The Haikko Manor, Spa and Conference Centre is situated on the shore
of the Gulf of Finland, 37 km from Helsinki-Vantaa Airport and 7 km
from the city of Porvoo. The Haikko Manor can best be reached from the
airport by regular taxi or Airport taxi. The travel takes about 30-40
minutes. The regular taxis are available outside the arrivals hall and
the average fare from the airport to Haikko is approximately 50
EUR. The Airport taxis are cheaper for groups and taxis can be booked
at the booths in the Arrivals Hall. Drivers accept major credit cards
and do not expect tips. In general, taxis are very reliable in
Finland.
One can also take a direct bus from Helsinki-Vantaa International
terminal to the bus station of Porvoo. There is a connection once or
twice an hour from 9am to 10pm. Please, use
http://www.matkahuolto.fi/en/
to find exact timetables indicating
Helsinki-Vantaa as the place of departure ("From") and Porvoo as the
place of arrival ("To"). One way ticket costs about 12 EUR. From
Porvoo city centre you may take a taxi or a bus to Haikko Manor.
Finland in general
Visiting Finland is always a good idea, and especially during the
summer and early autunm, when the weather is fairly warm, everything
is green and flourishing and the days are long. To these pages, we
have gathered you some basic information about Finland and the
Helsinki region with places to visit with your free time, especially,
if you are planning to come with the family and stay a couple of days
after the conference.
Finland is a safe country, and most of
the people speak some English, so getting around shouldn't be a
problem. We have a reputation of being silent and reserved, but that
is just the surface.
The Finland has a reputation for high
tech innovation and strong hi-tech expertise, for instance,
in the fields of environmental technologies,
neural networks and data mining,
low-temperature physics and brain research, and, of course,
telecommunications.
Finland has its calm side, too. Finns like to
enjoy the surrounding beautiful nature. To enjoy the life, a Finn does
not always need any complex arrangements, just a visit to a simple
cottage and sauna by the sea or a lakeside is enough -- there are 188
000 lakes in Finland and 81 000 islands altogether in the archipelagos
of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. And if there is no
time to travel close to the water, there are well over one million
saunas in private apartments in Finland, in the country the population
of which is just above 5 million.
| Facts
about Finland Member of the EU since 1995 President of the republic: Mrs Tarja Halonen. Population: 5.3 million Area: 338 000 square km, 10% water, 69% forest Climate: Cold winters, fairly warm summers. Official languages: Finnish and Swedish. Finnish is spoken by 91.3% of the population and Swedish by 5.4% of the population. Religion: 85.6% Lutheran, appr. 1% Orthodox Currency: Euro, since 2002 Time zone: UTC+3 (summer time) |
General information about Finland and the Helsinki
region can be found from these sources:
Virtual
Finland: A great site of information about Finland
ranging from Politics and society to arts, people and travel. Stories,
maps, everything.
Journey planner:
How to get around in the Helsinki region with the public
transport. Fill in the origin and destination of your journey, and
this service will tell you which transports to take and when, and it
shows your route on a map as well.
Below are listed
some attractions in the Helsinki metropolitan region. Click links to
get to the respective webpages of the attractions. Complete lists can
be found from the tourist information web pages. We recommend a visit
to the Suomenlinna Fortress and the Seurasaari Open Air
Museum.
Ateneum
Art Museum
Ateneum Art Museum holds the largest collection of Finnish art from 1750 to
the 1960s. The museum is conveniently located at the City Center, near the Central
Railway station.
Gallen-Kallela Museum
The museum is located at the studio of the Finland's national artist Akseli
Gallen-Kallela, and presents a rich variety of his work: paintings, drawings,
graphics, sculpture etc. The museum is located in Espoo, some 15 minutes by
bus from the Conference venue.
Heureka, Finnish Science
Center
Heureka, located in Vantaa some 20 minutes by train from the Helsinki City centre,
houses scientific exhibitions. There are over 200 exhibitions in the main exhibition,
with many activity points for the whole family as well as two temporary exhibitions.
In June 2008 the temporary exhibitions are Music and T-Rex-the disputed dinosaur.
Helsinki City Art
Museum
Helsinki City Art Museum has three museums in Helsinki: Tennis palace art museum
in Kamppi (near Bus station), Meilahti art museum in Meilahti (near Seurasaari),
and Kluuvi Gallery.
National Museum
The National museum of Finland presents Finnish life from pre-historic times
to the present. It is located near the Helsinki City centre.
Sea Life
Helsinki
Sea Life Helsinki, connected to Linnanmäki Amusement Park, is a new aquarium
in which the underwater life from sharks to native Finnish freshwater species
can be admired.
Linnanmäki Amusement Park
Linnanmäki Amusement Park is the oldest amusement park in Finland suitable
for the whole family. The rides include a wooden rollercoaster built in 1951
which is the most popular ride in the park, and 36 others. In the area there
is also a wide range of restaurants, video games and a museum.
Seurasaari Open
Air Museum
Seurasaari Open Air Museum is located in a beautiful green island (Seurasaari)
a fifteen minute walk away from the Hilton Helsinki Kalastajatorppa, some kilometers
from the Helsinki City Centre. The island itself is a tranquil spot in the city
area, favored by the townspeople for picnics and walks. Perhaps you will even
meet a tame squirrel or two.
Suomenlinna, Viapori-Sveaborg Fortress
The Suomenlinna Fortress is located on the islands just off the Helsinki and
was built in the middle of the 1800th century by the Swedish to protect the
city. It also belongs to the UNESCO world heritage list as a monument of unique
military architecture. There is a regular ferry-boat connection to Suomenlinna
from the Market Square.
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