AIE Workshop

Accommodation in Vaasa

There are a number of good hotel options in the centre of Vaasa. It is advisable to book your stay as early as possible as availability will decrease. Here are some hotel options found at the center of Vaasa.

Scandic Vaasa

Logistics

Helsinki Airport

Your first point of call will likely be Helsinki Airport, which consistently ranks among the best airports in the world and serves around 350 flights a day. It has 24/7 public transportation to and from the city center. You can also get to Helsinki by ferry from Sweden, Estonia or even Germany.

From Helsinki Airport station (or Helsinki central station) you can take the train to Vaasa (cheap, comfortable and scenic) or your can fly direct from Helsinki airport to Vaasa airport.

Vaasa Airport

There are several flights between Helsinki and Vaasa each day. You can reach the centre of Vaasa from Vaasa airport by Taxi Vaasa and by Lifti, the local bus service. There are also frequent direct buses from Vaasa airport to the different areas of Vaasa (except weekends).

Train

If travelling direct to Vaasa: You can to travel  Vaasa on a VR  train (VR) from Helsinki airport to Vaasa train station which is located in the city center. The journey takes between 3 hours 30 minutes and 4 hours depending on the train. You can find more information and purchase tickets here: https://www.vr.fi/en/train-tickets?ref=header&from=LEN&to=VS

If staying in Helsinki overnight: The local trains I & P depart from the basement of Helsinki airport terminal (see: https://www.vr.fi/en/railway-stations-and-routes/helsinki-airport). The trains take you to the central Helsinki railway station. You need to buy your train ticket (ABC ticket, 4,60€) from the automat at the terminal or from HSL app before entering the train. No tickets are sold on the train. You can use the same ticket to local transportation, in case you will continue with tram/bus/metro from the central railway station. The train ride to the city center takes approx.  30 min.

You can find the train schedule here

Arriving by ferry to Helsinki

Helsinki can be reached by ferry from Sweden (Viking Line, Tallink Silja Line), Estonia (Viking Line, Tallink Silja Line, Eckerö Line), Germany (Finnlines) and Russia (St. Peter Line).

The public transportation from the harbours is good. To all the other terminals there is only a short tramride from the city center and to the Finnlines terminal you can take metro+bus.

Vaasa

Vaasa is the central city of Ostrobothnia. It is located on the coast of the Gulf of Bothnia. The unique Kvarken archipelago off the coast of Vaasa is Finland’s only natural heritage site on the international UNESCO World Heritage List.

See: https://www.vaasa.fi/en/see-and-experience/

Vaasa is an international city with about 120 nationalities and 100 mother tongues spoken there. Vaasa has a population of about 67,000, of which almost 70% are Finnish-speaking, just over 20% are Swedish-speaking and about 10% speak other languages. With neighbouring municipalities, the population of the Vaasa region is about 113,000.

There are six higher education institutions in Vaasa. The city has 12,000 higher education students and 4,000 vocational school students.

Vaasa region is the Nordic centre for energy technology. In Vaasa, energy is a positive force that is not only visible in business, but also in people’s everyday lives and the development of the city. The Nordic Energy Capital is a unique combination of modern internationalism, young enthusiasm, innovative know-how as well as delicate tranquillity.

Helsinki

Helsinki is a capital with both interesting architecture and beautiful nature just around the corner. The city center is very walkable and the distances are short (from the conference venue: shopping center Kamppi 600m, Helsinki railway station 1km, Stockmann department store 1km 300m, Senate Square 1km 800m.)

Official travel site of Helsinki: https://www.myhelsinki.fi/en

Finland

Total area of Finland is 338 144 km, making it the 8th largest country in Europe. There are 5.6 million inhabitants, which makes Finland the most sparsely populated country in the European Union (69% of the country is forest). There are almost 2 million saunas though.

Finland is often called “the land of a thousand lakes”, as there are 188,000 lakes in Finland.​​ 10% of Finland is actually water. Finland’s southwest coast is also the largest archipelago in Europe. There are 180 000 islands. ​​

The official languages in Finland are Finnish and Swedish, but most Finns also speak good English. The currency is Euro and card payments are accepted almost everywhere. Hotels and cafés have free wifi but very affordable pre-paid data packages can also be bought from kiosks.

Official travel site of Finland: https://www.visitfinland.com/

Questions

For questions and further information, please send emails to aieworkshop@uwasa.fi