🏘️ Finland's wooden towns: Porvoo, Rauma, Naantali in focus

The wooden towns of Finland are like a quiet childhood album: pastel facades, creaky steps, workshop signs and laundry hanging on clotheslines somewhere deep in the courtyard.
You can photograph them endlessly, but to prevent your shots from turning into a set of identical postcards, it's worth slowing down a little and seeing how it all works.

In this article, we will put together a working itinerary for Porvoo, Rauma, Naantali and several other wooden neighbourhoods, with an emphasis on angles, light and the "little stories" that the camera captures.

Porvoo: red barns and a cathedral on a hill

Old Porvoo is a classic:
red barns along the river, a white cathedral on a hill, bridges, reflections, cobbled streets.

What to photograph first

● The embankment with red warehouses and reflections

● The climb to the cathedral: stairs, railings, views down to the city

● Narrow alleys with pastel facades and signs

Light
The morning casts a soft light from above onto the barns, while the evening brings a warm strip along the water. In cloudy weather, shoot details: the paint, texture of wood and stone are more visible than in harsh sunlight.

Rauma (UNESCO): colourful streets and geometric details

Old Rauma is a textbook example of a wooden town: straight streets, one- and two-storey houses, carved window frames, miniature signs.

The main secret is not to try to fit everything in at once.

The "three steps" rule works well in Raum:
first, a general view of the street → then a medium shot of the house → then one detail.
Three frames — and you already have a mini-story of the neighbourhood.

Naantali: harbour + old town in one route

Naantali is often remembered for its marina and Moomin Park, but for a photographer, it is primarily a vintage resort:
wooden houses, piers, masts, boats, flowers in a tub by the porch.

Route for shooting

1. In the morning — a walk around the harbour: masts, reflections, houses on the slope
2. During the day, venture deep into the old streets, capturing doors, windows, and signs
3. In the evening, return to the pier for soft light and long shadows
   

Try to take at least one shot in each block:
water — house — detail. Then the series will be cohesive, rather than "just pretty houses".

Less obvious wooden towns: Loviisa, Ekenäs, Kristiinankoski

If you want to get away from the most popular places, look towards Lovisa, Ekenäs and Kristiinankankaukki (yes, the name is difficult to pronounce, but the shots are not).

There are fewer people, more air and a lot of "everyday" beauty: courtyards, staircases, gates, fences, old lanterns.

What to look for in such towns

● Repeating motifs: identical fences, pediments, shutters

● Transitions from "street → courtyard → garden"

● Traces of life: bicycles against walls, flowers in pots, toys in the courtyard

Wooden cities are especially grateful for cloudy weather:
the colours don't fade, and the wood looks soft and almost velvety. Sunlight is also good, but then you have to watch out for harsh shadows and overexposure of the sky.

General rules for photographing wooden towns (which really help)

1. Watch the verticals
   Wooden facades photographed at an angle immediately make the frame look random. Correct this in the camera or in post-production; don't be lazy.
2. Don't try to capture everything at once
   It's better to have a series of 5-7 calm shots than one in which you tried to cram the whole town in .
3. Work with people carefully
   One person in the frame (on the stairs, at the door, on a bicycle) gives scale and life. A crowd in a narrow street is most often just noise.
4. Details are not "additions" but separate subjects
   A sign, an old door handle, a postbox, a pile of firewood against a wall can be the main subject of the shot, not just a "tick in the box".
5. Respect the city
   These neighbourhoods are alive, people live in them. Shoot respectfully: don't look into windows, don't trespass on private property without permission, don't put your tripod in the middle of the road.
   

The wooden towns of Finland are not just tourist attractions, but quiet, stubborn reminders of the country's past.
Every façade, porch and signboard is imbued with decades of habits, weather, repairs and someone's family history.

When you photograph such places not as a "pretty postcard" but as a living city, the images suddenly begin to work differently:
they are no longer just a house, but the mood of the street; not just a door, but someone's story that you really want to invent.

💬 Share your perspective

Tell us in the comments:

● which wooden city in Finland do you remember most — Porvoo, Rauma, Naantali, or something less obvious?

● Do you prefer general street views or details such as signs and handles?

● Would you like a separate guide for a single city (for example, only Porvoo or only Rauma)?

Write, ask questions, attach your photos — we read and tailor our articles to real requests, not just to beautiful theory.