Also known as:
Åbo
Location:
Southwest Finland
Official Languages:
Finnish and Swedish
Time zone:
CET (UTC +2)
CEST (UTC +3) in summer
Power:
The Electronic Sockets in Finland is 230 V/50 Hz, and the accept plug type C and
F, the typical format in Europe (other than UK and a few other European
countries). Further information can be found
here.
Turku has a hemiboreal climate.
Warm summers with temperatures randing up to 30'C (86'F), and relatively cold winters with frequent snowfall.
July is the warmest month of the year, with an average temperature of 17'C (62'F)
August is the rainiest month of the year, receiving an average of 85 mm (3.4 inches) of rainfall.
Getting around:
Good public transportation network of bus routes, operated mainly by private
companies. Major districts are served by buses every 10 to 15 minutes during the day, some even more frequently. There are no subway, train or
tram line currently operating in the city. Car rental may not be a bad idea,
although parking may be problem at certain times in the center of the city.
Visitors can also rent bikes or take taxis to get around.
Getting to Turku:
You can arrive at Turku by air, by
land or by sea. Detailed information on how to get to Turku can be found at the
access page.
Prepare to pay 10 - 30
€ for meals in restaurants. Fast
food restaurant and pizzeria would cost less, for about 5 - 8
€ per meal.
Turku offers a variety of food, from lower-end pizza and
soup, all the way to high-end steak and fine wine.
There are also various cafe, bars, and nightclubs in the
city. They close at various hours. Some popular nightclubs open until 4 am.
Some recommended restaurants include:
Mid-Range
- Bremer. All meals around 10 €: pizza, wok, burgers,
tortillas. Uudenmaankatu 1.
- Kortteliravintola Kerttu at
Läntinen pitkäkatu 35, near the railway station. They have a laundromat,
free wireless Internet, newspapers to read and a very comfortable
atmosphere.
- Panini Caffè Ristorante, address: Linnankatu 3. Good Italian food
at reasonable prices.
- Pizzeria Dennis.
Well known and respected Italian restaurant.
High-End
- Enkeliravintola ("Angel Restaurant"), downtown on Kauppiaskatu,
decorated with many art objects related to angels and focusing on warm,
friendly atmosphere.
- Viikinkiravintola ("Viking Restaurant") Harald, downtown on
Aurakatu, giving patrons a pseudo-authentic Viking style environment.
- Hermanni, along the riverside towards the harbor from downtown
- Rocca, along the riverside towards the harbor from downtown -
co-owned by the famous ice hockey player Saku Koivu.
- Vaakahuone Aurajoki riverside Castlestreet (Linnankatu) 38
- Oscarin Olohuone in hotel Hamburger Börs, offering a 'gentleman's
club' style environment.
Turku have plenty of theatres, cinemas and art galleries, as
well as a city philharmonic orchestra.
Turku also have numerous museums featuring art, music, history among others.
Turku Art Museum
Wäinö Aaltonen Museum of Art
Jean Sibelius Museum (maintained by Abo Akademi University)
Luostarinmäki Handicrafts Museum
Aboa Vetus Museum
Turku is a candidate city for European Capital of Culture in 2011.
[Hotel Name]. Detailed information on hotel accommodation for Saint 2008
can be found at the
accommodation page.
For more information on the history, geography, climate,
economy, and festivities at Turku, please refer to the following websites.
Official Turku Website:
http://www.turku.fi
Turku, Finland on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turku
WikiTravel Turku Travel Guide:
http://wikitravel.org/en/Turku
