The conference will be held on Aalto University main campus at Otaniemi, Espoo. The main conference will be held in the new main building Dipoli (#19). Please, refer to the annotated campus map that shows the location.
Address: Otakaari 24, 02150 Espoo, Finland
Otaniemi campus is approximately 24 km away from the Helsinki airport.
Airport Codes
IATA-code: HEL
ICAO-code: EFHK
How to get to Otaniemi?
By Taxi
Taxi fare from the airport is around 40 euros (travel time about 30 minutes).
NOTE: Finland decided to deregulate taxi transport. Starting from July 2018 onwards prices can vary per taxi operator. This is a significant change as standard metered pricing is now over. Exact details on how the pricing system will change are still not clear as the change is only a couple of months old at the time the conference takes place in August 2018. What is certain, there will be much more variance in pricing as opposed to the standard base fees and metering by kilometres. A similar deregulation has been in place in Sweden for some years, and there are some bad apples who charge customers too much. Most of the taxis there have a fare table in the window and the meter will run – similar model will likely be adopted in Finland. However, make sure you know the price before stepping into a taxi in Finland July 2018 onwards. For more information, read for example this article.
By public transport
Public transport from the airport takes about an hour (train + Metro). Otaniemi is located 10 km from the Helsinki city centre, and it can be easily reached by metro.
Single train, metro or bus tickets can be bought in advance at the ticket machines or from the bus driver. There is no ticket sales in trains or metro. Please note, that you need a regional ticket (two-zone ticket, seutulippu in Finnish) in order to travel between Helsinki (airport) and Aalto University (Espoo city). The same ticket (4,20-5,00 €) is valid on trains, and Metro. Day tickets (1 or more days) might be more economical option.
The train connection between Helsinki Airport and Helsinki city centre takes about 30 minutes (P train). There are two services: train I and train P. The trains leave different directions, but both end up in Helsinki Central Railway Station. Train P is faster. Schedules, ticket prices and routes are available at HSL website. At the airport you can buy a train ticket from HSL ticket automates (by the entrance of the train station; at baggage claim 2B).
The Metro line’s end station in the west is Tapiola or Matinkylä (Espoo), and in the east Vuosaari or Mellunmäki (Helsinki). The Metro runs every 2.5 minutes during the rush hour, and every 4–5 minutes at other times. The journey from Helsinki Central Railway Station to Aalto University (Aalto-yliopisto, Aalto-universitetet) in Otaniemi takes 11 minutes (take westbound Metro to Tapiola or Matinkylä).
There are two exits from the Metro station, Otaniementie and Tietotie. Via Otaniementie (#69), you can access the Main Building Dipoli (#19), and Radisson Blu Espoo (#56).
See the annotated map that shows the locations on campus.
By car
Otaniemi customer parking (pdf, aaltocre.fi)
See also
- Helsinki region Journey Planner (hsl.fi)
- Helsinki Regional Transport HSL (hsl.fi)
- Helsinki region service map (hel.fi)
- Aalto University campus maps (aalto.fi)
Visit Finland
The conference is located in Espoo that is the second largest city in Finland. It is part of the Finnish Capital Region, and most of its population lives in the inner urban core of the Helsinki metropolitan area, along with the cities of Helsinki, Vantaa, and Kauniainen. Espoo shares its eastern border with Helsinki, which is the capital city of Finland. The Helsinki metropolitan area has a population of over 1.4 million.
If you have an extra day to stay, check this excellent Helsinki Visitors Guide.
The average maximum temperature from June to August is around 19 to 22 °C (66 to 72 °F). Due to the marine effect, especially during hot summer days, daily temperatures are a little cooler and night temperatures higher than further inland.
Helsinki city center is easy to reach by metro from Espoo. Public transport consists of bus, tram, metro, local railway and ferry services. The system is managed by Helsinki Region Transport (Finnish: Helsingin seudun liikenne, or HSL).The public transport system is very good, and 50% of commuting trips within the city limits of Helsinki are made using public transport and only 28% using a private car.
Helsinki is home to numerous Art Nouveau-influenced (Jugend in Finnish) buildings belonging to the romantic nationalism trend, designed in the early 20th century and strongly influenced by Kalevala, which was a common theme of the era. Helsinki’s Art Nouveau style is also featured in central residential districts, such as Katajanokka and Ullanlinna. An important architect of the Finnish Art Nouveau style was Eliel Saarinen, whose architectural masterpiece was the Helsinki Central Station. Helsinki also features several buildings by Finnish architect Alvar Aalto, recognized as one of the pioneers of architectural functionalism. Alvar Aalto has also designed the original layout of the Otaniemi campus and the main building of the Helsinki University of Technology (now the Aalto University Undergraduate Centre, Otakaari 1), the Otaniemi library building (now the Harald Herlin Learning Centre, Otaniementie 9) as well as some other buildings on the campus.
Functionalist buildings in Helsinki by other architects include the Olympic Stadium, Helsinki-Malmi Airport, the Tennis Palace, and the Glass Palace. The Olympic Stadium was built to serve the 1940 Helsinki Olympic Games; the games were initially cancelled due to the 2nd World War, but the venues fulfilled their purpose in the 1952 Olympic Games. Many of them are listed by DoCoMoMo as significant examples of modern architecture.
The biggest historical museum in Helsinki is the National Museum of Finland, which displays a vast historical collection from prehistoric times to the 21st century. The museum building itself, a national romantic style neomedieval castle, is a tourist attraction. Another major historical museum is the Helsinki City Museum, which introduces visitors to Helsinki’s 500-year history. Other museums in Helsinki include the Helsinki University Museum “Arppeanum”, the Finnish Museum of Natural History, Ateneum Art Museum for classical Finnish art, Sinebrychoff Art Museum for classical European art, and Kiasma Art Museum for modern art. The old Ateneum, a neo-Renaissance palace from the 19th century, is one of the city’s major historical buildings. In addition, the Design Museum is devoted to the exhibition of both Finnish and foreign design, including industrial design, fashion, and graphic design. Moreover, the city of Helsinki hosts its own art collection in the Helsinki Art Museum (HAM), primarily located in its Tennispalatsi gallery. Other museums in Helsinki include the Military Museum of Finland, Didrichsen Art Museum, Amos Anderson Art Museum, and the Tram Museum.
The city’s main musical venues are the Finnish National Opera, the Finlandia concert hall, and the Helsinki Music Centre. Bigger concerts and events are usually held at one of the city’s two big ice hockey arenas: the Hartwall Arena or the Helsinki Ice Hall.
Recommended places and events to go
- Around the Helsinki South Harbour (see Photo) you can find the Historic Center of Helsinki, and many attractions such as the Market Square, the old market hall, Presidential Palace, Helsinki Cathedral at Senate Square, statue of Havis Amanda, etc. It’s located in walking distance from the Helsinki Central Railway Station. You can walk either by Aleksanterinkatu (shopping street) to Senate Square or through Esplanade Park to Market Square and Tori Quarter (selling Finnish design and handicrafts).
- From Market Square you can continue to Suomenlinna fortress. The municipal ferry accepts Helsinki Region Transport tickets and the Helsinki Card as payment, while separate tickets have to be purchased for the water bus.
- Another option is to continue walking to Kaivopuisto along the beautiful shoreline.
- You might also be interested in the Rock Church (Temppeliaukio Church) and Sibelius monument @ Töölö, the open air museum and wooden buildings @ Seurasaari, or the amusement park @ Linnanmäki. See Helsinki Visitors Guide for more info.
- If you can stay a couple days after the conference, see Helsinki Festival (16.8.-2.9.2018), and Art goes Kapakka. The Helsinki Festival is an annual arts and culture festival, which takes place every August. Check especially Art goes Kapakka (kapakka = pub, bar, tavern, inn) that has been filling August nights in Helsinki with high-quality art since 1995. The festival events have no entry fee: great bands, new talents, amazing skill, interesting conversation, visual art, poetry, performances – and of course, culinary pleasures.
Photo: The Helsinki South Harbour.
Nearby Finland
Like many other cities, Helsinki was deliberately founded at a location on the sea in order to take advantage of shipping. Helsinki is located 80 kilometres (50 mi) north of Tallinn, Estonia, 400 km (250 mi) east of Stockholm, Sweden, and 390 km (240 mi) west of Saint Petersburg, Russia. Helsinki has close historical ties with these three cities. Regular route traffic from Helsinki to Stockholm, Tallinn, and Saint Petersburg began as far back as 1837. Over 300 cruise ships and 360,000 cruise passengers visit Helsinki annually. Ferry connections to Tallinn, Mariehamn, and Stockholm are serviced by various companies. St. Peter Line offers passenger ferry service to Saint Petersburg several times a week.