Welcome to Tampere, Finland! About the city Tampere is an active, green university city, situated between two large lakes, and is the home of Finland’s best voted congress venue, Tampere Hall. Surrounded by a lot of nature, Tampere offers many an outdoor activity very close to the city centre, and because of its very compact size, almost everything is within walking distance. The city’s international airport is only 15 minutes from the city centre and is currently served by direct flights from Helsinki, Stockholm and Riga. Programme Thursday 9 February 2017 18:05 Flight Vilna – Helsinki dinner/snack at Helsinki-Vantaa airport 21:10 Flight Helsinki – Tampere pick-up at airport and check-in at Lapland Hotel Tampere Friday 10 February 2017 9:00 Brunch at Solo Sokos Hotel Torni Tampere + site inspection of hotel Solo Sokos Hotel Torni Tampere offers an all-new hotel experience. Opened in the autumn of 2014, the hotel stands 88 metres tall and pays homage to the eventful history and various legends of the city of Tampere. The modern tower hotel, combined with 140 year-old roundhouse, provides a vivid and unique environment to explore the fascinating stories of the city, from rock icons to sports heroes. www.sokoshotels.fi/en/tampere/solo-sokos-hotel-torni-tampere 11:00 Visit to Congress and Concert Centre Tampere Hall Tampere Hall is Scandinavia’s largest congress and concert centre and these facilities together with our professional, caring staff are the reason why we have become one of the most popular venues in Finland. www.tamperehall.com 12:15 Lunch at Pyynikin Panimo old brewery Pyynikin Panimo is an old brewery, which has been turned into a beautiful event space, preserving the old copper brew kettles. The space is catered by only the best restaurants in Tampere. www.pyynikinpanimo.fi/ 13:45 Guided tour of Finlayson factory area The historical and unique Finlayson cotton factory area was once like a city in a city. Today the old red brick factory buildings offer a chance to not only enjoy the numerous cafés and restaurants, but also to experience the history of the entire city. 15:00 Finnish activities and sauna at Varala Sports Institute Finns love their saunas – especially those by the lake. The sauna at Varala Sports Institute offers the possibility to try out the traditional way of Finnish life. Depending on what the weather permits, you can . test ice fishing . cook sausages in the fireplace . test a genuine Finnish sauna and swim in the frozen lake 18:30 Finnish cooking course and dinner at Villa Sofia At Villa Sofia you not only get to have a great Finnish dinner – you get to cook it yourself! But don’t worry – you are in good hands, as Heini Niklas-Salminen is an excellent cook and teacher. http://tilaisuus.fi/kuvagalleria/ 21:30 Return to the hotel Saturday 11 February 2017 8:00 Breakfast & tour of Lapland Hotel Tampere Lapland Hotel Tampere offers you a chance to experience Lapland in the heart of a city. The 141 rooms of the centrally located hotel have been decorated with skill and style to suit the taste of even the most quality conscious guests. The design of the rooms was influenced by nature and the stories of Lapland. www.laplandhotels.com/EN/urban-hotels/tampere/lapland-hotel-tampere-2.html 9:00 Site inspection and surprise programme at a Scandic hotel in Tampere Scandic is the largest Nordic hotel operator with a network of 230 hotels with about 44,000 hotel rooms in operation or under development. In Tampere, Scandic has three hotels; two in the city centre and one by Lake Pyhäjärvi. www.scandichotels.com/hotels/finland/tampere 11:00 Lunch at Observation Tower Näsinneula Restaurant Näsinneula literally is as high as you can get and dine in Finland. Whilst dining you can enjoy spectacular views in this one of a kind rotating restaurant. www.sarkanniemi.fi/nasinneula/en 13:15 Bus to Tampere-Pirkkala airport 14:35 Flights home The programme is preliminary and subject to change. .