Some 45 minutes outside Helsinki, this city of 51,000 was one of Finland's key medieval towns and is a popular tourist destination due to its well preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings, as well as its 15th-century cathedral. It's quaint-as-all-getout slice of olde Finlande whose 18th-century quarter comes down just on the safe side of twee; its cobblestone lanes are lined with wooden houses harboring various shops, museums, and restaurants (one of which, Timbaali, specializes in snails, yum).

Read more in my post Helsinki and South Finland's Luminous Summer.