Most of old Porvoo’s houses date to the eighteenth century. Finland’s national poet J.L. Runeberg lived here—he was among those who started the fire department here — as did the artist, Albert Edelfelt. It remains a favourite with the country’s bohemia and the arty set. It’s easy to see why. It’s the sort of place where you can ease up. The most strenuous thing you can do in old Porvoo is walk—and if you are a bold tourist, perhaps peep through lace-curtained windows. The town people, we presume, are resigned to being stared at.

King’s Road is the main road here and was once part of the mail route that went through Oslo, Stockholm and St Petersburg.

The souvenir shops are another stop where you can spend both time and money. You can’t move inside these shops without tripping over a child. With the shops giving much space to wooden toys, porcelain artifacts, exquisite miniature furniture and dinner sets for doll houses and car models, expect to see excited children and exhausted parents. Popular and reasonably priced mementos are stuffed reindeer. And yes, you can rest easy. There are no Made in China tags on them.

Another specialty is the Porvoo Measure. A mug with a false bottom, it’s apparently named after a cunning practice during Swedish rule, when bailiffs used one measure to collect taxes and a smaller one when delivering the taxes to the king. But it has to be said, the story is prettier than the mug.

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