The ASCM2019 workshop will take place in the University of Helsinki main building (Fabianinkatu 33) right at the heart of Helsinki, the Finnish capital, from 10th till 12th of April 2019.
Helsinki is a lively city in Northern Europe and is consistently ranked among the safest cities in the world. At roughly 600k inhabitants, it is a medium-sized European capital with excellent public transportation and entertainment options. Scroll below to know more about the practicalities of attending the workshop.
Transportation
Helsinki airport has direct flights to many cities in Europe, including most of the major ones. It also has connections to the main international air hubs, both in Europe and overseas. Finnair provides regular and frequent flights to Europe, America and Asia. Norwegian and SAS are low cost companies flying to European destinations which operate in Helsinki airport.
Safe and efficient public transportation is available within the Helsinki metropolitan area with HSL, which integrates local trains, buses, metro and ferry services. The West Metro (Länsimetro) line offers very fast and direct transportation to the Otaniemi campus, where Aalto University (the other organizing institution of ASCM2019) is located, from downtown Helsinki.
You can easily reach downtown Helsinki from Helsinki airport with a taxi or the train. We recommend that you take the train from the Helsinki airport terminal and head downtown (the last stop is the Central Railway Station, very close to the workshop venue).
Directions to lecture halls
The presentations will take place in lecture hall 12 (Wednesday 10th) and lecture hall 5 (Thursday 11th and Friday 12th) in the University of Helsinki main building in Fabianinkatu 33. The building, which also contains the University Museum, is impossible to miss, next to the Helsinki Cathedral in Senate Square. To reach the lecture halls, you need to enter the building from the Fabianinkatu entrance (see map below) and go upstairs from there. The dinner venue is also conveniently located close to the workshop venue.
Accommodation
There are plenty of accommodation options in downtown Helsinki catering to all budgets. To find a place to stay, you can search websites like booking.com. We recommend that you book your accommodation in advance to make sure that you obtain both good rates and location. Since the workshop takes place at a very central location, you will find a very wide price distribution for accommodation in the area. Below is a (non-comprehensive) list of possible options; however we recommend that you browse a bit also outside this list to find the accommodation that best suits your needs.
| Name | Distance to venue | Brief description | Approx. price per night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hotel Kämp | 200 m | Fabulous hotel with unique history; the composer Sibelius infamously used to spend days at the hotel bar. Website. | 253 EUR |
| Sokos Hotel Helsinki | 100 m | Hotel in a leading hotel chain in Finland, right in downtown Helsinki. It might be a bit noisy around the hotel during the evenings. (Note that there are many Sokos hotels in Helsinki, so be sure to check the one with the correct address, “Kluuvikatu 8”). Website. | 166 EUR |
| Hotel Katajanokka | 1 km | Unique experience: modern hotel in what used to be a notorious prison. Website. | 148 EUR |
| Hotel Arthur | 500 m | Hotel owned by local YMCA with affordable, but sometimes small rooms. Website. | 104 EUR |
| Kongressikoti Hotel | 300 m | Tiny hotel with very affordable prices and communal kitchen. Website. | 76 EUR |
| Eurohostel Katajanokka | 1 km | Cheap hostel about 1 km from conference site. It has private rooms but shared bathrooms. Website. | 45 EUR |
Weather
Finland is one of the northernmost countries in Europe. While the Helsinki area enjoys the warmest temperatures in Finland, that still means below-freezing temperatures during the winter; cold weather can also take place in late autumn and early spring. You can expect temperatures in Helsinki during April to be hovering around 0C (either below or above), with daily means around 4C. This means that you should pack warm clothes with you. Don’t expect snow and ice but be prepared for it.