奥拉维城堡

Overseeing lovely sourrounding lakes, the castle stands tall and proud for its former glory and long history. You dont need to be history or architecture geek to take pleasure in visiting it!

Really great castle, the best in Finland. It is nicely illuminated during the night. The only minus are quite short opening hours.

Olavinlinna as well as Savolinna are wonderful. The castle is surrounded by a lake and the view is astonishing. The inside of the castle is recommended to be seen with a guide who can explain you all the history which is pretty interesting.Savonlinna without any doubts is one of my favourite places in Finland.

The castle location is quite beautiful. On a island and reached by a bridge, the castle inside has some nice stuff to see. And the guides who show around are quite informative. The loo over the ledge, the big stone statue and the history behind is quite cool. And the view over the ramparts onto the surrounding water and forest is quite beautiful. We went in October, so the autumn had just set in and the leaves were just changing colour. I would assume it would be quite colourful had we gone a little late.

Saw the castle at dusk,with the evening sun shining and the water nearby. A great experience and photo opportunity.

There's little additional positives to add, that all the other reviews have not already trumpeted.HOWEVER:Two experiential words of advice/warning. The first for wearers of photochromic glasses visiting the castle on a sunny day. The interiors of the extremely narrow spiral stairs and the junctions between inner corridors are dimly lit. I asked myself: are the management team trying to recreate the lighting levels of medieval Finland? As the tour flits from bright sunlit ramparts into dimly-lit stairwells, unwary wearers of photochromic glasses find themselves in total and terrifying darkness.The second for anyone whose knees are on the wrong side of being youthful. The steps are not of uniform height - not nice to ascend and a nightmare to descend. Descents are not helped by the total absence of any support running down the right-hand wall. Purists would say that in the compact space of the tower stairs there is insufficient space to fit any form of support.I would argue that in line with the EU's requirements for all venues to ensure the welfare of visitors - the Castle's management team really need to update their Risk Assessment of the stairwells in the context of lighting and safety.Olavinlinna could take a hint from Portchester Castle (English Heritage managed) in Hampshire. There, a hemp rope runs down the right-hand wall of the spiral staircase leading to the upper level of the keep. The rope has sufficient slackness to allow the very young, pregnant women, anxious grandmothers and owners of insecure knees to slip their fingers around the rope for support.Otherwise the stairwells at Olavinlinna are an accident waiting to happen and god forbid the victim is American with a healthy regard towards expensive law suits.

it is very decent castle, located between 2 lakes, certainly worth visiting, as they don't have too many buildings of that type around ...

Сastle Olavinlinna-the most northern medieval fortress in the world.Main Event -July Opera Festival. The castle is a decent acoustic.Lovely view of the towers of the castle, a good place to take pictures Will be interesting to explore the children. Excursions services all year round.

Very informed guides--many languages. Able to explore a good bit on your own, as well. Savonlinna is a wonderful summer town. Lots of activity, food and interaction for adults and kids.

If you only visit one place in Savonlinna, it has to be this one. You have to use your imagination wandering in the rooms since virtually nothing is left of the middle ages, no furniture, tapestries, anything. The rooms are empty but the walls are full of stories of lives of the people who used to live there.They have hourly guided tours in various languages (included in the price of the entry). It is worth to buy the double ticket (only 1 euro more) that allows you to visit the museum Riihisaari next to the castle as well. Also try the restaurant at the castle, we had a delicious buffet lunch for only 10 euros/person.

Entrance fee includes guided tour which are available in different languages every half an hour, in the main tourist season. The tour is 30 minutes and includes the visit in the upper towers which are available for visitors only with a guide. After the tour, you can wander around in the other parts of the castle and have a nice coffee. Some days there are also kids' tours. A tip: If you don't like stairs, skip the guided tower tour, the stairs are very medieval.

Must thing to do in Savonlinna. For adults or kids it does not matter. Castle is in great shape and tours starts every 30 minutes with exellent guides.

Visited Savonlinna for opera with friends. Opera in medieval castle is something you want to come back again and again. After the opera we had dinner cruise at Saimaa. Finnish summer night, beautifull lake archipelago and friends - life at its best

This is a picturesque and well preserved castle. We took the English tour and it was well done and interesting.

I attended the english tour through the castle. The castle is great, huge and nicely renovated. The tour is interesting and not too long even not too short. And there is plenty possibilities to take pictures :) (dont miss the photo-automat near the front gate and send your photo with the castle via e-mail/FB ;))