Loviisa (Swedish: Lovisa) is a town and municipality in Uusimaa on the Finnish south coast.

The town hall

Get in

By car

Loviisa is situated next to highway 7 (E18) about halfway between Helsinki and the Russian border at Vaalimaa (90 km to both of them) and is an easy side trip.

By bus

Bus is the only form of public transportation to Loviisa. There are direct buses from Helsinki, and you can also take one of the buses from Helsinki to Kotka or Hamina and get off in Loviisa.

Get around

The points of interest in the town are accessible by foot, if you want to go further out you will need a car or taxi.

Local bus and route planner are available.

Loviisa also has a service line primarily aimed at the elderly. You pay the driver for the trip according to the bus fare. The ride is ordered from the driver by 4 pm the day before. Monday rides can also be booked on Monday mornings from 7.30 am to 7.45 am. The line taxi will pick you up at the agreed address.

By taxi

• Lähitaksi, ☏ +358 100 7300 (extra charge: €1.92+€2.5/min+pvm). Traditionally the main taxi dispatch service in the capital region outside of Helsinki. Smartphone app: Taksini Daytime M–Sa €3.90+€1/1.45/km+0.90/min, nights and holidays €7.90+1.05/1.55/km+0.99/min; prebooking €7/14; the lower km and prebooking fees for 1–4 persons. (updated Jul 2020)
• Menevä Loviisa. Smart phone app offers address based routing and calculates price according to them. Pricing told on the web. (updated Mar 2020)
• Taksi Itä-Uusimaa, ☏ +358 100 0700. Also bookable by 0100 0700 app. Fixed price based on calculated route and time if destination address given when booking by app. Flag fall M–Sa 05:00–21:00: €3.90, other times and holidays: €6.90; 1–4 persons €0.99/km+0.99/min (July 2020). (updated Jul 2020)
• Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi

See

Strömfors ironworks

• 1 Loviisa fortress, Ungernintie (less than 1 km east of the market square). Built in 1748 by the Swedes. 
• 2 Svartholma fortress. Built around the same time as Loviisa fortress on Svartholm Island. In the summer there is a ferry from Laivasilta a few hundred meters south of the town center, ferry tickets cost €15 for a roundtrip. 
• 3 Loviisa church. The road to Loviisa from the west seems to lead right into the red tile church that is a one of the most visible landmarks of the town. 
• 4 Lovisa nuclear power plant. Finland's oldest nuclear power plant is located on Hästholmen island, 15km southeast of the town center. Visits need to be pre-arranged but you can always look at the plant from a distance. 
• 5 Strömfors ironworks, Ruukintie 11A (in Ruotsinpyhtää village, east of Loviisa). The old ironworks of Strömfors (Swedish)/ Ruotsinpyhtää (Finnish) is today a museum. 

Do

Festivals

• Roots'n Boots: 14 July 2018. A blues happening with blues, bluegrass, rockabilly and more. (date needs updating)

Sleep

• 1 Hotel Degerby, Brandensteininkatu 17, ☏ +358 19 50561, reception@degerby.com. 

Go next

• West towards Helsinki: Porvoo - like Loviisa, but older, larger and more touristy
• Eastwards along the coast old port city of Kotka and Hamina.
• North: Kouvola