King's Road (Finland)
Photo: Gyllenhali at Finnish Wikipedia, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
The King's Road (Finnish: Kuninkaantie, Swedish: Kungsvägen) was once the most important road in Finland, connecting Turku to Vyborg and the towns and villages between, along the southern coast.
UnderstandThe King's Road was part of a medieval mail road that stretched from Bergen in today's Norway to Vyborg in today's Russia. The "King's Road" referred to the easternmost part of the route, eastwards from Turku.
PrepareThere is no need for any special preparations. The roads are in good or decent condition and services such as filling stations, restaurants and hotels don't have great distances between them.
Get inIf you want to start your trip from an end of this road, Turku is easily the better alternative.
GoCar, motorcycle, or bike are the most common ways of traveling along this route. The full distance from Turku to Vaalimaa is about 400 km (about 250 miles), not including the sidetrips that are mentioned.
EatSome of the manors and other attractions along the road have a café or a restaurant. The very few places that have functioned as inns and still operate as cafés are denoted by orange markers in the above itinerary.
SleepUnfortunately, the old inns that served travellers are no longer in operation, though a few do operate a café or a restaurant.
Stay safeFinland is among Europe's safest countries and you don't need to worry about crime. Traffic is low on most of the roads in this itinerary, so there is also little risk for accidents.
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Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "King's Road (Finland)" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Gyllenhali at Finnish Wikipedia, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons