Tourism

Relax at a cottage by a lake

The cottage is an institution in Finland. In the holiday seasons, Finns flock to the countryside for quietness and relaxation at cosy hideouts. Often situated by water, cabins and cottages are an essential element in Finnish life that provide a physical and mental getaway from the daily grind.picnic barbeque

Forgetting the everyday worries is inevitable in retreats amid the country’s greatest resources: its rugged natural beauty and the silence.

The white summer nights make the cottage experience ever so magical. Common activities at summer cottages include boating, yard games, fishing and the inevitable sauna. Also berry and mushroom picking are popular during the autumn time.

The sauna culture is a piece of culture that is passed on from generation to generation. Sweating out the stress with regular cooling dips in the lake is the ultimate way to purify both body and mind. The post-sauna feeling in the light-filled summer night is pure bliss.

It is safe to say that cottage life is something every Finn grows up with. Whether the residence is owned, borrowed or rented makes no difference. Being out there does. Cottage life in Finland is about appreciating the “art of doing nothing” – sitting on a jetty dipping your toes in the water and enjoying the gentle sounds of the water and the surrounding nature.

The Tampere Region is a cottage paradise Mökkiavain-cottages offer you relaxing sleep and experiences you’ll never forget at the same time. Selection of cottages contains about 150 choices in Pirkanmaa Region (Tampere Region) and Satakunta region. Among these cottages with all kind of quality, size and price you can surely find suitable one for yourself.

Rent a cottage here
More info and photos about cottage life here

 

Pre and Post Conference Activities

Once in Finland, you may wish to explore the country, or the neighbouring countries, more extensively. Visits to Helsinki or the capitals of other Scandinavian countries, and to Finnish Lapland or Finnish lakes are particular favorites.

Holiday in the Tampere Region

Situated in a beautiful Lakeland, the Tampere Region has a lot to offer as a holiday destination. Extend your stay by renting a summer cottage by a lake and enjoy fishing, sauna and swimming. Or spend some days in one of the modern spa hotels in the region, with relaxing treatments and water entertainment. Tampere has an exiting history.  The city was founded by the king of Sweden in 1779, annexed to Russia by Alexander I as a result of the Napoleonic Wars, and experienced three Russian Revolutions (1905, March 1917 and November 1917).  The Civil War in 1918 left deep wounds in the town, which, however, developed towards a welfare society already before WWII. You can visit the old factories by the rapids, several museums of industrial heritage, art museums and Lenin Museum, the only one in the world, reminding of the several meetings that Russian revolutionaries held in Tampere.

www.visittampere.fi

Sauna experiences15 sunset at midnight

Sauna bathing is a very traditional Finnish way to relax. It is very refreshing to combine the sauna experience with a dip in one of the fresh water lakes in Tampere. There are public saunas by the lakes that are open every day for you to try! There is also a sauna in every hotel.

http://www.talviuimarit.fi/english-info/
http://www.rauhaniemi.net/index.php?sivu=eng

Mänttä Art Town

Mänttä is a must for anyone interested in art. This town is located an hour from Tampere in “the middle of nowhere”. It is the home of many museums, including two Serlachius Museums: Gösta and Gustaf. Alongside the residential manor of the industrialist Gösta Serlachius there is an internationally awarded and architecturally interesting wood-constructed pavilion. The manor‘s exhibitions feature nationally significant works of Finnish art, the pavilion shows new openers of contemporary art and well-known artworks. Museum Gustaf tells stories from the history of the pulp and paper industry.

http://www.manttavilppula.fi/taidekaupunki/in-english/

Heaven and Hell in one day

Feel like taking a break from it all? If that’s the case, why not embark on an adventurous hiking or canoeing trip in the rugged landscape of one of Finland’s gruffly beautiful national parks, Hell’s Canyon. And at the end of an exhilarating day, relax by the campfire and enjoy a delicious meal of mushroom soup, barbecued salmon and fresh raspberries served with warm honey. If you still haven’t tried a Finnish sauna, you can have this unforgettable experience now, in the midst of the tranquility of the untouched nature.

http://www.outdoors.fi/en/seitseminennaturecentre
http://www.outdoors.fi/en/seitseminennp
http://www.outdoors.fi/en/vehoniemenharju

Lapland

With their gently rounded summits, the fells of Lapland offer incomparable views of some of the last wilderness in Europe. Lapland is an ideal region for the lover of the great outdoors, for those who enjoy hiking, canoeing and gold washing. The sun doesn’t set from the end of May until the end of July.

http://www.lapland.fi/en/travel

St. Petersburg, Russia

St. Petersburg, with its stormy past marked by revolution, can be a great historical adventure. St. Pe­tersburg was founded and named the capital of Russia by Tsar Peter the Great in 1703. He commissioned the most renowned European architects of his day to build a city that would stand eternally as a symbol of tsarist magnificence for the entire world to admire.  The Russian Federation has decided to make it easier for foreigners to enter the country. Travellers who enter Russia by ferry from Helsinki may stay in the country for 72 hours without a visa. This makes pre- or post congress tours to Russia all the more attractive. There is a fast train connection from Tampere to St.Petersburg.

http://www.saint-petersburg.com/

Stockholm, Sweden

Stockholm is the capital of Sweden. It’s a city where modernity meets tranquility. Stockholm is full of trend-setting restaurants, great shopping and vibrant nightclubs next to an idyllic archipelago. We recommend you travel to Sweden by one of the many sea cruisers, which are “party-boats” worth experiencing due to their relaxed atmosphere and lots of action.

https://www.visitstockholm.com/

Tallinn, Estonia

Tallinn is situated only 60 kilometres from Helsinki across the Gulf of Finland. Tallinn is easily reached by boat or hydrofoil; there are several departures daily. A tour of Old Tallinn presents a glimpse of life in the Middle Ages. The stone buildings, many of them hundreds of years old, boast facades that have changed little over the centuries. There are plenty of cosy restaurants and interesting small shops to explore in the old town.

http://www.tourism.tallinn.ee/eng

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