Originally Posted by
Thalassa
I would normally recommend TLL first but you seem to have covered that already. Porvoo is a pleasant small town about an hour's drive east. It has some history, decent restaurants and some antiques shopping.
I am not a great fan of Tampere. It is pleasant enough to visit but it is not exactly exciting. Turku has the Castle and Cathedral and the old quarters working for it.
What kind of things are you interested in? That can make quite a difference as to what are the places to visit.
Thalassa,
After thinking about it a little, I realized it would have to be something different from the usual tourist fare. Sure, Old Porvoo looks interesting, but how much different is it from visiting Tallinn?
Since we'll be in Finland, the idea of visiting somewhere more exotic, perhaps up North, seemed like a good place to start. A little digging revealed that Tornio might be worth visiting. The fact that it's a border town with Sweden doesn't hurt. Fincomm has a same-day return for 170EUR. Not cheap, but I'd be willing to spend it if it was going to be worth it. Of course, it would be even more interesting if it was during the Summer solstice....Winter photos look amazing, but that will obviously have to wait for another day!
If not Tornio, can you recommend something else exotic/unusual/not too expensive..if it exists?!
Many thanks!