Pori

Pori town hall

Pori (Swedish Björneborg) is in Western Finland. It was founded in 1558, making it one of the oldest cities in Finland.

Understand

Pori is a traditional industrial city, with its former wealth and prominence showing in the neo-renaissance buildings in downtown and in several beautiful red-bricked industrial facilities alongside the Kokemäenjoki river. However, the city has suffered heavily during the economic downturns, especially in the early 1990s, earning a reputation as a somewhat gritty place. Things are looking brighter again with lots of students coming to city and city centre being revamped.

Pori is most famous for the excellent Yyteri beach and the annual international jazz festival in July.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Pori Airport (POR  ^IATA) (is located almost in the city center of Pori). Budapest Aircraft Service flies to Helsinki. The closest and most useful other airports with regular flights are in Turku, Tampere and Helsinki.  

Matkahuolto long-distance buses have a stop near airport named Pori lentoasema th and it is possible to travel by them to Pori bus station.

By bus

Bus connections from Helsinki (3-4 hr), Turku, Tampere (2 hr), Oulu, Jyväskylä and Rauma (1 hr). Tickets cost about €30-40 (Helsinki-Pori-Helsinki bus ticket for adults is now about €77), except on Onnibus (from/to Helsinki, Tampere, Turku, Oulu, Rauma and more), whose tickets cost €1–10 depending on supply and demand.

By train

All the passenger trains go through Tampere. One way adult ticket from Tampere costs around €15, from Helsinki around €40. Tampere-Pori takes 1,5h, Helsinki-Pori 3½ hr.

By car

Drive the main highway 2 from Helsinki (3½ - 4 hours), main highway 8 from Turku or from Vaasa (both about 2 hours), or road 11 from Tampere (about 1½ hours).

Get around

Central Pori is small enough to be relatively easily explored on foot or, in the summer, on a bicycle. Most if the attractions are within a short walking distance from each other. The few destinations further away, such as the Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum (about 3 km from the city center) and the Yyteri sand beaches (about 15 km away) can be reached by bus. Information about local buses you can find here (web page in Finnish only). You can use Google Transit to seek local bus routes between given locations and addresses.

The cheapest way to purchase tickets is through the mobile application Kyyti Likel. 10 tickets bought from the app cost 20€ and are valid for 2 hours. The app is available for Android and iOS.

The Pori bus station is located at the central square in the centre of town. From the centre square there are good local connections to different parts of the town and to the surrounding neighbourhoods everywhere.

Taxi connections can be booked using 02 Taksi smartphone app or calling Satakunnan aluetaksi.

See

• 1 City Hall. The riverfront in Pori has several prominent neo-renaissance stone building quarters, and the City Hall (with its park) by Carl-Ludvig Engel is especially worth a look. ,

• 2 Pori Cathedral. The gothic-style Pori cathedral (that built instead of the castle that gave Pori its name) is also on alongside the river just a stone's throw away. 
• 3 Porin Teatteri. The Theater building and its neighbouring house Hotel Otava, the world's first theater house built for performances in Finnish. 
• 1 Reposaari. The fisher/seaside village outside the city filled with picturesque wooden buildings on the seaside. Especially recommended for summertime visits. 
• 4 Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum. The Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum contains paintings of the famous Finnish painter Axel Gallén-Kallela. It is on the main graveyard and the entrance is free. 
• 5 Viikkari (Itätulli). Viikkari, or the 5th district, consists solely of old wooden buildings. There's nothing to see in particular, but the area has a unique "bohemian" character and is best enjoyed by just walking around. Located alongside the eastern border of the city center, it's a popular location to live for local artists and underground musicians as well. 

Do

Festivals

• Rock'n'Roll Jamboree: 20–23 June 2018. Midsummers rock festival (date needs updating)
• 1 Pori Jazz Festival: 12–20 July 2019. Quite big names, like Santana, Simon & Garfunkel or for example Alicia Keys have played here recently. Really not-so-jazz-festival anymore, alhtough jazz & blues can also be found. One of the biggest (if not the biggest) festival in Finland. Favorite festival of the slightly older crowd. (date needs updating)
• Porispere: 3–5 August 2018. A rock festival. (date needs updating)

Sports

• 2 Yyteri sand beach. One of the largest and certainly best beaches in Finland. 
• 3 Ice hockey. In the winter, see an ice hockey game of Porin Ässät ("The Aces"). Although the team isn't as successful as it used to be, the redcoats are still an essential part of the city culture – especially the Saturday games boast an excellent atmosphere and draw in large crowds. You see the traditional Ace of Spades logo a lot around the city during the Finnish Professional Hockey League season, which begins in September and ends around March/April. Tickets (€10-25) are available at the Sokos department store in downtown, or at the Lippu.fi website 
• 4 Pori National Urban Park. Situated at the river banks. Kirjurinluoto on the north side. It contains a free smallish children's theme park, a theme based golf link and small streams of water. Full range disc golf course. It is lush green during summer. The most prominent monuments of the Pori National Urban Park are the industrial buildings on the north bank of the Kokemäenjoki, the neo-gothic Central church of Pori and one the best examples of neo-renaissance buildings in Finland, the Junnelius place which is now used as the City Hall. The National Urban Park also contains one of the most beautiful bridges in Finland architecturally, the Pori bridge; the Old Courthouse; the unique collection of stone buildings, "stone Pori"; the Juselius mausoleum, and Kirjurinluoto island, made famous by the Pori Jazz Festival. 

Buy

• 1 Isokarhu, Yrjönkatu 15. Isokarhu mall is a large shopping mall in the heart of the city, alongside the pedestrian zone. In it are located franchises of the most common Finnish and international chains ranging from H&M to Intersport. What you can't find inside, is very probably sold in a store located right next to it (it's a small town afterwall). There are some nice cafe's as well. 
• 2 Kauppahalli, Yrjönkatu 12. The old market hall, or in Finnish "kauppahalli" is a nostalgic experience. The hall sells local products ranging from fish to vegetables. It opens early in the morning and stays open through the afternoon. Good place to take it easy for a while and have an old-fashioned cup of coffee with a sweet bread. But be warned: the retro has a downside in the average age of visitors being probably over 70 years. Old people have also a saying "when you come to Pori, we put you in a pärekori (chip basket) and get you around the tori (market square). 
• 3 BePop, Yrjönkatu 22. A shopping mall located in the northern end of the pedestrian zone, also has several small stores. It's also a crazy example of the building boom of the "casino economy", with a huge structure (in pastel colors) but very little commercial space. There's a nice view if you bother to climb to the top bridge that crosses the "alley". 

• Outlet stores Tactic board games, Karjarannantie 2 km west of the city. Open M-F 08:00-16:00. Bakeries/cafes Mäkilän leipomo: Raja-Hiltantie 3 M-F 07:00-15:00; Jauhopojat Uusikoivistontie 73 open M-F -17:00, Sa 08:00-13:00.

Eat

The normal price for restaurant meal is €20-30. Fast food is obviously cheaper. Kebab and pizza are at almost every corner of the town. The price range is €5-10. These joints are often open until early in the morning.

• 1 Tori (Market place). Typical and local products are fried or smoked river lampreys (season is at autumns) and self made meat pies of Ojala. Market square is open from early morning till 14:00. Typical food is also "porilainen" and it is known all over Finland. Porilainen is a street food dish in Finnish cuisine made from white bread and a half-inch slice of thick sausage. It usually contains diced sweet onion, chopped pickled cucumber, ketchup, mustard, and in some cases mayonnaise. Porilainen resembles a hamburger or a hotdog. 
• Hesburger. The Finnish equivalent to McDonald's. There are many franchises, such as the one at the market square, which is open until 5 am in the morning. Meals €6-10. (updated Feb 2020)
• 2 Bucco, Hallituskatu 22. Popular Italian restaurant at Hallituskatu. Reservation might be a good idea at least in the weekends. 
• 3 Ravintola Raatihuoneenkellari, Hallituskatu 9. Probably the most upmarket restaurant in Pori, situated in the cellar of the city hall. 
• 4 Ravintola Sofia, ☏ +358 2 633 0013, sofia@amica.fi. School cafeteria with extremely tasty food. You can take as much you want (including bread a salads), which means you never leave empty. Students pay just €2.60. Open only on workdays €8.50 for everything. (updated Oct 2018)

Drink

The main city center area is full with bars and nightclubs. They are situated at/near the main street Yrjönkatu. The age limit is usually 18 years, but to some clubs it's 20. If you are 18 years old, you can negotiate, and you may sometimes enter the bar/nightclub. Bartenders often ask younger customers to present their identification card. If you are in Pori at the summer, go to Eteläranta, there are many nice bars and much to do.

Bars and pubs

• 1 Rattis, Yrjönkatu 27 (opposite the bus station). Most genuine Pori experience can be found here. Also Jazz jams on Thursday nights, with local students performing. 
• 2 Tullibaari, Itsenäisyydenkatu 44. The Tulli Pub on the other side of the square gets occasionally pretty "genuine", too. 
• 3 Beer Hunters, Antinkatu 11 (next to the market square). Nice selection of beers, has its own little brewery. 
• 4 Havana Bar & Coffee, Liisankatu 7. In the Finnkino movie theatre building (Promenadikeskus), draws in local 'hipsters'. 
• 5 One for the Road, Otavankatu 7 (two blocks west from the market square and then south). Known to locals as "Irkku". An Irish pub with delicious toasts, reasonable prices and an unique atmosphere. 

Clubs

• 5 Bar Kino, Itäpuisto 10. Live music on Thursdays. Most popular live venue in Pori. On weekends regular, quite popular club with mainstream dance music. 
• 6 Cabaret Discotheque, Yrjönkatu 9. A newer, popular club that is a part of a chain of discotheques bearing the same name around Finland. The queue can get very long, so after midnight you might have difficulties getting in. 
• 7 PK (Punainen Kukko), Itäpuisto 13. A nightclub aimed at a somewhat older (but certainly not less drunk) clientele. There are several floors, with electronic dance music in the basement, karaoke in the middle floor, and Finnish 'schlager' (iskelmä) in the largest dance floor. 
• 8 Amarillo, Vaakuna. Amarillo and Vaakuna are located in the Sokos Hotel Vaakuna next to the market square. Amarillo has a restaurant and a relatively popular bar, and as the place closes around 1 am, people tend to the Vaakuna club upstairs. It tries to distinguish itself as a somewhat more elegant club experience. On a Pori scale, anyway. 

Sleep

Budget

• 1 Hostel Buisto, Itäpuisto 13, ☏ +358 44 3330 646, fax: +358 2 6330 646. 17 rooms with 42 beds in the centre of Pori. 
• 2 Matkakoti Musa, Putimäentie 69, ☏ +358 2 637 0100. 5 rooms with 12 beds. 
• 3 Omenahotelli, Itäpuisto 1. Number of rooms: 57 

Meri-Pori

• 4 Yyterin leirintäalue (Yyteri camping area), Yyterin santojentie, ☏ +358 2 634 5700. 75 cottages near the Yyteri sand beach. Four-person cottage costs €45/night. 
• 5 Matkakoti/Gasthaus Marita, Satamapuisto 2 (Located on the island of Reposaari), ☏ +358 2 638 4463, +358 50 592 6041. 11 rooms with 25 beds. 
• 6 Matkakoti Tiira, Santojentie 9, ☏ +358 2 638 3792. 17 beds near the Yyteri sand beach. 
• 7 Yyterin Kievari, Yyterin santojentie 10 A, ☏ +358 2 638 3922. 20 beds (+20 in the summer) near the Yyteri sand beach. 

Mid-range

• 8 Scandic Hotel Pori, Itsenäisyydenkatu 41, ☏ +358 2 624 900. 170 beds in 82 rooms. Rooms from about €70. 
• 9 Hotelli Cumulus, Yrjönkatu 24, ☏ +358 2 550 900. 172 beds in 109 rooms. Internet access available in rooms. 

Meri-Pori

• 10 Yyterin Kylpylähotelli, Sipintie 1, ☏ +358 2 628 5300. 230 beds in 113 rooms. Price includes use of sauna and baths. Located on Yyteri sand beach. Double rooms for €94, single rooms for €73.. 

Splurge

• 11 Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, Gallen-Kallelankatu 7, ☏ +358 20 1234 626. 416 beds in 203 rooms. 

Go next

• Rauma - Finland's third oldest town with a beautiful wooden old town, less than a hour away by car or bus.

Routes through Pori

Tornio ← Kristinestad ←

W  E

→ Rauma → Turku