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The congress was held in June 8 - 12, 2009.

Venue & Travel Information

Congress Venue

Helsinki, the lively capital of Finland, lies on the coast of the Gulf of Finland. It is a compact city of c. 500,000 inhabitants with plenty of parks and even patches of natural forest in the heart of the city.

Tourist information can be found at:

Site of presentations and workshops

The congress will be held in two venues situated around the Senate's Square in the very heart of the Old City of Helsinki.

The main venue is Valkoinen Sali, Aleksanterinkatu 16-18. This is the place where the plenary sessions are organized. This is also the place of registration. The registration will open on Sunday afternoon from 6pm until 7pm and on Monday morning starting at 8am.

Accommodation

A block reservation has been made for EuroGardV- Congress participants in the following hotels.  All of them are situated in Helsinki city centre, or near the centre, with the distance not longer than 2,1 km (Hostel Academica). Please make the booking directly to the hotel using the contact details given below (phone, fax, email or electronic link).  Please make sure that you book before the given date and use the booking code, which is given below.

Travel information

You will find all the necessary travel information (passport, visa, currency et.) in several languages at Visitfinland.com and Lonely Planet. These pages will inform about passport & visa requirements, currency etc.

No special immunisation is necessary for travellers to Finland (see e.g. MDtravelhealth.com).

How to get there

Most big Airlines fly regularly to Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. The Airport is 20-40 minutes away from the Helsinki city centre, depending on the vehicle (bus, shuttle or taxi), and the time of arrival. The cost varies from 4 Euros by bus to around 30 Euros by taxi (prices in 2007).

Finland can conveniently be reached by sea. There are ferries from Tallinn Estonia , Stockholm Sweden and Rostock Germany, see Tallinksilja routes.

From Russia
Railway services to and from Russia (Moscow- St. Petersburg - Vyborg - Helsinki) have many connections daily. See services and timetables from the Finnish Railways (VR) site.

The cheapest option is to take a Russian bus from St. Petersburg to Helsinki. They leave every evening at nine p.m. close to Ploshad Vosstanija metro station, from Ligovskiy Prospekt. You can buy the tickets from a kiosk there beforehand. If you buy the tickets the evening you are leaving, you should get there one hour beforehand. The price in 2007 for St. Petersburg - Helsinki is approximately 15 Euros.

Credit cards

International credit cards are accepted in most hotels, restaurants and shops in Finland , but please check before purchase.

Insurance

The congress organisers warmly recommend participants to arrange their travel insurance for property and health before leaving their country. The congress organisers will not be liable for any costs due to damage, loss, or injury.

Climate

In the beginning of June the mean highest daily temperature is approximately 15 C, while in the nights it often gets below 10 C; see Climate in Finland. On average, it does not rain often at that time of the year, but we recommend an umbrella and/or weatherproof clothing for field trips and the garden party.

Telephone

Country code is +358. Emergency call 112.

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