Discover Finland's Oldest City

Emily Lang had the opportunity to go on exchange to Turku, Finland from September-December 2022. She shares some of her highlights from this experience with us here.

Turku is the oldest city on Finland and as such has a rich history mixed with a vibrant energy. It is also a university town with six post-secondary institutions and over 40,000 students in a town of only 200,000. The River Aura splits the town and is lined with wonderful cafes with tables that spill into the street and buzz with activity. Many students meet at these cafes and my favourites include Cafe Qwensel and Cafe Aanka. Turku is known for its culinary scene and Tinta was a favroutie for gourmet pizzas along the riverbank and my vegan friends raved about Kuori. The local speciality of herring and potatoes is delicious everywhere.

The Old Great Square in the center of the old town holds weekly markets, beer festivals and Christmas events. It was wonderful to watch the square transform from sunny September days with bustling farmer’s markets to the site of the big Turku Day party in October to a magical Christmas village covered in snow in December.

Sauna is a Finnish tradition and an integral part of every local’s life. There are more saunas in Finland than cars! Whether I was visiting someone’s cottage, at the local beach, or attending a school conference there was always a sauna component. My favourite public sauna was on Ispoinen Beach with the ritual of hot sauna and cool plunge in the sea. In the winter months the cool plunge is via ice swimming holes!

I met a lot of international students while I was studying in Turku and we did a lot of trips together. Some were day trips to close by towns like Naantali and Tampere. Other trips were weekends in Helsinki and Estonia or long weekends with an overnight cruise to Stockholm. A highlight for sure was a train trip to Lapland to visit Santa’s Village, taste reindeer meet for the first time, and try cross-country skiing with my new Norwegian friend.