Porvoo 2.0, rediscovering Old Town at night

20 pictures of a destination Day trips from Helsinki Finland Porvoo Travel Featured Photo story New_post Travel photography Things to do in Finland

·January 5, 2021

So, Porvoo. Let’s assume you’ve enjoyed all the Old Town vibe, visited the small design shops, and had all the local sweets. I suppose it is a good point to see Porvoo in different colors. Have you ever thought about visiting it at night? I think it is totally out of the regular bucket list, but it is one of the coolest things to do in Porvoo.

I have rediscovered Porvoo, and I hope, with my images, you’ll do it too. In this post, I’ve gathered my favorite night shots.

Have you ever seen Porvoo like this? Let’s find out more…

The universe of blue and orange

Everything in the old town closes quite early. I saw no point in staying there until late evening. It changed last summer when we stayed at a lake near Porvoo. When everyone went to sleep, I picked up my camera and cycled to the Old Town.

Porvoo looks surreal when the sun goes down. Orange lights fill the Old Town’s streets, killing every other color. Coupled with rustic architecture and medieval spirit, the empty streets start to feel otherworldly.

One of the tiny streets. It’s interesting that only old town has the old orange lights

The “ghosty-foggy” Porvoo

Next time I went to Porvoo for a Halloween party. Once I saw the dense fog, I couldn’t resist and went for a walk. I thought, does it worth skipping the party? Well, I ended up walking for a few hours.

The central street of the Old Town on Halloween. White Christmas lights are added to the mix. Did they add them ahead of schedule during COVID?

You would be fortunate if you stay in Porvoo on a foggy night. Many photographers appreciate the minimalist feeling that fog gives. It makes the overloaded with objects streets more pleasing for an eye. And what a pleasure to witness it in Porvoo.

You can hardly see the end of the street

Näsinmäki cemetery

I climbed the Näsinmäki (hill) to see how different the foggy Old Town would look from the well-known touristic viewpoint.

Well, you can hardly see a thing. I decided to turn to the nearby cemetery.

Näsinmäki cemetery is one of the most beautiful in Finland. It has many famous people buried, but in my opinion, its sheer size is the most impressive. You may walk for 15 minutes or more, and you won’t see the end of it. I decided to take the advantage of the fog and get some pictures.

So finally…

I suppose Porvoo at night isn’t a huge deal if you look at it from the global tourism point of view. But, visiting Porvoo is one of the top things to do in Finland. Everyone shows the postcard photos of colorful houses, But I didn’t see anyone showing this dark, arguably more interesting side.