I’m a local startup entrepreneur, passionate about city culture, sports and always looking to discover new things to do. I have been living in Turku for almost 20 years now.
Where do I go as a local in Turku Finland? Here’s 5 different places that are important for me:
1. Aura Riverbank
Wow, that was easy. My all-time favourite spot in Turku, no matter if it’s cafés or river boat restaurants, beers or coffee, brunch or dinner, ice cream or laid-back jogging. This is where you go. Here you find places like Donna, Aussie Bar, Café Art, Sergio’s, Tintå, Blanko, Esposito, just to mention a few.
Aura River Boats
2. Kupittaa Sports Park
This is the place to be if you are into sports! Football fields and the stadium, ice hockey arena, padel, basketball, petanque, BMX biking, skatepark, velodrome, outdoor gym, you name it. There’s also a water park, an adventure park and a bird park for families and kids among other activities. Great place for a picnic or a mellow afternoon walk. To go there I either use my Vespa, bus or Föli city bikes.
Kupittaa Park
3. Ruissalo Island
I go here weekly. Sometimes it’s the driving range of Aura Golf, sometimes the beach and camping of Saaronniemi. It might also be orienteering or trail running in the nature park area. This is btw an awesome place for owl watching during the night. Great authentic restaurants and cafés, like Turun Pursiseura, Honkapirtti, and Sergio’s Al Mare. Bus number 8 goes straight to the Island.
Ruisrock Festival
4. Hills of Kakola
When in need to clear the head, what could be a better place to go for a run than Kakola Hill. It used to be a jail – the most famous one in Finland – nowadays it is being renovated to be the hippest housing area in Turku. Running the steep serpentine road up and down from Aura River side couple of times clears your mind of everyday worries. smiley.
Kakola by Samuli Lintula
5. Turku Market Hall
Groceries, fresh baked bread, lunch, cappuccino, sushi, cakes and much more. Turku Market Hall is the place where locals go to buy whatever they need. The other end of it is for the great restaurants like Kado Sushi, MBakery or Hallin Kotikokki. The other end is for groceries, bread, veggies and meat etc. My favourite café here is Sininen Juna, the old-school train car with free wifi.
Turku Market Hall
These 5 are my favourite spots in Turku at the moment. We’ve got plenty of more, just ask the locals.
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