Go Citybreak:With an art academy and oodles of galleries, it's little wonder that this free-spirited Finnish city has been anointed as one of this year's Capitals of Culture, writes
LORRAINE COURTNEY
CULTURE, IN ITS many guises, has always been the best reason for going to Turku. It has Finland's best art academy, oodles of galleries and there seems to be music everywhere, all the time.
But the most obvious cultural manifestation of the Finnish spirit is in the splendid architecture of Turku, such as artist Jan-Erik Andersson's whimsical leaf-shaped home. Windows are shaped like tear drops, walls curve and inside a screen plays a never-ending loop of New York commuters rushing through Grand Central Terminal.
It's modernism meets Moomin and totally emblematic of the idiosyncratic vitality that is Turku. Little wonder then that this arty, free-spirited city has been anointed as one of this year's Capitals of Culture.
The countryside around Turku is all lush oak groves and cornfields that shake in the Baltic wind. There is a latticework of 20,000 picture-perfect islands in the bay.
With its 19th century clapboard wooden houses painted buttery yellows, snaking cobbled streets and the attractive blond inhabitants, Turku bears more than a passing resemblance to Stockholm. Don't tell the Finns that though. It's also like a Rome of the north, with its glut of archaeological sites and setting atop seven hills.
Turku was part of the Swedish kingdom until 1890, serving as the provincial capital. Finland then became an autonomous Grand Duchy under the Tsar of Russia and its capital was transferred to Helsinki in 1812.
The city is old enough to have burned down 20 times. In the Great Fire of 1827, started after a maid's carelessness with a candle, more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed in just two days.
After this, a decree ordered the planting of trees around each property to hinder the spread of future blazes. This means that all of the older streets are lined with Linden trees.
PICK UP THE Old Town walking tour booklet from a tourist office before you start your circuit of Turku's historic gems. A visit to the doughty castle is an excellent starting point.
This pale 13th century edifice hosted many sieges and the usual soap-opera style skulduggery. Now, its web of rooms chronicle history from the Middle Ages.
Vanha Suurtori (Old Great Square) holds the magnificent cathedral, the national shrine. Its oldest parts date back to the 13th century. The interior has early frescoes, the first book written in Finnish and the 1479 Ejby chalice.
This red-brick church with its sturdy tower is much more than the sum of its parts. It holds a very special place in the Finnish consciousness as it seems to embody "sisu", that peculiar quality of the Finnish character that combines fortitude and endurance.
Another church worth a visit is the fierce, alluring Resurrection Chapel by Erik Bryggman. The nave and sanctuary are illuminated by a window wall that frames a Japanese scene of lichened pines and dewy foliage. Walls with pleated concrete folds enliven an otherwise bare concrete structure.
Finns supposedly consume the most coffee per head in the world, so unsurprisingly Turku has a thriving cafe culture. The art nouveau Café Fontana is very charming and while there you should try pulla: a brioche-style bread that's laced with fragrant cardamom and cinnamon.
Jacques Chirac might have called Finnish food the worst in the world but he was definitely wrong. Finland's food is super fresh, clean-tasting and uncomplicated. Delights include tart Arctic cloudberries, just-fished river salmon and summer crayfish barbecues.
A group of Turku restaurants launched a dinner this February that is made up of a minimum 80 per cent locally produced ingredients and that uses seasonal, ecologically-produced and fair trade products where it can. You can find a list of these restaurants on solutions2011.fi.
Otherwise, you can fill up at kitsch Viking-themed restaurants that dish up reindeer and bear dishes such as Harald on Auragatan. The set dinner menu starts at €29. Mami on Linnankatu has a little more class and you can expect regional specialities such as sea bass soup with dill or duck with chanterelles and apples. Main courses here start at €17.
As any metropolitan style junkie well knows, the Finns have always been shrewdly innovative when it comes to domestic design and the city throws up buckets of consumerist pleasures. Iittala, Hackman and Arabia have practical yet stylish homeware collections.
Some fabulous souvenirs to pick up on your trip include Alvar Aalto's swirly Savoy vase, an Iittala glass bird, some colourful apparel from Jackie O's favourite Marimekko, berry liqueurs such as Arctic Bramble and exquisite chocolates from the Fazer factory.
If you have little ones in tow then Moomin Valley is a theme park modelled after Tove Jansson's blue creations. It's outside Turku in Naantali: an old seaside resort with a harbour rimmed by clapboard houses. You should first stroll the atmospheric backstreets, eating steaming waffles smothered in ice cream. The island is thick with pine trees, floating on the chilly Baltic waters and the perfect embodiment of the feyness of Moomin world.
The nearby island of Hirvensalo is the location for St Henry's Ecumenical Art Chapel built in 2005. It's worth the boat trip for its off-beat exhibitions and copper roof that looks like an upturned boat on a hillock of pines.
THE CAPITAL of Culture title means that Turku will host an eclectic line-up of concerts, exhibitions, puppet shows and storytelling sessions this year. There are even bizarre hybrid events such as "accordion wrestling" where Finnish maestro Kimmo Pohjonen will perform accompanied by a choreographed duo of grapplers.
Two stand-out events are the
Alice in Wonderlandexhibition of contemporary art photography and the showcasing of native boy Alvar Aalto's functionalistic furniture designs.
Another event that promises to be a riot is the hefty cast performing the musical
Hairthat will be drawn from the typical middle-aged population of Turku with no previous musical theatre experience. Much of the action will take place in an old railway maintenance shed, revamped and renamed Logomo, which dates back to the time of the Russian tsars.
There's one more fine art experience to relish before you leave: the Old Turku and New Art museum. When art collector Matti Koivurinta was building a new gallery, workers in the basement stumbled on a cobbled street dating back to the 14th century. Construction plans were swiftly altered and this pair of museums were born in 1995.
It's a remarkable convergence of medieval and modern that blends modern artworks with ancient cellars of merchants' homes. The basement caverns hold old coins, a perfectly-intact skeleton of a cat and a medieval toy wooden boat. Andy Warhol, Picasso and a substantial group of David Hockneys form the modern part.
So, cast off your inhibitions and throw yourself into Turku life. That means cafe culture, visits to inventive galleries and an obligatory nude sauna.
Get there:Aer Lingus (aerlingus.com) flies from Dublin to Helsinki. The train to Turku (vr.fi/en) takes about two hours.
Turku where to . . .
Stay
Value:Bed and Breakfast, Tuure, Tuureporinkatu 17C, 00-358-2-233-0230, tuure.fi. This is bright, colourful and has a resident cat. A hearty Finnish-style breakfast is included in the price and you also have full use of the kitchen during your stay. Doubles from €54.
Mid-market:Best Western Hotel Seaport, Toinen Poikkikatu 2, 00-358-2-283-3000, hotelseaport.fi. Housed in a restored harbour warehouse, the interior of this establishment is all pine and natural fabrics and its location by the World Trade Centre makes it perfect for business travellers too. Little ones will be entertained in the play area. Doubles from €69.
Upmarket:The Centro Hotel, Yliopistonkatu 12, 00-358-2-211-8100, centrohotel.com. This is a boutique hotel right inTurku's beating heart. Expect polished parquetry floors, wooden panelling and a hefty breakfast. Doubles from €110.
Eat
Value: Café Fontana, Aurakatu 1, 00-358-2-250-1444, fontanacafe.fi. A gorgeous art nouveau cafe selling the most perfect pastries and pies, with an interior that is super elegant and an outdoor terrace that has a bird's eye view over Turku's street life. For something on the hoof, try Kauppatori or the outdoor market.
Mid-market:Harald, Auragatan 3, 00-358-44-766-8204, ravintolaharald.fi. A full-on kitsch extravaganza where the food is traditional Finnish fare and all great fun if you don't mind eating Bambi's mum. Viking helmets are optional.
Upmarket: Panimoravintola Koulu, Eerikinkatu 18, 00-358-2-274-5757, panimoravintolakoulu.fi. Set in a former schoolhouse, complete with desks and inkwells, this restaurant is decidedly upmarket, but there is also a pub-grub option.
Shop spot
The streets that radiate from the Market Square are the spot to pick up some cool Finnish design. Otherwise, the Kauppahalli Market Hall dates from the 19th century and its mahogany-panelled shops are excellent for stocking up on local specialities such as tinned reindeer meat, pickled Baltic herring and pulla, the cinnamon-scented cake-like bread.
Night spot
Turku nights are wilder than you might suspect. Uusii Apteekki (Kaskenkatu 1, 00-358-2-250-2595, uusiapteekki.fi), the preferred watering hole of detective writer Reijo Juhani Maki, and Puutorin Vessa, Puutori (00-358-2-233-8123, puutorinvessa.fi), housed in a converted public loo – yes really – are two great bets for an evening out. Later on, make for one of the floating terraces on the river Aura to dance till dawn.