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City in Satakunta, Finland
Photo: Graaf, Public domain via Wikimedia Commons
Pori (Swedish Björneborg) is a coastal city of 83,000 people (2021) in Western Finland. It was founded in 1558, making it one of the oldest cities of the country.
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The riverfront in Pori has several prominent Neo-Renaissance quarters; especially the City Hall (with its park) by Carl-Ludvig Engel is worth a look.
The Gothic-style Pori cathedral (that built instead of the castle that gave Pori its names: borg=castle) is also on alongside the river just a stone's throw away.
The theatre building and its neighbouring house Hotel Otava, the world's first theatre house built for performances in Finnish.
This seaside fisher village outside the city is filled with picturesque wooden buildings. Especially recommended for summertime visits.
The Sigrid Jusélius Mausoleum has paintings of the famous Finnish painter Axel Gallén-Kallela.
Itätulli
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. It is a popular location to live in for local artists as well as underground musicians.
Historic ironworks, sawmill and related buildings, including villas, the Noormarkku Church (built to resemble the medieval stone churches), professionals' and workers' accommodations and a park, at the site of the Noormarkku manor. The sawmill was founded in 1753. Antti Ahlströmi, who bought the businesses in 1870, was among the most important Finnish entrepreneurs; the headquarters of A. Ahlström Oy, one of the successors of his company, are still there. The area is a significant cultural landscape; much of which is well preserved and kept as museums.
A villa designed by Alvar Aalto in the late 1930s. One of the sites in the Aalto Works .
One of the largest and certainly one of the best beaches in Finland.
In the winter, see an ice hockey game of Porin Ässät ("The Aces"). Although the team isn't as successful 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 the centre, or at the Lippu.fi website
Contains a free smallish children's theme park, a theme based golf link and small streams of water. Full range disc golf course. It is lush green during summer. The most prominent monuments of the Pori National Urban Park are the industrial buildings on the north bank of the Kokemäenjoki, the Neo-Gothic central church of Pori and the Junnelius place, now used as the City Hall and one of the best examples of Neo-Renaissance buildings in Finland. The National Urban Park also contains one of the most beautiful bridges in Finland architecturally, the Pori bridge; the Old Courthouse; the unique collection of stone buildings, "stone Pori"; the Juselius mausoleum, and Kirjurinluoto island, made famous by the Pori Jazz Festival.
Market place
Typical and local products are fried or smoked river lampreys (season is in autumn) and self-made meat pies of Ojala. The market square is open from early morning until 14:00. Typical food is also the "porilainen", a street food dish known all over Finland, made from white bread and a half-inch slice of thick sausage. It usually contains diced sweet onion, chopped pickled cucumber, ketchup, mustard, and in some cases mayonnaise. Porilainen resembles a hamburger or a hot dog.
The Finnish equivalent to McDonald's. There are many franchises, such as the one at the market square, which is open until 05:00 in the morning.
Popular Italian restaurant at Hallituskatu. Reservation might be a good idea at least in the weekends.
Probably the most upmarket restaurant in Pori, situated in the cellar of the city hall.
Lunch restaurant.
School cafeteria with extremely tasty food. You can take as much you want (including bread a salads), which means you never leave empty. Students pay just €2.60. Open only on workdays
Lunch restaurant.
Lunch restaurant.
Lunch restaurant.
Most genuine Pori experience can be found here. Also Jazz jams on Thursday nights, with local students performing.
The Tulli Pub on the other side of the square gets occasionally pretty "genuine", too.
Nice selection of beers, has its own little brewery.
Relaxed neighbourhood bar atmosphere since 1991.
In the Finnkino movie theatre building (Promenadikeskus), draws in local 'hipsters'.
Known to locals as "Irkku". An Irish pub with delicious toasts, reasonable prices and a unique atmosphere.
Live music on Thursdays. The most popular live venue in Pori. On weekends regular, quite popular club with mainstream dance music.
A newer, popular club that is a part of a chain of discotheques bearing the same name around Finland. The queue can get very long, so after midnight you might have difficulties getting in.
Punainen Kukko
A nightclub aimed at a somewhat older (but certainly not less drunk) clientele. There are several floors, with electronic dance music in the basement, karaoke on the middle floor, and Finnish 'schlager' (iskelmä) on the largest dance floor.
Amarillo and Vaakuna are located in the Sokos Hotel Vaakuna next to the market square. Amarillo has a restaurant and a relatively popular bar, and as the place closes around 01:00, people tend to the Vaakuna club upstairs. It tries to distinguish itself as a somewhat more elegant club experience. On a Pori scale, anyway.
Yyteri camping area
75 cottages near the Yyteri sand beach.
11 rooms with 25 beds.
17 beds.
20 beds (+20 in the summer).
Closed indefinitely for renovations since March 2025
Accommodation in or by the museum milieu. Breakfast included. Gym, tennis court. Chaîne des Rôtisseurs restaurant.
17 rooms with 42 beds in the centre of Pori.
5 rooms with 12 beds.
Number of rooms: 57
170 beds in 82 rooms.
172 beds in 109 rooms. Internet access available in rooms.
416 beds in 203 rooms.
Satakunta's largest shopping centre.
Isokarhu mall is a large shopping mall in the heart of the city, alongside the pedestrian zone. In it are located franchises of the most common Finnish and international chains ranging from H&M to Intersport. What you can't find inside, is very probably sold in a store located right next to it (it's a small town after all). There are some nice cafés as well.
The old market hall is a nostalgic experience. The hall sells local products ranging from fish to vegetables. It opens early in the morning and stays open through the afternoon. Good place to take it easy for a while and have an old-fashioned cup of coffee with a sweet bread. But be warned: the retro has a downside in the average age of visitors being probably over 70 years. Old people have also a saying "when you come to Pori, we put you in a pärekori (chip basket) and get you around the tori (market square).
A shopping mall in the northern end of the pedestrian zone, also has several small stores. It's also a crazy example of the building boom of the "casino economy", with a huge structure (in pastel colours) but very little commercial space. There's a nice view if you bother to climb to the top bridge that crosses the "alley".
By plane
If you fly in from abroad, you will most likely end up at Helsinki Airport (HEL).
By bus
There are coach connections from Helsinki (3–4 hr), Turku, Tampere (2 hr), Rauma (1 hr), Oulu, Vaasa and Seinäjoki.
By train
All the passenger trains go via Tampere. A one-way adult ticket from Tampere costs about €6–30, from Helsinki €34–€64, as of 2026, depending on demand and time of purchase.
By car
Drive highway 2 from Helsinki (3½–4 hr), highway 8 from Turku or from Vaasa (both about 2 hr), or road 11 from Tampere (about 1½ hr).
By electric kick scooter
American Bird, Finnish Joe Scooter and Finnish Swup rent electric kick scooters for use in the centre and in suburbs.
By bike
Pori's city bike service is maintained by Rolan Oy.
By taxi
Taxis can be booked using a smartphone app or by calling. The traditional company is Satakunnan Aluetaksi,
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Pori · Regional · POR
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