Porvoo is a charming town, just about 45 minutes east of Helsinki, and makes for a lovely day trip. Helsinki doesn’t really have an old town, but Porvoo does! In any season, the Old Town of Porvoo is the ideal quick getaway from the Finnish Capital. You need less than a day to explore it, that’s the beauty of small towns. Here’s how it goes on a day trip from Helsinki to Porvoo:
Upon arrival, it’s most likely you will already see the Old Town houses and church. The Porvoo river offers good views of these colourful wooden houses, and along the riverside is a good place to take a stroll.
Getting to Porvoo from Helsinki
The first time I visited Porvoo was in summer 2014 — I boarded a bus from Helsinki, and then rented a bike to explore the town. You can get cheap bus tickets (online or at the ticket counter) by OnniBus or Matkahuolto, from Kamppi Bus Terminal in Helsinki. The bus journey is about 50 minutes and costs 10-15 EUR one way.
Not much has changed since then. Over several trips, we usually just like to walk around or sit in some cafés. We have stayed overnight on one occasion – at the Porvoo Hostel. It’s not necessary to stay over if you just want to explore the old town.
This sunny July day, it was bustling with tourists. Local tourism has exploded in these times (2020-2021), and Porvoo has long since been a popular destination for domestic tourists.
View scenic sights and the wooden houses of Porvoo along the riverside, walk the cobblestone streets, and soon reach the Porvoo Cathedral, situated on a small hill.
Other notable buildings and sights include the Town hall Museum, which we haven’t ever entered. You can also find the house museum of Finland’s national poet Johan Ludvig Runeberg at Aleksanterinkatu 3. It’s interesting to see the interiors and old house of the poet. The entrance is free on Runeberg’s day, celebrated nationwide on the 5th of February.
The best part of this day is that we get to have the Runeberg’s cake (Runebergintorttu). It’s a rum-almond pastry with berry jam on top, one of my favourite cakes. Apparently you can find these in Porvoo year round — the rest of Finland sells them only around the occasion. I didn’t come across any vegan ones this time, otherwise I’d have surely grabbed one.
We love the cafés of Porvoo and would recommend the popular Porvoon Paahtimo Bar & Café. It’s the pretty brick building next to the wooden houses, by the bridge and consists of several floors and outdoor seating on a river platform. It’s very cosy interiors make for a great stop to relax and have a cup of their fresh roasted coffee.
Where did we eat? Ani’s Café shows up as the first option for vegan food. This lunch restaurant in the old town served veggie food – Their summer menu came with options for salad buffet, warm meal and lunch bowls. The salad buffet was too pricey by itself (20€), so we went for the jackfruit bowl and spinach pancake. (12-17€).
Ani’s Café is currently a pop-up kiosk at Porvoo market square. Sadly, there are no fully vegan restaurants in Porvoo yet, but you will find a vegan option in most restaurants. Other recs: Zum Beispiel, Bistro Mestari.
Get some fresh air, find a lovely forest and more good views when you hike up Iso Linnamäki, just a few minutes away from the old town. A medieval Swedish castle once stood on this hill but there are no remains visible.
If you want to see how Porvoo looks in winter, I’ll leave you with some of my old photos from when we visited in winter:
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This article is also featured on GPSmyCity. To download this article for offline reading or create a self-guided walking tour to visit the attractions highlighted in this article, go to Walking Tours and Articles in Porvoo.
Last updated on January 14th, 2026
