Arriving to Finland and other useful Last minute information (PDF).

There are several Ryanair flights directly to Tampere. Also AirBaltic, Blue1 fly to Tampere and Finnair/FlyBe and many others to Helsinki.

You can also fly to Helsinki and take an airport bus to Tampere. It may be worth checking if a connecting flight to Tampere might make sense, but often not. The bus might be easier, faster and cheaper. The buses go from the Helsinki airport to Tampere about every hour. The timetables are at http://www.expressbus.fi/timetables-and-tickets, and the fare is about 25€. The trip takes about 2.5 hours. Sometimes you may have to change to a connecting bus soon after the airport, but that takes just some minutes and the driver takes care of your luggage. Some buses are direct, especially in the evening.

One option from Helsinki airport is to take a taxi or a local bus 61 to Tikkurila (frequent buses, travel time 20-30 min) and then a train (www.vr.fi) to Tampere, which may be faster sometimes. The Tampere railway station is on the main street Hämeenkatu, and several hotels are near the main street.

Here you can search different transportation methods.

NOTE! The city will be heavily booked during the conference, as there are many big events at the same time! For example, there will be thousands of artists attending the Finnish-Estonian Dance Festival, Tanssipidot 2012.

• Hotel Rosendahl is hosting the conference. It is a nice park hotel by a lake, within 10 minutes drive (about 2.5 km) from central Tampere. You can reach it by taxi or by bus 21 (timetable).
  Rosendahl has a quota of 80 rooms for conference visitors. Instructions and link to an online reservation system will be added later.
  The room prices are: 122 EUR for a single room and 142 EUR for a double room. To get the discount price, enter this booking code for the online reservation system: BEUR120612 The room rates include buffet breakfast and V.A.T.
  
  The quota and the contract price are valid until 30 April 2012.
  Booking code (valid for web registrations): BEUR120612.
  Alternatively, you can also reserve your room by phone +358-(0)3-244-1111 or by email rosendahl@scandichotels.com. Remember to mention the discount code also if you make your reservation by phone or by email!
  
  
• Hotel Ilves is in the very center of the city, by the riverside and the main street. The tower hotel has spectacular views over the city. It is also next to the bus station and very close to the railway station.
  We have reserved 30 rooms in Sokos Hotel Ilves for EUROHAPTICS conference visitors. The room prices are: 125 EUR for a single room and 145 EUR for a double room. The room rates include buffet breakfast and V.A.T.
  
  The quota and the contract price are valid until 30 April 2012.
  Note that the reservation code "EUROHAPTICS" can only be used for registrations made by phone +358-(0)20-1234-631 or by email ilves.tampere@sokoshotels.fi.
  The discount code is not valid for web registrations!
  
  
• Cumulus Koskikatu, similarly to Hotel Ilves, also Cumulus Koskikatu is near the center of the city, by the riverside, and within a walking distance from the railway and bus station.
  We have reserved 70 rooms in Cumulus Koskikatu for EUROHAPTICS conference visitors. The room prices are: 109 EUR for a single room and 119 EUR for a double room, including breakfast.
  
  The quota and the contract price are valid until 1 May 2012
  Note that the reservation code "EUROHAPTICS" can only be used for registrations made by phone +358-(0)3-242-4120 or by email koskikatu.cumulus@restel.fi.
  The discount code is not valid for web registrations!
  
  
• Hotel Victoria is located within a few minutes walk from the city centre, near to the railway station.
  We have reserved 20 rooms for EUROHAPTICS conference visitors. The room prices are: 109 EUR for a single room and 132 EUR for a double room. The price includes breakfast, wireless internet connection, evening sauna and swimpool.
  
  The quota and the contract price are valid until 21 May 2012.
  Mention "EUROHAPTICS" when you make the reservation to get the contract price!
  Note that the reservation code "EUROHAPTICS" can only be used for registrations made by phone +358-(0)3-2425-111 or by email sales@hotellivictoria.fi. The discount code is not valid for web registrations!

Each participant makes their reservation directly to the hotel. For Hotel Rosendahl, use the booking code "BEUR120612" (valid for web registrations too); for all other hotels, mention "EUROHAPTICS" to get the conference contract price (valid for registration made by phone or by email). Please also note the deadline for making reservations, the date varies between hotels (see above).

There is also a plenty of choice of hotels in the city (within 2 km from the venue).
A clean, low-cost, no-frills hotel chain is Omena hotels.
You can check alternatives e.g., at hotels.com or www.booking.com.

• Tampere tourism info: visittampere.fi
• http://wikitravel.org/en/Tampere
• General information about Tampere city

There is a lot to see and experience in Tampere. For full listing, print your own brochures here or at Visit Tampere Tourist Information, Railway station, Rautatienkatu 25 A, 33100 Tampere, Finland. tel. +358 3 5656 6800

Some highlights:
Särkänniemi amusement park & Angry Birds Land, art gallery, planetarium, dolphinarium, observation tower & restaurant, and more.

Art Museum Moominvalley

Outdoor activities

You can check the local weather report at FMI, http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/weather/Tampere.

The sun will set about 23:10, but it does not really get dark at all. If you want to see the actual mid-night sun, you can take a train from Tampere to Rovaniemi, or even further north to Kolari or Kemijärvi. Alternatively you can catch a flight from Helsinki to Rovaniemi or Kittilä.