A Day in TURKU | FINLAND’S Oldest City
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.ค. 2024
- An action packed day in Turku Finland exploring the main tourist attractions of this old archipelago city. Walk with me to the castle, cathedral & along the waterfront.
🇫🇮 See more of my travel vlogs from Finland here → bit.ly/mwt_finland
My trip to Finland got off to a great start in the country’s sixth largest city and future tourist hotspot Turku! As I only had one day I decided to see as much of the city as I could on foot - and ended up walking from place to place. It turns out that Turku’s main tourist sites are fairly spread out but it is possible to walk between them - which is especially enjoyable if the weather is good. Turku is Finland’s oldest city so I was looking forward to seeing some of the country’s most impressive historical sights.
My walk around Turku started in the market square where the local market was in full flow and modern buildings stood brightly in the morning sunshine. After soaking up some of the atmosphere I headed past a towering chimney stack and onto Turku Castle.
The Castle of Turku has sat proudly on the banks of the Aura River since it was founded in the 13th century, these days it’s a lot bigger and rather than having a defensive purpose it serves as one of the city’s most popular museums. The architecture is delightful to see and it’s even more impressive once you get to the inner courtyard.
After learning about the castle I headed back into the city centre of Turku by following a pretty river footpath, taking a boat ride across the river on board the Föri and then walking up towards Samppalinna Park.
After stopping by a statue of Paavo Nurmi who was perhaps one of Turku’s most famous residents, I found my way over to Turku Old Town and the remaining wooden houses spared from the city’s devastating fire in 1827. The Great Fire wiped out most of the city , however the remaining buildings now make up the Turku Handicraft Museum (Luostarinmäki - Klosterbacken) which is an open-air attraction complete with historical interpreters and authentic wooden dwellings. It’s incredible to see how different old Turku is from the modern city.
From there I made it back to the waterfront and enjoyed the relaxing atmosphere close to Turku Cathedral and some of the city’s historical buildings just off the Grand City Square.
After a day of sightseeing I felt I’d made good use of my time and caught a glimpse of all the important landmarks. There’s a lot of development going on in the city centre so I would love to return at some point in the future and see the finished product. all in all Turku is definitely worth a visit and I’m glad I stopped by whilst in the south of Finland.
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Where is the second part of your visit to Turku?
I don't have the Instagram app but I'll follow everything you choose to share
Thanks so much and i love watching your videos
Unfortunately I didn’t edit or upload the other video. From memory it was mainly documenting my first afternoon and evening in the city, as well as showing my accommodation. When I was editing it all together I didn’t feel the footage was good enough to make a video out of so it all ended up on the cutting room floor.
Thank you! More coming from Finland in 2024!!
The land rises so much along the coast of Finland that the land area expands 7 square kilometers every year, thus the castle is no longer on an island.
Incredible! I didn't know that. Thanks for sharing, much appreciated.
@@MattWhitingsEurope Yep. The results of the ice age. Not the chilrens movie, but the real deal. ;-)
@@Scramasax Yep, that's what the sciencists tell us.. They say massive ice cove made a gigant bumb to the globe, which is still about to straighten and that's why land is 'rising' from the sea.
Wow Finland grows yummy
you should come back to Turku! They have finished the market square renovations and its really pretty now!
That is a very good reason to go back, I'd love to see what it looks like now. I'm sure I'll be back at some point.
Greetings from Turku. Thank you, well done. "This side" (täl pual jokke) is always side where Church is an other side (tois pual jokke) is always other side.
Thanks for the information, I appreciate you taking the time to watch the video. It took a while for me to get my head around the side situation but it's a fascinating story!
Terveisiä toispuolt sitte😀 meinaa kakolan pualelt
A long time ago I was in Turku and of course in the Old Town Museum, wonderful memories of it have remained 🤩💯❤👌👍💪
That's great! It's a lovely place for sure, thanks for watching my video! 😁
I think Turku should advertise the Littoistenjärvi wetland, Ruissalo, Uittamo, lake Kakskerta, piispanlinna and Luolavuori. Luolavuori especially is nice if you're into bouldering
Sounds like some interesting locations to visit? What is bouldering?
@@MattWhitingsEurope rock climbing smallish rocks without ropes but just crash pads, ie. nice soft things to fall on.
Thank you, I see!
That looks beautiful! Americans envy the rich old history of Europe. We tesr lots of our building down, it's a pity
Sorry for my slow response, Kathy. Glad you like the rich European history, I too find it fascinating and love learning new things about it - something I tend to do all the time. Thanks for watching.
Actually Kathy, there is something in Finland that is called "The Turku Disease" which refers to an almost obsession of tearing down old beautiful buildings, this happened mostly in 1960:s and 1970:s. I was born in Turku, one of my favorite destinations in the world is Detroit, a city extremely rich in history and architecture!
Paavo Nurmi was perhaps one of the greatest athletes of our modern times, often referred to as the King of Runners. :) He was nearly undefeated during his career and his record of nine Olympic gold medals was only broken by Michael Phelps 80 (!) years later. By the way, don't worry if you fail to understand the logic behind "this side" and "that side" of the river - us Finns from other parts of the country also think native Turku residents are crazy!
Thanks for the information, Caelum - very interesting indeed. Sounds like he was an awesome athlete who really pushed the barriers for the time. No wonder he's got his own statue! The river thing is crazy, I still think about it to this day! 😂. Thanks for watching!!
Wow great video.. do you film the drone shots too? This is a great channel
Thanks very much!! Yes all the footage is taken by me including the drone shots. 😁
Spectacular drone footage. Too bad about The Market Square being unfinished
Thank you Helena, I'm glad you like the drone footage! Maybe I'll visit again in years to come, I bet the centre will look different! Loved my day in Turku, thanks for watching.
Excellent video and commentary; my next trip to Finland will include Turku.
Thanks very much, I really appreciate you saying! Incredible place to visit, hope you have a fun time when you get around to visiting!
Fantastic as always 👍🏼 loved the drone shots 😍
Glad you liked it, thanks for watching.
Thank you for this excellent video.
Thank you for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!
It's so beautiful here
Agree totally, I very much enjoyed my visit. Thanks for watching!
From Finland,, I´m from Turku . Täl pual jokke(this side of river)people from other part of Fin. would say Tällä puolella jokea , Tois pual jokke(other side of river.Toisella puolella jokea. Orange "boat" is Föri.
Hi Väinö, thanks for the information - enjoyed my day in Turku!
I bet this would be an awesome place to go back and visit again in the future to see how its changed. It's how I felt about Bucharest when I visited it - so much potential and building work going on. Fab choice of music at the castle. The whole 'this side' and 'that side' is crazy... do you think it might be a translation thing? The wooden architecture was beautiful, the sort of thing you'd expect to find in rural areas, but not in a city like Turku! Great shot of the squirrel munching away - it was a red one wasn't it? Pleased to hear you're off to Helsinki next... is this a Finland... or even Scandinavia series coming up now? * looks hopeful *
Ah yes, Bucharest! Love that city too and know what you mean about it's development. Exactly the same as Turku, the city centre is going to look very different in a few years time! Thanks for your feedback regarding the music, I like that track too - thought it was perfect for a castle montage. By the end of the day I was even more confused about 'this side' and the 'other side' - it was a miracle I managed to find the bus station to catch my bus to Helsinki! Yes I was thinking it was a red squirrel but wasn't 100% sure, surprised by how close I could get without it being all that bothered. Unfortunately not a series this time, I was only there for four days although I could have easily stayed longer. Three more videos to go and then it's onto the next country!
The 'this side' and 'that side' of the Aura river was correctly explained. In local Finnish dialect it's 'Täl pual jokke' ('tällä puolella jokea' in formal Finnish) and 'tois pual jokke' ('toisella puolella jokea') respectively.
Great video! Nice to see a piece of Turku history well explained.
@@jounik4128 Thanks for confirming that, Jouni. It took a while to get my head around that! Glad you enjoyed the video - loved my visit to Turku!
impressive eyes catching videos, I appreciated it❤️ 😃
Happy to see u friend and want to see ur videos more & more👍
Thank you so much 👍. I appreciate it! Looking forward to seeing more from you also! 👍
Wonderful video! I hope you will visit Turku again, perhaps the market square will be finished by then. 😄
Thanks for watching, Johannes. Yes I would love to visit again someday and see what has become of that market square!
A shoesmith, also known as a cobbler.
Thank you!
Another outstanding video. New friend here 👍🏴
Thanks and welcome, always good connecting with fellow travellers.
I hope you enjoyed my hometown!
Loved it Elli! Your hometown is a really cool place! Thanks for watching.
I WOULD LOVE TO LIVE IN TURKU
Excellent choice of city I'd say!
You Have Done a GREAT Job - so Thank You - Kiitos in Finnish ! The OLD Capital pretty Much during - All The Time - We were Part of Kingdom of Sweden !
Thanks very much Holo, glad you like the video. I found Turku really interesting and it was great to just stroll around and enjoy the sights! Wonderful history too! Thanks for watching.
@@MattWhitingsEurope Thanks ! Did You know - that The Best selling Crime Books are about TURKU as a Hire - a Private EYE - VARES is working on wheelings and daily dealings ! Made also to 7 Movies ! The author name is REIJO MÄKI - with some 20 BOOKS ! I am NOT sure if Those Are also translated ? All Those places are fimiliar as mentioned on All VARES BOOKS !
No I didn’t know that - very interesting indeed. You are a wealth of knowledge Sir! I always like to hear about these bits that otherwise I probably would never stumble upon. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Very interestimg and well-made video of my favourite city on this planet. Thank you!
I am, nevertheless, a little amused by the pronounciation: Turk-Ooh! and a few more place names. 😂
Thank you! Those pronunciations are tough! 🥵
The large red brick building behind the "Föri" is the old Aura Brewery, now converted to condominiums.
Thanks for the information, loved the look of those red brick buildings. Also loved the old smokestack, felt like an industrial area down that way. Thanks for the link with information - I really enjoyed my visit and it's good to still be learning about Turku.
That's great that the government is investing in the city. Head of the table! No way we could explain which side of the river we are on! Shame about those wood houses; they are so beautiful. What do you call horseshoes played with rope? Excited for Finland!
Yes it's going to be a different city in a few years time! Lots of potential that's for sure. I think the game I was playing was called Quoits but I'm not 100% sure. Gotta get the chair at the top of the table when the opportunity presents itself! Haha
@@MattWhitingsEurope 😃
Hope you enjoyed my hometown man
I sure did, it was nice to walk around and see the sights! Cool place.
Oh, what a nice video! 👍 Your video must have been recorded round year 2019 🤔 The market square is totally different nowadays. The Hotel in the background has been rebuilt. A lot is going on. You should probably visit out city in a couple of years, and year 2029 will be the 800th anniversary of Turku.
Thanks for your comment, Jukka, I enjoyed reading it! Yes you are right about the date, filmed at the beginning of September 2019 if memory serves me right. Revisiting in 2029 is a great idea, I'm sure the city centre will look totally different and there'll be plenty of celebrating going on! Plus it will be 10 years since my previous visit - all I've got to do is try and remember! Thanks again!
NICE
Thank you!
I am so happy to live in this city.
Cool place for sure, hope you enjoyed the video!
@@MattWhitingsEurope I did, thank you!
Apparently that fire destroyed 75% of the city. en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Turku
Apologies for the slow reply, Heidi. I've been out on some more adventures with little access to the internet. Amazing article, thanks for the link - amazing isn't it! How different the rest of the centre would look had that fire not of happened.
@@MattWhitingsEurope Pretty much all these wooden cities burned down periodically. And those that didnt were rebuilt in concrete after the war.
Nice video. Will be doing a tour in Finland by train this summer. Helsinki-Turku-Tampere-Vaasa-Turku.
Just visited Turku, but it will be very different in the Summer. Hadn't visited in 20 years. Last time was to take a train to Oulu for my Military service inspection.
What gear do you use?
Thanks, sounds like you have a good trip prepared! Some interesting places on your list! I bet they look completely different in the summer!! For this video I used a Canon G7X M2 and my drone was a Mavic Air (the original).
Ideally we'd visit my favourite city; Oulu too. But the train ride from Vaasa would be too long.
What sound equipment did you use?
Yeah that's a crazy long train ride! An adventure for sure! I just use the sound from the camera mic although I have considered getting a lavalier mic for some scenes.
With that kind of sound quality straight from the camera it isn't really a necessity for your videos!
@@mattihp Thank you. Much appreciated.
8:10 tällä and tolla aren't as confusing as this and other side
It doesn't take much to confuse me! 😂
👌✌🤟
👍😀🇫🇮
Is there any connection between Turkey and Turku.
No connection that I'm aware of. The name derives from the word tǔrgǔ which is an old east Slavic word meaning "marketplace".
I'm interested in Finland
It's a wonderful country, have you been?
@@MattWhitingsEurope i want to travel but i have no idea about Finland I'm From Pakistan
Loads of info on Google my friend, read up on it and then look at getting a visa (if required). You'll love it I'm sure!
@@MattWhitingsEurope ok Thankyou so much but sir can you help me
@@mustafakamal4407 Hi Mustafa, I'm happy to answer any questions regarding my trip but I'm certainly no expert. I'd also not be a very good person to ask about travelling from Pakistan as I don't know what the visa requirements are etc.
I dont know if you look new comments in these old videos
Yes of course! 😁
@@MattWhitingsEurope nice to know 😁next time you are in Turku you should visit Turku Cathedral and Maarian kirkko close to latter are ruins of bishops palace and ruins of a hill fort
Thanks for the recommendations, I'll certainly keep them in mind. I hear the city centre renovations have finished?
@@MattWhitingsEurope It is indeed and looks very good now i dare say its better now than before
I’m sure I’ll be back at some point, I’d love to see what it looks like now.
I like the 1st version of the castle the best. As it grew bigger it loses its appeal. I just might build a copy of it hmm...
Yes I know what you mean! The early castle was a real treasure but I also like the finished version. Interesting seeing how it changed over the years. Thanks for watching!
45 minutes walk? Are there no bikes? No way i am walking 45 minutes :D
Ha you can walk along side the river which is quite a pleasant area. If you really don't want to walk then I'd suggest an electric scooter perhaps? There's plenty around where you download an app and then it changes you for however long you're actually riding the thing - lots of fun and it's unreal how quickly you can get about. Just don't end up in the river!!
Sorry for this late reply, but 45 minutes of walk is nothing on a good weather. And in here we have a saying: there is no such thing as bad weather, there is wrong choice of clothes.
There are city bikes. 45 min seems grazy to me but maps indeed says it would take that long(call me sceptical)
My beautiful home town! 🙋🇫🇮💖
Cool place for sure!
We finns! Are a whole different sort! We have so much heart and soul! For our country! And home town! Wherever we are in the world we breathe finnish air look out what happens in our divine place! In the world and defend our homestead 100%! Soul full people in deed! Amen! 🥰🙋💖🙏 Ps when we land on finnish soil! We finally can be at peace! Steadfast! And even native americans! Loved our people! Theyre like us! Forrest people! Honoring all living with a sound mind! All natures creatures! Only take what we need from the Forrest! And be honest and grateful for that! And honesty! Is one of our many fortes! Kind regards/ your finnish friend.
That's great and really heartening to read, I really enjoyed my travels in Finland and it seems there is so much more to see. I'll definitely be back!
Thats cool.. i am planning to come Turku this July. 😊
@1stgrade343 Have a great time, I wonder how much it has changed!