General Information

The Congress City - Tampere

Tampere truly has it all: great outdoors, natural beauty, history, culture, and vibrant city life!

Tampere is a lively university city and one of the largest cities in Finland. Tampere is situated in a beautiful natural setting, between two lakes connected by the Tammerkoski rapids, which run through the heart of the city. Once the centre of cotton industry in Finland, the city centre is characterized by the unique red brick factory buildings on banks of the rapids, nowadays accommodating cinemas, museums, galleries, theatres, cafés and bars.

Tampere is a great place to spend a few extra days too, if you have a chance. Tampere has a diverse cultural life. It is the home for two large theatres, and is known as the “Finnish capital of theatre”. Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra is one of the largest of the kind in the Nordic countries. Tampere is also famous for its rock scene, and live music is played in many of the city's clubs and bars. The museums are numerous and include particularities like the Ice Hockey museum and the Spy museum, the first in the world. For more information on Tampere, please visit the tourist information page at www.tampere.fi/english/tourism

Congress venue - Tampere Hall

Tampere is also a popular congress city and Tampere Hall, the SSAC 2007 congress venue, has been voted among the best meeting venues in Finland. Address (street): Yliopistonkatu 55. The exact location is marked on the congress map.

Travelling to Tampere

Tampere is easy to reach by air via Helsinki, Stockholm or Copenhagen. From the Tampere Airport there is a regular bus connection to the city centre. In addition, there is a regular ExpressBus connection to Tampere from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport (nearly every hour, day and night). The journey takes about 2.5 hours. Alternatively you may take a train from the Helsinki city centre railway station. If you are travelling via Stockholm, you might prefer to take a ferry to Turku, and from Turku harbour, a train to Tampere (the train trip takes about 2 hours). The daily ferryboat connections are operated by Viking Line and Silja Line, and the duration of the voyage is about 12 hours.

Transport information (click on the link):
Finnair airline information, timetables
SAS airline information, timetables
Bus timetables Tampere Airport –city centre
Bus timetables, Finnish long-distance buses
The Finnish Rail, timetables, train connections
Ferryboat connections from Stockholm
Ferryboat connections from Stockholm
Information about the City of Tampere

Taxis
(tel. 10041, from a mobile phone or other parts of Finland tel. 0100 4131)
Taxis are generally easy to get and there are several taxi stands in the city centre.

Weather in Tampere

In the beginning of September, the weather can vary from beautiful and warm summer days (+20°C) to more rainy and chilly autumn weather.
A 5-day weather forecast is available at the website http://www.fmi.fi/weather/local.html?kunta=Tampere

Currency

Euro € (EUR)

You can exchange foreign currency and traveller's cheques either in banks or in Forex (currency exchange company, address: Hämeenkatu 14 b, on the Central Square). Most banks are open from 10.00 to 16.30 on weekdays and closed on Saturdays and Sundays. There are numerous cash machines open around the clock and accepting all major credit cards. Major credit cards, in particular Visa, Eurocard and Mastercard are widely accepted almost everywhere (in hotels, restaurants, shops, taxis, cafeterias, bars, etc.).

Electricity

220V (230V), 50Hz, two-pin plug.

Languages

The official languages in Finland are Finnish and Swedish. However, you may expect that most people (particularly young people) have basic knowledge of English. You should not have any problems in communicating in English.

The Tampere Hall