Insider's guide to Porvoo

Visiting Porvoo? This small Finnish coastal town is a world of its own

Porvoo can be visited on a day trip or overnight stay from Helsinki. It is one of the six medieval towns in Finland, first mentioned as a city in texts from the 14th century. Our guests enjoy an arranged visit by ferry to this idyllic Old town. Porvoo steals your heart and the shops, cafés and restaurants treats all your senses.

Stay: Pariisin Ville

Situated in the heart of Old Town of Porvoo, Pariisin Ville is a small, elegant boutique hotel. Situated just a stone’s throw away from Porvoo’s mediaeval church with its elegantly furnished in a classical style, Pariisin Ville and it’s staff will make sure you have a wonderful stay in Porvoo.

Explore: Old Town of Porvoo

Signified by its pebble stone roads and red shore houses, Porvoo Old Town breaths the atmosphere of the old days. Small shops and cafés for you to explore line the streets Jokikatu and Välikatu. In the side streets and lanes it's easy to take a step back in time and forget the modern world. The small idyllic parks and sleepy cobbled streets among the houses entice the visitors to linger and reflect on the past

Eat: Johans summer restaurant

Open from May til late September, situated at the riverbed in Porvoo Old Town, Johans offers you not only a tasty meal made of local produce, but also a wonderful atmosphere in a century old court yard. If you visit Porvoo in the winter months, we recommend SicaPelle situated next to the Porvoo Cathedral.

Visit: Runeberg´s home

This large, yellow-painted wooden house in the part of Porvoo where architecture in the so-called Empire variant of Neoclassical dominates was the home of the poet J.L. Runeberg - who composed the words of the Finnish national anthem - and his family for a quarter of a century. The house and its surroundings give an interesting picture of housing and life in the mid-19th century. It is Finland's oldest home museum, opened to the public in 1882.

Did you know?

That during summer Saturdays you can take a museum train called Lättähattu (Flat Hat) from Helsinki to Porvoo.

Also, 50 Degrees North’s Green Forests & Blue Lakes - self drive in Finland includes a visit to Porvoo.