EUROCITIES ENVIRONMENT FORUM 17.–19.10.2018

PRACTICAL INFORMATION

Contacts:

Aino Järventausta, +358 40 194 0799, [email protected] Sustainable Urban Development

Maggie Nurminen, +35844 423 5283, [email protected] International Affairs

About Tampere

The city of Tampere is a rapidly growing city with a fascinating urban industrial history and a beautiful location between two lakes. There are currently 232 000 inhabitants in Tampere, and 505 000 in the region making it the second most populated region in . The city attracts people with its excellent education institutions and booming IT-business, as well as its laid-back lifestyle and vibrant culture. Tampere is consistently voted by Finns as the most desirable place to live, work and study.

The cultural attractions include the unique , the historical museum Vapriikki, dozens of theaters, and hundreds of festivals and concerts throughout the year. There is a wide array of restaurants and pubs, as well as public saunas and places to swim in the lakes. You can also enjoy the unique nature and clean air right in one of the city’s parks or nature reserves close by. Recently Tampere has even earned the title of the world’s sauna capital city!

Tampere aims to be carbon neutral in 2030. Sustainable Tampere 2030 –roadmap will lead the way towards the target in the fields of energy, climate and resources. An important step towards carbon neutral city is a construction of a modern tramway system which started in 2017. There has also been a turnaround in power production, as almost half of the city’s energy is nowadays produced with renewable energy. With the help of smart solutions, such as developing of demand side management in district heating, the carbon neutral city is about to come true.

With its commitment to sustainable development, the City of Tampere agrees to promote sustainable economic and innovation policy, resource-wise economy and responsible procurement in its own operations. Tampere has also challenged the different sectors of the city to prepare their own commitments to sustainable development. In 2018 Tampere celebrates the 10th anniversary as a Fairtrade city.

Travelling to Tampere, Finland

By plane to Tampere

You can reach the Tampere-Pirkkala airport by connecting flights through the air hubs of Stockholm, Riga and Helsinki. The approximate flight times are: Helsinki-Tampere 25 min, Stockholm-Tampere 1 h and Riga- Tampere 1 h 20 min.

The Tampere-Pirkkala airport is located 17 km from the city center. You can take a taxi from the airport, which you can also order in advance by calling the Airport Taxi service (phone number +358 100 4131, fare 19 €). You can also choose the public bus, but remember to reserve 5 € in cash for the ticket! You can purchase the ticket from the bus driver directly. You will get off on the bus stop called “Koskipuisto”. The bus schedule can be found here.

By plane to Helsinki

If you would rather opt to take a flight to the Helsinki-Vantaa airport, you can easily reach Tampere from there.

You can take the train straight from the airport. You can purchase a train ticket from a ticket machine, which is a light green color and goes under the public railway brand “VR”. Make sure to purchase a ticket all the way to Tampere. First you take the local “I” train towards Helsinki, and get off in “Tikkurila” (approx. 5 min). In Tikkurila, you change to the train that goes to Tampere. Make sure to check the number of the train. The train schedule and tickets are available here.

There are also buses that run from the Helsinki-Vantaa airport directly to Tampere. The buses are run by the companies Paunu and Länsilinjat, and the fare ranges from 15-30 euros normally. You can find the bus schedules here.

Once in Tampere

Most destinations are at a walking distance or there will be arranged transportation during the forum. However, there is also a public bus system. All of the buses drive through the city center, to the main square “Keskustori”. A single ticket on the bus costs 3 euros, paid in cash to the driver.

If you need a taxi, you can call +358 100 4131 or +358 100 4041. It’s possible to pay by debit or credit card straight to the driver. The taximeters are reliable and controlled.

Accomodation

All of the offered hotels have committed to green values and they are situated conveniently in the city center. They all offer free wifi and breakfast is included in the price. In order to get the discounted price, you must book before September 17th, 2018. Radisson Blu Grand

Address: Satakunnankatu 13

118 € / 1 person room per night

138 € / 2 person room per night

Reservations:

Phone: +358 201234700

Email: [email protected]

The booking code is EEF18.

The Grand Hotel Tammer is a quality boutique hotel opened in 1929. The hotel has a significant history and is a landmark of the history of Tampere. The hotel holds a Green Key certificate and is located next to the venue of Day 1. Scandic Koskikatu

Address: Koskikatu 5

120 € / 1 person room per night

140 € / 2 person room per night

Reservations:

Website: https://www.scandichotels.com/

The booking code is BEUR151018. HOX! Booking deadline for this hotel is September 15th, 2018.

The Scandic hotel has the Nordic Swan Ecolabel, and has an extensive social responsibility and sustainability program. Sokos

Address: Hatanpään Valtatie 1

115 € / 1 person room per night

135 € / 2 person room per night

Reservations:

Phone: +358 201234631

Email: [email protected]

The booking code is EEF18.

Sokos Hotel Ilves is another landmark of Tampere. It is situated adjacent to the rapids and two shopping malls.

There is also the option to stay in Dream Hostel, a lovely quality hostel, with prices starting at 69 € per private room: https://www.dreamhostel.fi/en/

The Venues

Link to map with locations: https://goo.gl/maps/gvoYKwwXJ432

Tuesday, 16th October

Optional: Hiking trip to Kintulammi nature resort, with sauna and dinner at Hangaslahti. Transportation by bus from hotels at approximately 16.00, the locations are 20-30 min from the city center.

Wednesday, 17th October

Meetings: Multihouse 13 (Monitoimitalo 13), Satakunnankatu 13

Multihouse 13 is a community center with activities targeted especially for the youth. The building used to serve a traditional public business school, to which the locals still refer to when speaking of the facility.

Lunch: Restaurant , Kelloportinkatu 1

Reception and formal dinner hosted by the City of Tampere: Raatihuone (Old City Hall), Keskustori 10.

Thursday, 18th October

Meetings: (Tampere-talo), Yliopistonkatu 55 Tampere Hall is the largest conference and concert centre in the Nordic countries. It has 371,000 visitors per year and organizes approximately 700 events. The Tampere Hall also provides a home for the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra, the à la carte Restaurant Tuhto and the world’s only Moomin Museum.

Informal buffet dinner (at own cost, 32 euros): Restaurant Dabbal, Lapland Hotel, Yliopistonkatu 44. Finnish flavors from Lapland.

Friday 19th October

Meetings: Tampere Hall (Tampere-talo), Yliopistonkatu 55

After the last session on Friday, EEF delegates have the opportunity to take part in guided 45 min tour of to explore Tampere Hall’s environmental achievements. Since 1994, Tampere Hall has actively worked to strengthen ecological thinking and to operate as a green value pioneer. In 2014, Tampere Hall was the first conference centre in the world to receive the Nordic Ecolabel. Come and see the rooftop garden, the solar power plant, the district cooling system, and the Noxite – air-cleaning roof covering, and a lot more.

Map, also available online: https://goo.gl/maps/gvoYKwwXJ432