This is a beautiful old village that has been restored and is well looked after. If you're curious…read moreabout how people used to live in Finland, this is the place for you! The old wooden buildings showcase craftsmanship through the ages, as well as the lifestyle of Finns hundreds of years ago. You can freely roam through the village and explore galleries and a variety of craftsmen's dwellings. The staff dotted throughout the village are also super helpful in explaining the lifestyle and the functionality of many of the tools and amenities. I loved roaming around and exploring the place, though I do wish they'd have an audio guide.

This place is such a very special handicraft museum. Walking from wooden house to wooden house -…read morethe oldest ones built in 1785, the latest ones in 1808 - is like travelling back in time. All these houses "survived" the Great Fire of Turku in 1827 and got restored in the 1930s/40s. It is like a village of its own providing anything village people hundreds of years ago would need: a bakery and a tailor, a saddlemaker and glovemaker, a carpenter and wigmaker ... and the list goes on and on. Upon entering the houses, they seem to come alive with all historical furniture, items and tools displayed like someone left just a second ago to have a little break outside. You really expect someone to return and continue to work! Still it says "Handicrafts Museum" and not simply "Open-Air Museum" at the entrance gate ... even though I was promised at the ticket counter to come across some handicrafting that afternoon, just few people were walking around in historical clothing without demonstrating anything. Only two girls were sitting together while crocheting. Two houses were even locked and a sign informed about a lunch break. So, please, get the visitors to experience some handicrafting no matter what time they visit the museum. It should not depend on being lucky!! Nevertheless, 4 stars for preserving this part of Turku that was miraculously saved from the Great Fire!

This place is two museums in one! Downstairs, there are medieval ruins and exhibits on historic…read moreFinland, and upstairs you'll find a modern art gallery, and a river runs right through the building, which makes for an amazing café in between the two museum areas! The medieval ruins were re-discovered during excavations in 1995 and include a church and residential buildings with lots of information about the time period. Upstairs in the contemporary art gallery, exhibitions and installations are constantly changing. This one's well worth a visit!

Great cafe! (I didn't stay for the museum this time.) Love the array of cakes, cookies, and…read morepastries. Pairs well with a nice cappuccino. Had a slice of banana cake. Which looked fantastic and just tasted OK. (The cake was a bit dry, like it had been sitting out for several hours... which it had). But it's really the atmosphere that draws me in: Clean & modern, large open spaces, wall-to-wall windows, light music in the background. Great spot to meet friends, maybe a bit too noisy to settle in with a laptop and get some work done. But I'm tempted to try, maybe on a slower weekday.

I arrived on a Friday for lunch not knowing what to expect and was surprised by a buffet with…read moreNordic food, very interesting and large accommodations, and a quiet beer garden in back. I'm sure your mileage may vary depending on when you come and whether this buffet is consistent or rotational, but regardless, I think the venue is well worth a visit if you have time.

First evening visiting Turku and my wife and I were looking for place to eat that also served local…read moreor regional beer. Found this brewpub and it looked like a neat place. The building has an old antique feel with lots of dark wood. Plenty of tables and booths spread across multiple rooms, it appears this place could hold a lot of people. It was mostly empty when we were here, but that was on a Monday evening. I imagine on the weekend it can get pretty busy with so much room for people. We ordered a ribs and a hamburger and they were huge portions. We could have easily ordered one meal and shared it. The burger was a pretty good standard burger with a big patty and lots of vegetable on it, lettuce, tomato, onion, and pickle. The ribs were a big, lots of meat, and better than the burger. Neither was the best in its respective category, but both were satisfying and good. No complaints. They both came with potatoes that were like a cross between chips and fries. They were awesome! I have never had fries like this before. They were wide and flat, thinner than fries but thicker than chips so that they still had some soft potato inside but were nice and crispy at the same time. I would come back just for the fries, some of the best I have eaten. The beer was okay, but in the world of craft beer there is definitely room for improvement. The Kakolan Kalpea pale ale was decent but not as flavorful as I prefer. The Lehtori lager had a strange, bad taste and I really did not like it all. It tasted skunky as if it had gone bad or was old. The Vehnä wheat beer was the best I beer I drank here. It tasted like a traditional German hefeweizen with the banana and clove flavors clearly noticeable and was very enjoyable to drink. I would visit again for the wheat beer and fries.