Spending a day exploring Porvoo, Finland

Add Porvoo to the list of places I didn't know existed 6 months ago but now I am concocting scenarios in my head where I return for an extended, multi-week stay. Not all exploratory day trips pay off to the same degree. Visiting Porvoo was one of the highlights of this trip through Helsinki.

My high-level impressions:
Charming
Quiet
Picturesque
Tidy

Overall, lovely. And that's during a random Friday in October. I can see how the experience may be different during a summer weekend when it's full of people looking to capitalize on the good weather to more fully enjoy its charms. But I counted myself lucky to visit during the fall (again, the foilage, I'm a fan) when the rain held off and I even got pockets of solid sun. Almost perfect.

My visit broke down into a few subslices:
Exploring the 'old Porvoo' area up around the Cathedral and over to Castle Hill
Seeing a bit of 'normal' Porvoo, both on foot and via scooter
Stopping for lunch at a place that I had high hopes for but disappointed
Checking out the riverfront leisure area

After the bus ride dropped me at the 'terminal' I oriented myself and headed for the Cathedral. It's just 2 blocks north, across Mannerheiminkatu, which is the main drag running roughly east-west through the heart of town. This yellow and red house is your first clue that you're on the right path.

And here is your view back down Rauhankatu toward the bus terminal.

From there you make your way up cobblestone streets into what feels like a scene from a fairytale. Sturdy, sensible-looking houses in a variety of solid colors with white trim. Just a glance of the exteriors brings to mind how cozy they must be on the inside. At least that's how I picture them. I don't want to hear any differently.

Soon you catch sight of the cathedral's steeple (if that qualifies as a steeple).

Every direction you turn here is another beautiful view. This day I had the area pretty much to myself. Briefly overlapped with a small group of Asian tourists, but otherwise --- quiet.

Past the cathedral and moving toward the Castle Hill area the streets open up a bit. Homes seemed a bit larger. I refrained from taking intrusive shots, but the area seemed to over-index for the kind of upscale European station wagons that are good for the camping / biking / active & affluent lifestyle. Fenced yards with outdoor social features. Evokes a sense of life well-lived.

Took a quick look at the hiking area over toward Castle Hill. Lovely, bucolic view to the small road out of town. Note also the biking path running paralle to it. Nice way to get your exercise.

I didn't have time or inclination to spend much time hiking in the wet conditions. So snapped my pic and kept it moving.

Before leaving the area of old Porvoo I wanted to pass by the Devil's Stairs. If you look up toward the top center of this pic you can just make out where the cobblestone gives way to a natural stone section.

And here is a look at the actual Devil's Stairs.

I forget exactly how long it is, but maybe it runs 50 meters more or less. I was glad for the handrail since the rocks were a bit slick. Given the general climate of Porvoo this must be tricky/miserable to navigate much of the year. Or fun. Your mileage may vary. If you have time and the mobility to climb through here, it's worth doing. But I would also say it's not a 'must-do'. The little area beyond the stairs involves some more of the charming homes before leading you out to a semi-main street that returns you to more modern Porvoo.

Strolling back toward Mannerheimkatu, I passed on one side the Porvoo library.

Then a green industrial(?) compound which gave off particularly gloomy vibes on this gray day. I think this is its link on google maps. Hard to say what the heck it actually is based on the reviews. Anyway, caught my eye.

As did Thai Street Food, which, in retrospect, is probably where I should have had lunch.

I did like how in 'modern' Porvoo they maintained some of the visual cues of 'old' Porvoo. Solid color apartment buildings / townhomes (I'm guessing). This wasn't necessarily 100% uniform all around the city, but in parts.

I was making my way out to Burger Company on Aleksanterinkatu when I couldn't help but notice this Fizza hut. I wonder if they think of it that way. You know? Like Pizza Hut. Anyway, Fizza has a website if you're curious to know more. In retrospect, this, too, may have been a better lunch option than Burger Company.

I made it to Burger Company and ate my meal with a nice slice-of-life view. I will do a separate 'quick review' post on Burger Company later. Spoiler: didn't love it.

Post lunch stroll a couple of blocks until I found a scooter, which I used to buzz around some of the residential areas of central/eastern Porvoo, as illustrated kinda on my google maps route below.

I dropped the scooter off near the bus 'terminal' and spent the rest of my time in Porvoo enjoying the area along the riverfront. I walked through Runenberginpuisto and am surprised I don't have any pictures from that little stroll as I found it really charming. The reviews on that google maps link are kinda strange. I wonder what Erkki has seen. On this October Friday it was chill. I took some shots along the river and went about halway across the bridge. Did not have time to explore over on that side of the river. That's what I would have done next if I had maybe one more hour.

Last zone I checked out, which is also worth more time if you're a shopper or want to leisurely enjoy lunch/coffee in one of the various cafes and restaurants, is the area just on the north side of Mannerheiminkatu, all around Runo Hotel Porvoo (which appears to be a very nice option if you're thinking of a weekend in Porvoo). Lanes of cute shops selling a variety of upscale crafts and homewares. I did a lap in about 15-20 minutes but could easily see spending 60-90 minutes here or more if Judy was with me.

Finally, after a bit of mild panic when I realized I was not 100% certain that the bus back to Helsinki departed from the same 'terminal', I did find my OmniBus back to the big city. It showed up literally one minute before scheduled departure time. So they made me sweat it. But in the end I found my upper deck, front row seat and enjoyed a sunny ride home.

Second day in Helsinki - Day Trip to Porvoo via OmniBus

On the agenda for my second full day in Helsinki was a day trip to Porvoo. Why Porvoo? Why NOT Porvoo? Some googling will tell you it's Finland's second oldest city, has a population of ~50,000, and it's just about 1 hour away from central Helsinki, aka, easy, comfortable day trip distance. Image searching will show you that it's a beautiful little place with impossibly quaint and colorful wooden houses (note: that's just part of the city, but yes, it's very cool to walk around; more in a future post). It offers some nice shopping and a variety of cafes and restaurants. My take away after visiting is that it is a lovely place to live full time, perhaps an even nicer place to have as your occassional getaway if you're a Helsinki family of means, or, a great day trip that is 100% worth the time if you're spending multiple days in Helsinki like I was. The city has a handy little website for those considering a visit. But again, more on that in the next post. This one is about making the journey to Porvoo via OmniBus, which was quite simple and pleasant all in all.

My bus was leaving at 10:05 and I wanted to build in time to find the right platform, etc., so I was out waiting for the #10 tram nice and early.

The bus leaves from Kammpi station, which, like I saw in my not-so-smooth arrival day transit experience through Mall of Tripla / Pasila station, is a combo shopping/commercial center and transit hub.

Found my way to bus slot 3 --- what do you call bus departure points? not a platform like trains ... whatever, I found it --- and got into my seat. You can choose your seats on the OmniBus website. Very handy little rundown of the different sections and their relative benefits. I paid the extra charge to be in the upper deck front row. I wanted the view. Round trip ticket was about 24 euro.

And we were off and running. Grey skies but still interesting and no regrets paying for my premium seat.

Maybe I'm easily pleased, but as I mentioned in a previous post, I'm a sucker for the fall foilage. It's not something we have in la CDMX so I appreciate it when I experience it.

Once out on the highway we could have been anywhere. Like driving on route 24 somewhere in southeastern Massachusetts.

Snapped some pics of the arrival into downtown Porvoo.

Also captured some shots of the bus 'terminal'. Fairly generic parking lot surrounded by somewhat generic retail, but it turned out to be a good jumping off point to explore what there is to explore in Porvoo. I did not sample the "GOD DAG PERFECT COFFEE" kiosk. But in retrospect, if it was anything like the quality hot chocolate I pulled out of a similar kiosk in Tallinn a few days later, it would not have been a mistake to buy one. I'd be inclined to trust vending machine coffee during future Finland visits.

Net: smooth journey to Porvoo with Omnibus. Also, it was deliciously quiet. Like the quiet car of a commuter rail train. Only people actually abide the quiet. Recommend, 10/10. One note - limited english from the bus drivers I interacted with. Did not impact me given I had no issues with my ticket or anything. But be prepared to break out the translation app if you need to communicate anything beyond simple ticket transaction details.

Next post(s) will hit more on what I did with my 4 hours in Porvoo.

I went to a soccer game! Finland v Lithuania, Oct 9 2025 (Helsinki Olympic Stadium)

After a pretty full day (see previous posts) I was really looking forward to the evening's scheduled activity: Finland vs Lithuania in a World Cup qualifier at Helsinki Olympic Stadium. (Yes, Finland hosted a summer Olympics. Also, check out the wikipedia entry at that previous link - some nice concerts back in the 90s ... Dire Straits & Was (Not Was)!) I learned about the match through MyHelsinki.com, which is a fantastic resource for planning things to do during your visit to Helsinki. Tickets were pretty reasonable. I spent a good amount of time trying to figure out where to sit. This site was semi helpful, combined with some stadium schematics I found online. I wanted a decent seat, but did not need to splash for the best seat in the house. Wound up spending 70euro for E5, Row 10, Seat 101. Anyway, I was going to the game and looking forward to it.

The journey over was pretty straightforward. Took tram 10 all the way to Oopera and then walked to the stadium. Some supporters wearing the blue and white Suomi scarves. Felt like a family outing vibe. Not quite like taking the red line up to Wrigley. Though I arrived a bit early, so maybe it ramped up on the following trams that arrived closer to kickoff. Scene I rolled up on was pretty chill. Food truck was quiet.

You traverse a little green area before getting to the parking & pre-game area.

Outside the stadium was a nice vibe. Very orderly, calm, no crazy chants. Some interactive set ups for kids to take shots on goal. Obligatory food truck. The merch tents were modest but offered a nice variety of gear. Wound up doing what I usually do: bought a shirt in the wrong size that will end up in Judy's closet. Cool looking shirt, though.

Time to enter. The Jerry-dome in Dallas it ain't. But I love this kind of place. Minimalist. Old school. I was feeling seen in Finland.

Found my seat to be satisfactory and took in some of the pre-game ceremony.

Snapped a couple of pics at the kick and for some set plays.

The first half ended with Finland down 1-0 and not looking too inspired. The experience was pretty good overall. It hadn't rained and wasn't too cold, so that was big. But there was a pretty hyper 9-year old sitting behind me and he must have kicked my seat 15 times in 45 minutes. I gave some thought to trying to find another seat and another perspective for the second half, but ultimately decided to just bail. It had been a long day and I wanted to eat something besides stadium food for dinner. So I left. I did capture an unexpected use of Kool & The Gang's 'Celebration' to start the halftime break.


Finns don't get cheated on the halftime / intermission beers. Witnessed something similar at the hockey game I went to Saturday night (future post).

For some reason I decided to scoot back to the apartment rather than take the tram. I think I exited on a far side of the stadium away from the tram and when I saw some scooters there for the riding I said why not. In my experience, scooting is a bit easier when you're just kind of wandering or generally exploring. Trying to navigate to a specific spot a few miles away in the dark is not as much fun. Scoot. Stop. Check google maps. Scoot. Stop. Check google maps. But I saw another slice of the city that I otherwise would not have covered. My route was the dark blue line in the image below. Eventually I made it home, then popped out to K-Market for some prepared meal thing to enjoy in my cozy and warm apartment.

Oh, and I later learned that Finland scored two goals in the first 10 minutes of the second half, going on to win 2-1. They won't qualify directly from their group (Netherlands and Poland have those spots sewn up). But they will be in the playoffs for a final qualifying spot.