Practical information on location and transportation

Location

The summer school will take place at Hanasaari  (http://www.hanaholmen.fi) in Espoo. Hanasaari is a well-known congress centre, located on a beautiful archipelago headland only 10 minutes from the Helsinki city centre.  It is also a Swedish-Finnish cultural centre which seeks to expand and improve connections between Finland and Sweden on various different fields. The Hanasaari Cultural Centre was officially inaugurated on 1 June 1975 and has been known ever since for its seminars, art exhibitions, literary visits, concerts, film soirées and library with a broad selection of Finnish and Swedish literature.

More information on Hanasaari website.

Connections to Hanasaari

Hanasaari enjoys a frequent bus service. It is served by all buses operating along the Länsiväylä road (sometimes called “the Westway”) from Helsinki (local Espoo bus numbers 102-166). The Espoo buses depart from E-level from platforms 42-55 at the Kamppi bus terminal. The trip takes between 5 and 15 minutes from Helsinki city centre, depending on the traffic volume. Hanasaari has an own bus stop which is about 400 metres from the Cultural Centre.

For further details of bus transport check the local authority website at www.ytv.fi (>Journey Planner). The bus stop is ca 400 metres from the Cultural Centre.

Passengers arriving at the Helsinki-Vantaa airport can either take a taxi directly to the Cultural Centre or travel by bus changing at Helsinki city centre. The local buses with numbers 615, 615V, 615VK, and 615T depart from the international terminal (regional ticket 4,50 €), but it is possible to take the Finnair City Bus  (6,20 €) to downtown Helsinki, too. The bus 615 leaves outside terminal T2 from platform 21 and the Finnair City Bus leaves outside terminal T2 from platform 10 and outside terminal T1 from platform 1. The trip to Helsinki takes approximately 40-50 minutes. From Helsinki city centre (Rautatientori) you can either walk or take the metro to Kamppi, from where the Espoo buses depart.

Those travelling by taxi should ask for Hanasaari Cultural Centre, Espoo. The taxi journey from the city centre of Helsinki to Hanasaari will take approximately 10 minutes and costs ca 20 €; from the airport it takes approximately 40 minutes and costs ca 35 €. NB! Please note that there is also a power station in East Helsinki called Hanasaari, so be sure to ask the driver to take you to Hanasaari Cultural Centre in Espoo.

Passengers arriving at the terminals for ferries from Sweden and Estonia can reach Hanasaari Cultural Centre most easily by taxi or by bus through Helsinki city centre.

Public transporation

Public transport in Helsinki consists of bus, tram, metro, train, and ferry services. The system is managed by Helsinki Region Transport (HRT).

When travelling to Hanasaari by bus a regional ticket is needed. If you travel to Hanasaari directly from the airport you may use the regional ticket purchased for the trip to Helsinki (with the exception of the Finnair city bus ticket). A single regional ticket is valid for 80 minutes. In case you need to buy a new ticket, you may purchase one from the bus driver or from ticket vending machines.

Please note that the local buses do not accept credit cards or bigger than EUR 20 bills. Cash can be drawn from OTTO-ATMs.

A traveler’s ticket is a good option if you intend to travel on daily basis. You may choose a ticket valid from 1 (12 €) to 7 (48 €) days. Bus and tram drivers sell 1-day tickets, and they can also be purchased from pink ticket machines. 2-7 –days tickets can be bought from blue ticket machines or from Helsinki Region Transportation (HSL) service point in Rautatientori (Central Railway Station) Metro Station. The service point is open 7.30am-7pm (Mon-Thu), 7.30am-5pm (Fri) and 10am-5pm (Sat).

A single ticket is a better solution for an occasional traveller. Drivers sell single tickets for both regional and city internal transport, but the tickets can also be purchased from the ticket machines. The price of a regional single ticket for an adult is currently 4,50 €. You can transfer from one vehicle to another (bus, tram, train, metro and Suomenlinna ferry) with day and single tickets within the validity of the ticket.

More information on VisitHelsinki and HST

Useful links

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