Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Turku,
the historic capital of Finland, is a two-hour bus or train ride from
Helsinki. Overall, Turku is a pale shadow of Helsinki, and there is little reason
tomakeaspecialtrip.Itdoeshaveahandicraftmuseuminaclusterofwooden
houses (the only part of town to survive a devastating fire in the early 1800s),
an old castle, a fine Gothic cathedral (this was the first part of Finland to be
Christianized, in the 12th century), and a market square. Viking and Tallink
Silja boats sail from Turku to Stockholm every morning and evening, passing
through the especially scenic Turku archipelago.
Naantali,
a cute, commercial, well-preserved medieval town with a quaint
harbor, is an easy 20-minute bus ride from Turku.
The Esplanade:
The Esplanade is capped by the enormous, eight-floor
Stockmann
departmentstore,arguablyScandinavia'smostimpressive(Mon-
Fri 9:00-21:00, Sat 9:00-18:00, open most Sundays 12:00-18:00, great base-
ment supermarket, Aleksanterinkatu 52B,
www.stockmann.fi
)
.
The rest of the Esplanade is lined with smaller stores ideal for window-
shopping. Keep an eye out for sleek Scan-design gifts. Consider the purses,
scarves, clothes, and fabrics from
Marimekko,
the well-known Finnish fash-
ion company famous for striped designs (at #33, plus a new larger branch
nearby at the corner of Aleksanterinkatu and Keskuskatu;
www.marimekko.com
)
. The
Artek
store (#18), founded by designers Alvar
and Elissa Aalto, showcases expensive, high-end housewares in the modern,
practical style that Ikea commercialized successfully for the mass market
(
www.artek.fi
)
.
Aarikka
(#25) and
Iittala
(#27) also have Finnish house-
wares and ceramics. Bookworms enjoy the impressive
Academic Bookstore
just before Stockmann (#39, same hours as Stockmann).
Fans of Tove Jansson's Moomin children's stories will enjoy the
Moomin
Shop,
on the second floor of the Forum shopping mall at Mannerheimintie
20, across from Stockmann (Mon-Fri 9:00-21:00, Sat 9:00-18:00, Sun
12:00-18:00,
www.moomin.fi
)
.
Bus Station:
For less glamorous shopping needs, the
Kamppi
mall above
and around the bus station is good.
