Nurmes is a town in North Karelia.
Understand
Nurmes is a town of 8,000 inhabitants situated at the northern end of Lake Pielinen.
Get in
By car
Being pretty much off the beaten track, the easiest way to travel to and from Nurmes is by car.
By train
The national railway operator VR runs a twice-daily train from Joensuu, the trip takes a little less than two hours. 1 Nurmes railway station is centrally located.
By bus
There are bus connections to Joensuu, Oulu and Kajaani. Timetables from Matkahuolto.
By boat
This is (besides Iisalmi) as far north as you get with a yacht via the Saimaa waterways. Welcome from anywhere! (10.5 or 12 m height restriction at Joensuu, though).
Get around
The town small, so you can easily get around by foot. Google Maps offers route planner which includes sparse long distance buses which can be used for local trips also, and Matka.fi route planner includes also some of them.
By taxi
- Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi
See
- 1 The old town (Puu-Nurmes). The "Wooden Nurmes" consists of 19th century wooden houses that are still inhabited.
- 2 The Bomba house and Karelian village. A replica of a common Karelian log house village. The largest house is the main building for a resort.
- 3 Ikola Museum, Kotiniementie 2, ☏ 358 40 104 5152, ✉[email protected]. 27.6–5.8 (2016) M–F 10:00–16:00. Farming and industry museum. €4/2.
- 4 Kötsi Museum, Kötsintie 2, ☏ 358 40 104 5152, ✉[email protected]. M–F 10:00–16:00. A museum where you can learn about the history of Nurmes. Free.
Do
Nature
There are some nature parks in the area around Nurmes, where you can walk, swim, fish and camp in the summer and enjoy cross country skiing in the winter.
Festivals
- [dead link]Nurmes Film Festival. Late in the summer every year Nurmes hosts a film festival with older and newer Finnish films.
- Nurmes Christmas Carol Festival (Nurmeksen Joulumusiikki). A yearly christmas song festival, obviously in December.
Buy
Eat
Drink
Sleep
- 1 Sokos Hotel Bomba, Tuulentie 10, ☏ 358 20 1234 908, fax: 358 13 687 2401. Large resort hotel with great views over the Pielisjärvi lake. Nerby is the replica of a traditional Karelian house built as a home for the large Bombi family in 1854, now a restaurant that is part of the resort.
Connect
Go next
- Koli National Park with great views over Pielinen. Many painters of the Finnish Golden Age of Art got inspiration from those views.