During the last week of July 2019, we spent a few days in South Finland for a wedding. During this journey, we discovered the surroundings of the quiet region of Turku: the numerous islands around Kustavi (Åland archipelago), the agricultural area of Uusikaupunki, and the charming city centre of Turku.
Map of the journey in Finland © NordNordWest (Wikimedia), Florian Calvat
The City of Turku
We take the bus from Helsinki to Turku and our short stay on the Turku and Åland archipelagos begins! Turku (pronounced Tour-koo, rolling the r), the country’s third urban area, is a charming small city in the south-west of Finland (approximately 180 000 inhabitants, 300 000 with the metropolitan area).
A cathedral marks the centre of this historic city which was the country’s capital until 1812.
A river enchants the city with lovely walks all around.
Turku Church ©Guillaume Lorimier
Turku faces the Baltic Sea and serves as the entry port for many cargo ships and cruise boats.
Aura Quay in Turku ©Guillaume Lorimier
The surroundings of Turku are marked by the presence of numerous islands, which make up the Turku and Åland archipelagos.
There is much to see in this former capital of Finland: Turku Castle, the church, the port with several restaurants… Unfortunately, as timing was a bit tight (wedding in Lokalahti on Saturday), we did not have time this time to visit Turku itself. To save time, we took the bus (with our bicycles) from Turku to Kustavi to catch the ferry to Brändö.
Turku Medieval Castle ©Guillaume Lorimier
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The Vast Finnish Archipelago (Åland and Turku Islands)
This group of islands has the particularity of being located between Sweden and #Finland. As a result, some inhabitants speak only Swedish even though this territory is Finnish!
This explains why Swedish is the country’s second official language, taught in school just like Finnish.
It is the archipelago with the most islands in the world: 40 000 islands make up the Finnish archipelago.
Åland is an autonomous Finnish province and it even has its own flag.
©Guillaume Lorimier
We went by bicycle to the islands of Brändö, connected by bridges and small regular ferries. Most ferries dock every 30 minutes but be careful, there are connections with fewer departures per day (for example the ferry from Kustavi to Brändö). You must then carefully plan your itinerary if you want to catch the last boat of the day.
This area is very suitable for kayaking and cycling, which we therefore tried!
A true sanctuary of wild and spectacular nature, you will find many animal species there, in particular more than 120 bird species documented.
Bivouac at Kustavi ©Guillaume Lorimier
Our kayak, ready to go ©Guillaume Lorimier
We rented a kayak for 2 people in order to spend the night on one of the isolated islands. We paddled in the calm and wild waters east of Brändö. As the days are long in summer, we were able to observe the sunset at 11 p.m. while eating an omelette cooked with a trangia (typical Scandinavian stove).
Finnish breakfast: the “puuro” (cooked oat flakes) with blueberries harvested from the forest©Guillaume Lorimier
Uusikaupunki
Avioliitto © Guillaume Lorimier
We finally went to Uusikaupunki for a wedding (“new city” in Finnish).
This region of Finland offers vast landscapes thanks to its important agricultural activities (wheat cultivation, berries, apples, etc.). Uusikaupunki is also a place renowned for its Mercedes factories!
Kalanti Church ©Guillaume Lorimier
The ceremony took place in a Lutheran church in the village of Kalanti, a former municipality in south-west Finland (merged with Uusikaupunki in 1993). Then, everyone met at a former farm converted into a guesthouse to celebrate (speeches, dancing, meals, games and iltapalas, traditional evening snacks) in Lokalahti, located 1 hour drive from Kalanti.
Smoked salmon, dark bread, beetroot salad ©Guillaume Lorimier
The family brunch on Sunday morning punctuated our stay before our return flight in the afternoon.
Article written by
Laura Kankaanpää
Travel Advisor
Originally from Finland, Laura settled in the French Alps for the love of the mountains. At GrandAngle.Travel, she plans trips in the Alps and Scandinavia, as well as across Europe. She enjoys cross-country skiing, road… Read more
