Cloudy Day Trip in Charming Porvoo
Tanuki family goes on a Porvoo day trip
A couple of weeks ago, mama and papa tanuki finally came to visit me in Finland. It was interesting to be their tour guide for a couple days and see Helsinki and Finland as a tourist. We decided that it would be nice to go somewhere that I’ve also never been. Porvoo sounded like the perfect choice and so the tanuki family went on a day trip!
How to get there 🚌:
From Helsinki it’s very easy and cheap to get there. I don’t think there are trains so I would recommend a bus. Through the Onnibus website or app, you can easily get a one way ticket for around 3 euros or less. I would recommend buying the return ticket after arriving in Porvoo and getting a feeling of how long you want to stay (will explain more later).
What/Where is Porvoo 🔍?
Porvoo is a town located about an hour away from Helsinki. It is known as one of the six medieval cities in Finland with a good chunk of Swedish speakers. There are old preserved buildings from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as a cathedral dating from the 15th century. In Helsinki most of the wooden buildings are gone, but Porvoo still has old style charm. If you’re interested in poetry, it is also where Johan Ludvig Runeberg resided.
Here are the things we did…
⛪Porvoo Cathedral
After arriving, we first went to the cathedral! To imagine it was there from 1500 or even earlier!… Unfortunately, the church was closed as we went on a Monday, but seeing the outside was still interesting. I would recommend checking the hours first before taking the trip.
👟Walk around the river
Next, we walked around the river! We took a walk on the opposite side of the old town to get a nice view. It was unfortunately cloudy and the river was a bit muddy. I can imagine that it would be more beautiful on a sunny day or even in the winter when everything is covered in snow!
📝Johan Ludvig Runeberg
As we were walking back into the town I found this statue of Runeberg, one of the most well-known poets in Finland. Porvoo was where he lived most of his later adult life. There is also a museum of his home which we did not visit, but could be worth checking out!
I only know of Runeberg from his cakes (see next paragraph about the cakes!). However, after some research I realized that Jean Sibelius has several songs that is set to Runeberg’s poetry. These are so beautiful that I just wanted to share. This one, Våren flyktar hastigt, is about a woman who sadly says that all the good seasons (spring and summer) are so quick while the rest of the seasons are so long. A young man answers and says that during the autumn and winter just think about the spring and summer and to now just enjoy the moment and kiss. Remembering to enjoy the good moments and getting through the long cold winter/autumn is something we can all relate to especially in Finland!
☕ Tee- ja Kahvihuone Helmi
Välikatu 7, 06100 Porvoo
Finally, we went to a cafe since it was freezing outside. This cafe had such a nice cozy interior and great cakes. The amazing thing about Porvoo is that you can eat Runebergin torttu year round. In the rest of Finland this cake is only available during his birthday in February. Runebergin torttu is an almond flour cake topped with raspberry jam and frosting. It’s said that Runeberg enjoyed eating this for breakfast!
Final thoughts 🤔:
Porvoo was a nice quaint town for a small trip! However, we honestly only spent about 2 hours as there wasn’t much to do. Some activities that we didn’t do were the museums. There were also some small nicknack stores, boutiques, and vintage stores that we only glanced at. We did spend some time while waiting for the bus departure time at the Brunberg chocolate store where they have free samples and a big selection!
Tips 💡:
📌Go when the weather is sunny! I feel that the cloudy almost rainy day didn’t allow the town’s picturesqueness to come out as much. Even a cold winter day with sunshine is probably quite nice!
📌Book the return ticket after getting there. If you find that there isn’t much to do, it wouldn’t make sense to stay the whole day!
📌Check opening hours of any places you want to go. For example, we didn’t know the cathedral would be closed.
Have you been to Porvoo or want to go? what were your thoughts?
If you’re interested in any of my other Finland posts check out Oodi Library: A virtual tour or Helsinki Budget Gift Guide: Some affordable ideas!
