Pori is in Western Finland. It was founded in 1558, making it one of the oldest cities in Finland. 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 downturms, especially in the early 90's, earning a somewhat gritty reputation. Things are now looking brighter again with lots of students coming to city and city centre being revamped.
Today Pori is most famous for the excellent Yyteri beach and the annual international jazz festival in July, organised in 2009 already for the 44th time.
PLACE TO VISIT
Eteläranta, City Hall and the Pori Cathedral. The riverfront in Pori has several prominent neo-renaissance stone building quarters, and the City Hall (with it's park) by Carl-Ludvig Engel is especially worth a look. The gothic-style Pori cathedral (that built instead of the castle that originally gave Pori its name) is also on alongside the river just a stone's throw away.
Reposaari. The fisher/seaside village outside the city filled with pittoresque wooden buildings on the seaside. Especially recommended for summertime visits.
The Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum containing paintings of the famous Finnish painter Axel Gallén-Kallela. It is situated on the main graveyard and the entrance is free.
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.
WHAT TO DO
Pori Jazz Festival in the middle of July. Quite big names, like Santana, Simon & Garfunkel or for example Alicia Keys have played here recently. Really not-so-jazz-festival anymore, altough jazz & blues can also be found. One of the biggest (if not the biggest) festival in Finland.
RMJ Festival in the midsummer, June. Was relocated to Pori in 2008, also one of the biggest festivals in Finland. In past RMJ was mostly oriented to big Finnish pop/rock groups but '08 featured Jay-Z and AC/DC is planned for '09. Festival's name will probably change for 2009.
Visit the Yyteri sand beach, one of the largest and certainly best beaches in Finland
In the winter, see an ice hockey game of Porin Ässät ("The Aces"). Although the team isn't as succesful 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
Pori National Urban Park situated at the river banks. It contains a free smallish children's theme park, a theme based golf link and small streams of water. It is lush green during summer.
HOW TO REACH
By plane - Finnair and FinnComm Airlines fly from Helsinki to Pori Airport (IATA: POR, ICAO: EFPO) (45 min). One way tickets starting from 39 €.
By bus - Bus connections from Helsinki (3-4h), Turku, Tampere (2h), Oulu, Jyväskylä and Rauma (1h). Cost is about 30-40€ (Helsinki-Pori-Helsinki bus ticket for adults is now about 59 eur).
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 3,5h.
By car - Drive the main highway 2 from Helsinki (3,5 - 4 hours), main highway 8 from Turku or from Vaasa (both about 2 hours), or road 11 from Tampere (about 1,5 hours).
