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2016 Location/Hotels/Travel

Welcome to Jyväskylä – A Dynamic City in the Heart of Finland

Conference location: University of Jyväskylä, Finland (campus map)
Address: Mattilanniemi 2, Agora building

Jyväskylä (You-was-Q-La) is a city and municipality in Finland and in the western part of the Finnish Lakeland, some 270 km north of the capital Helsinki and within good traffic connections. The city is a lively university town with about 130 000 inhabitants .The hilly and forested terrain in Jyväskylä is surrounded by hundreds of lakes.

The University of Jyväskylä has its origins in the first Finnish-speaking teacher training college, founded in 1863. Around 15,000 students are currently enrolled in the degree programs of the university.

Elias Lönnrot, the compiler of the Finnish national epic, The Kalevala, gave the city a nickname "Athens of Finland". This nickname is used to describe the major role of Jyväskylä as an educational center, and as the first place in the world to provide education in Finnish. 

"The big little city" accurately describes Jyväskylä. Comfort and safety characterize the city, as well as short distances. The city offers a broad variety of services but, at the same time, everything is close at hand.

The works of the internationally recognized Finnish architect Alvar Aalto can be seen throughout the city. It is also home of the annual Jyväskylä Arts Festival.

More information about the City of Jyväskylä.

Restaurants, places to visit etc. in the Jyväskylä region:

Traveling to Jyväskylä

The Jyväskylä Region can be reached easily by plane, train, coach or car.

By plane

Jyväskylä airport is situated in Tikkakoski approximately 23 km from Jyväskylä. Finnair operates flights to Jyväskylä from popular Helsinki-Vantaa international airport roughly four times a day. The flight from Helsinki to Jyväskylä takes about 50 minutes. Further information on traveling to Jyväskylä by plane can be found on Finavia's website. Further details of flights to Helsinki-Vantaa are available here.

There is no airport transfer between Tikkakoski and the centre of Jyväskylä, so a taxi should be booked in advance by calling +358 (0)100 6900 before boarding the plane in Helsinki. The taxi journey from the airport to the centre of Jyväskylä takes about 15 minutes. For further information please visit www.jklaluetaksi.fi/en.

The nearest international airport to Jyväskylä is in Tampere, some two hours away. From there Jyväskylä can be reached handily by train or coach. For further information on flights to/from Tampere please visit www.finavia.fi/en and for timetables of trains between Tampere and Jyväskylä please visit www.vr.fi and for details of coach services please visit www.matkahuolto.fi/en

By train

Both trains and coaches arrive at and depart from Jyväskylä Travel Centre rail/coach interchange located in the centre of the city (Hannikaisenkatu 20, Jyväskylä). The Travel Centre sells tickets for trains operated by VR/Finnish State Railways and coach services operated by Matkahuolto. The Travel Centre is open Mon-Sat 6-22 and Sun 8-22.

The train journey from Helsinki to Jyväskylä using the Pendolino express service takes 3.5 hours at its fastest while the trip from Tampere to Jyväskylä takes roughly 1.5 hours. Train tickets can be purchased from VR/Finnish State Railways' net store www.vr.fi or in Jyväskylä from the Travel Centre ticket office.

If you are flying into Helsinki-Vantaa, the simplest solution is to take the local train from the airport to Tikkurila and change there to a Jyväskylä-bound train.

By coach

Jyväskylä can also be reached easily by coach; tickets can be bought from Matkahuolto's online store which also provides details of routes, timetables and fares. The journey from Helsinki to Jyväskylä by express coach takes approximately 4.5 hours. Many express coaches also call at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, where the coach can be boarded.

A slightly quicker coach connection from the centre of Helsinki to Jyväskylä is operated by Onnibus. This takes about 3.5 hours (but does not call at Helsinki-Vantaa). For information on timetables and fares please visit www.onnibus.fi: tickets can also be purchased online.

By car

If you are planning on arriving in Jyväskylä by car, the best route to Jyväskylä can be checked from a number of route-finding services, for instance, Fonecta at www.fonecta.fi/kartat.

Booking a hire car for collection at Helsinki-Vantaa or Jyväskylä's Tikkakoski airport is also a convenient way of moving around Finland. Vehicles can be booked from the following car hire firms:

For further information on arriving in Jyväskylä see visit.jyvaskyla.fi/en.

A personal account

In addition to the detailed information above, here is a personal account from someone who visited the area a few months ago on how to reach Jyväskylä from Helsinki:

If you fly to Helsinski, once you are out of the airport, you will see the Finnair bus station behind the line of taxis. The ticket costs less than 10 euros and can be purchased as you board the bus. This bus will take you to the Helsinki Train Station, which is located in the city center. There are many hotels in this area, the closest one being Holiday Inn. You can either stay in Helsinki for a few days or head to the train station and continue your trip to Jyväskylä. The train ticket to Jyväskylä costs around 60 euros. You also can reach Jyväskylä by bus, which costs about 30 euros or less (sometimes as low as 7 Euros). The bus station is in the Kamppi station, about 3-4 minutes' walk from the train station. Have a wonderful and safe trip!

Accommodation in Jyväskylä

Accommodation is not included in the conference registration fee. All guests are required to make their own accommodation arrangements.

Hotel options in Jyväskylä

Jyväskylä has a wide range of hotels to choose from, at prices to suit all budgets. The local organizers have made block reservations and negotiated special rates for the Conference attendees in a number of selected hotels featured below. To make a reservation:

  • contact the hotels directly, stay within the conference room-block and do not use internet booking agents
  • ask for special rate when making your reservation, refer to the discount code "bridges"
  • the special rates are valid and the availability of rooms is guaranteed only for bookings made by 8 July 2016
  • the rates are per night per room, and include taxes, a buffet breakfast and often also the opportunity to use the guest sauna

Hotel Alba

Hotel Alba is located in a beautiful area by the Lake Jyväsjärvi in Mattilanniemi, very next (100 m) to the Bridges conference venue, Agora Building Alba has an à la carte restaurant with a beautiful view to the lake, a sun terrace, functional meeting facilities and spacious sauna facilities.

More information: Hotel Alba

Hotel Alba rates (per night per room including taxes and a buffet breakfast):

  • Single room, economy: €90,00
  • Single room, standard: €94,80
  • Single room, superior: €108,00
  • Single room, junior suite: €148,00
  • Twin room, standard: €115,80 total (€57,90 per guest)
  • Double room, junior suite: €168,00 total (€84,00 per guest)

To make a reservation:

  • Contact Hotel Alba directly either via e-mail: info@hotellialba.fi, tel. +358 14 636 311, or through the website. 
  • Please note: When reserving from the website's English version, the customer needs to select English again from the top of the page, then the Hotelzon reservation page will appear in English.
  • When making your reservation, refer to the discount code "bridges".
  • The special rates are valid and the availability of rooms is guaranteed only for bookings made by 8 July 2016.

Hotel Yöpuu (Owl's Nest)

Hotel Yöpuu is a sympathetic boutique hotel located just a couple of steps away from the Jyväskylä city center's hustle and bustle. Each room in the hotel is different, decorated with its own theme. All the essential sights of Jyväskylä are right next to you, and the conference venue, Agora Building, lies within a 15 minutes' walk through the city or alongside the lake. Hotel Yöpuu was voted the "The Grand Hotel of the Year 2016 Finland" in the Luxury Travel Guides Global Awards.

More information: Hotel Yöpuu

Hotel Yöpuu rates (per night per room including taxes and a buffet breakfast)

  • Single room: €95,00
  • Double room*: €125,00 total (€67,50 per guest)

To make a reservation:

  • Contact Hotel Yöpuu directly either via e-mail: myyntipalvelu@hotelliyopuu.fi, or tel. +358 14 333 900. 
  • When making your reservation, refer to the discount code "bridges".
  • The special rates are valid and the availability of rooms is guaranteed only for bookings made by 8 July 2016.

Original Sokos Hotel Alexandra

Sokos Hotel Alexandra is centrally located in Jyväskylä, opposite the Travel Exchange Centre ("Matkakeskus" in Finnish). Agora Building lies within a 15 minutes' walk through the city or alongside the lake. The refurbished hotel features modern rooms, good meeting facilities and an inviting restaurant world. The guests have the opportunity to use the guest sauna.

More information: Original Sokos Hotel Alexandra

Hotel Alexandra rates (per night per room including taxes and a buffet breakfast)

  • Single room, economy: €85,00
  • Single room, standard: €100,00
  • Double room, economy; €95,00 total (€47,50 per guest)
  • Double room, standard: €110,00 total (€55,00 per guest)

To make a reservation:

Other accommodation

Please note that thee organizers have made special arrangements only with those mentioned above. However, feel free to have a look what other accommodation services there are in the Jyväskylä are, and note also the budget accommodation options below:

Omena Hotel Jyväskylä is located in the center of the city close to the Travel Exchange

Center ("Matkakeskus" in Finnish) with easy access to all city-center services. Even if the rooms are not that large, they are all designed for four persons, allowing a sizeable group of people to always stay at the hotel at budget rates. Omena Hotels' room rates change in line with demand.

Participants interested in renting private accommodation can browse AirBnB website for available apartments. It is still not a regular hotel, as guests are staying in somebody's house, and sometimes the host will be present while the guest is there. The average costs of private accommodation vary from around €20 to over €100 depending on the location, number of rooms etc. Or, if you do not have high expectations on the accommodation itself, but would like to get in touch with the locals and are happy with quite basic circumstances (e.g. sleeping on the couch/floor) for free, please check Couchsurfing website.

Jyväskylä – Practical tips for your stay

Information about how to get to Jyväskylä as well as useful information on the Jyväskylä Region:


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