Weekend Travels - Turku
- Cat
- Mar 17, 2017
- 5 min read
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Turku is a small port town on the southwestern coast of Finland. It is a short train ride from Helsinki, and worth a visit if you find the time. We rented a car for a weekend and decided to venture toward the coast, honestly without high expectations. Adam had mentioned the trip to a few friends at work and each replied with the same surprise, "Why?! It's a nice town...in summer." Or, "Wait until summer."
It's actually the same reaction we have gotten for EVERY city we mention we are visiting. It seems the Finns think we are nuts visiting these places in the biter cold and snowy weather. However, we have enjoyed the desolate towns - there are virtually no tourists and we often have the places we visit to ourselves or nearly so. It's nice. Also, being from Florida where it is hot and humid nearly every single day apart from the three days of "winter" that we get, we are truly enjoying the vast difference in weather and making the most of the snow.
But I digress, back to Turku. The castle seems to be the main attraction for out of towners, and we were no exception. Upon arrival, we parked and walked the exterior, thoroughly unimpressed. We've been to castles, and this one looked like it was going to be a quick tour and wasted drive. Oh how wrong we were!
The castle dates back to 1280 and was designed as a military fortress. Over time, it was added onto and the land built up to what you see today. Upon entering the courtyard, the various architectural styles are more evident and things start to get interesting.
You first tour the medieval part of the castle, followed by the bailey and the renaissance portion. There is also a prison, dungeon, well, museum, renovation history, and hidden room that are part of the tour. If you ask G, the highlight of this castle is the dress up room with the throne. This room has costumes, swords, shields, chain mail, knight hoods, horses, and more for people of all ages to don and play around with. The chain mail and armor seem VERY authentic - the chain mail shirt alone seems to weigh about 40 pounds!
The tour seemed never ending, just when you thought you'd seen everything, you turned a corner to even more rooms. This place is HUGE, and SO well restored. In the castle alone, we got just over 8,000 steps - that's almost 4 miles! We have to say that this is definitely at the top of the list for best castles ever visited. I know, shocked us too.
At only a 10€ entrance fee for adults (children under 4 are free), it's also one of the best priced attractions in this country. For more about the castle, visit their webpage by clicking HERE.
Below is a slideshow of images from inside the castle.
We also visited the Turku Cathedral, considered Finland's most valuable historical monument. So far, we have found most of the churches in this country to be rather plain and unadorned, and Turun Tuomiokirkko is no exception. However, being a cathedral, it did have a bit more adornment than other churches we have visited. There is something about walking into a cathedral over 700 years old...I am always awestruck thinking about the various peoples who have walked on the same stones my feet are touching at that moment. Thinking about their lives then and ours today - about how much has changed (and how much hasn't), the wars, the agreements, etc. that have happened in that exact location. It's a feeling I can't describe, but it always seems to hit in cathedrals.
This cathedral was beautifully, but simply decorated and had many naves. G somehow understands that we are serious when we ask for silence in churches and he has always been excellent following that directive, and no exception here. He got to light his own candle for the first time and really seemed to enjoy it. He also like the tombs of the prominent figures in Finnish history dressed in armor as knights.
This is a definite stop on your tour in Turku. Below is a slideshow of images from the cathedral.
We also found an adorable park and tot-sized replica of Turku to teach children street safety. G loved that the houses were his size! We loved the idea that Finland brings children outside to teach them traffic safety with working stoplights, various street signs, and painted lanes on the "road." It was VERY icy so we didn't get much practice in as we slipped more than we stepped, but in the summer this will be a great place to play!
Parks here are truly amazing and so elaborate. There is always plenty for G to play on and most of them have things related to the area to also teach without "teaching." We will have a separate blog post about parks at a later date, but know that if you have children, you will always have plenty to do for them when visiting the Nordic countries. They incorporate children's learning very well into even the adult attractions and our son has never once been bored or tired of visiting museums or other typically adult attractions. The US could learn a thing or two here.
Need help on where to stay? We stayed at Hotel Centro, a small hotel in the city center. While the room itself was nothing to write home about (it was fine, just nothing special), the breakfast buffet was fabulous. Current prices and information can be found here.
We didn't see much else within the city itself. If you have visited, did we miss anything important or fun? Let us know! We are looking forward to revisiting this town in summer when the trees and flowers are in bloom and would love your suggestions.
Things we've learned about Finland this week:
Despite friends' shock that we are visiting places in winter, we are truly enjoying having places nearly to ourselves in almost every town so far! If you can handle the cold, visit Finland in the winter - it's GORGEOUS and quiet!
Looks can be deceiving as we found out when visiting Turun Linna. This place is a good time for all, but definitely wear good shoes, you will do a LOT of walking!
Seeing history through your children's eyes is fascinating. What does a 3-year-old think about when standing in a 700-year-old cobblestone courtyard? Ours tells us detailed stories about the knights and kings and princes who once lived there!
Finland LOVES children. Parks, museums, and even stores and hotels are very focused on ensuring your little ones have a great time, something we wish the U.S.A. did more of.
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