgintörmä and keep walking
till you actually see the church. It is worth seeing. The whole town is located
on the hills and sometimes it makes it difficult to walk up, but there is no
rush, you just take your time to get there. There are a couple of restaurants on
a way to the church, so that if you feel hungry, you can stop to grab some
food. You can choose between Restaurant Timbaali, where you can have lunch or dinner in an elegant atmosphere, or you can stop
by Porvoon Helmet, a nice
place with its uniqueness and history, a spirit of the old town. Another option
is Old Town Public House, where you can have
some drinks and something to eat in a very unusual place. Well, right across
the pedestrian road, where this place is located, there is another small café,
in which I had a chance to have my lunch. Prices were very affordable, 10 euros
per meal (as per August 2009), with good drinks, like domestic stuff or regular
non-alcoholic drinks. So, choose and enjoy!
After a good meal it is a good time to
walk a little more. Get to Jokikatu
(Ågatan) and walk till you see Vanha silta (old bridge). From that place you are going to see very
beautiful, amazing view. It is considered as one of the symbols of Porvoo. From
that bridge you already have something terrific to see, but keep walking ahead
on the old road to Helsinki till you see a pedestrian road going back to
Mannerheiminkatu.
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| Near Vanha silta (old bridge) |
Once you get
there you can enjoy a picturesque view of small red wooden houses and boats
nearby (depending on a season). Take your time to enjoy it! And remember, this
is not the end; we are going to continue our “journey” in Porvoo later on.
Therefore, pack your bag, get a map, and get on track to hit the road! Keep
traveling!
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| Red wooden houses (one of the symbols of Porvoo) |
Kirill “Traveler” Malyutin
About Travel Smart series:
“Travel Smart” is a section,
narrating about different countries and good travel tips, advised by the
author, Kirill Malyutin. The series contains recommendations, including selected
places to visit, character accommodation, and reasonable
shopping. Simply get inspiration!
О серии «Travel Smart»:
«Travel Smart»
– раздел, в котором автор Кирилл Малютин рассказывает о разных странах и дает
необходимые в путешествии советы. Серия включает в себя рекомендации по
посещенным автором местам, характерным средствам размещения, а также разумному шопингу.
Вдохновитесь приключением!
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