public roads and of waterways along the Ring Road. The city of Turku is usually considered the starting point of the road. The route goes through following municipalities, villages, islands and island groups: There is also a shorter version of the route, the so-called "Small Ring Road", which utilizes a ferry connection between Rymättylä (part of Naantali) and Nagu, skipping numbers 4–11 in the list above. The length of the "Small Ring Road" is approximately . The ring road is usually traveled by car or by bicycle. Most of the ferries along the road are free, but ferries between Houtskär and Iniö charge a small fee. It is possible to cover the Ring Road in one day by car, but usually travellers spend at least one night along the way. Approximately 20 000 tourist travel the Ring Road every year. The main tourist season is from June to August. The principal tourist attraction is scenery and nature along the way, but significant sights also include the Louhisaari manor and several medieval churches. Culture The culture of the archipelago resembles that of the Swedish-speaking coastal areas of Finland. Many features of typically Finnish culture, such as the popularity of sauna, have become ingrained in the culture of the islands. There are, however, several subtle differences. Maypoles are an essential part of the Midsummer festival in the archipelago but not in continental Finland. On the other hand, the continental Finnish Midsummer tradition of lighting bonfires has been introduced to the archipelago relatively recently. Based on the languages spoken the archipelago can be divided into three parts. The Åland archipelago in the west is almost completely Swedish-speaking, the Åboland archipelago in the south is mostly Swedish-speaking and the northern archipelago is Finnish-speaking. Because Christianity spread to the islands before the mainland, the churches on the major islands tend to be relatively old; dating from the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries, with the oldest ones in Åland. More than 80% of Finns are members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, and this proportion is even higher in the archipelago, as the area doesn't have an orthodox or catholic parish. The culinary culture of the archipelago resembles continental Finnish cuisine. Naturally, there is a greater emphasis on fish, particularly baltic herring, salmon and rainbow trout. The island are also famous for traditional dark bread distinguished by the use of buttermilk, syrup, and malt among