Pre Tour, June 12-14
Cities by the Sea
The Pre Tour will look at the cities of Helsinki and Kotka, their parks and seafront construction.
Pre Tour Program in Helsinki
Program in Helsinki, June 12th-13th
The pre tour starts in Helsinki, the capital of Finland. Helsinki was founded in 1550 under Swedish regime. It became the capital in 1812, when Finland was under Russian regime. Finland gained its independence in 1917. The country now has a population of 5.3 million, of which 570 000 live in the capital. Helsinki is a green, pocket sized metropolis. For further information on the city in English check www.visithelsinki.fi
The pre tour starts on Friday the 12th of June at 12 o’clock. The day happens to be Helsinki's 459th birthday and many events go on in the city center throughout the day. Our group will take the bus to the Sunny Bay area (Aurinkolahti) of the Vuosaari suburb in Eastern Helsinki, where the newest trends in Finnish park design can be seen. We will witness different types of environmental art and new high class housing areas with parks built within. The trip continues to the banks of a brand new water element – the Uutela Canal – and its surrounding park called “Nice Weather's park”.
After lunch the program continues with a cruise to Suomenlinna Fortress island through Helsinki's beautiful archipelago. Suomenlinna dates back to 1750's and is a Unicef World Heritage site. After a short presentation of the area the evening continues with an informal dinner and a getting to know each other -evening in the Walhalla restaurant, with good food and nice programme included. You might even learn to dance tango the Finnish way..!
On Saturday morning the visitors are taken on a guided stroll through the city centre’s three main parks, The Esplanade, Old Church Park and Sinebrychoff Park. Packed lunch is served on the bus. The drive to Kotka takes approximately two hours.
Helsinki
Situated on the northern shore of the Baltic Sea (the Gulf of Finland), the Finnish capital, Helsinki, with its extensive green belts reaching right into the city centre, over 300 islands and beautiful inlets is probably closer to nature than any other European capital.
Töölönlahti
Töölönlahti Bay is right near the city centre, at the southern tip of Helsinki’s Central Park. A pedestrian trail some 2 kilometres long skirts the Bay in an environment of cultural-historical interest.
Esplanadi Park
Esplanadi Park in the very centre of Helsinki dates back 200 years, to the time when Helsinki became the Finnish capital and its monumental centre in Empire style was born. Surrounded by dignified cultural buildings, the Park is awash with colourful life in the summer.
The Vuosaari maritime suburb of Helsinki
Vuosaari has been expanding more dynamically than any other Helsinki coastal suburb since the 1990s. A new centre combining established areas with new seafront housing has sprung up around the Metro station. By the end of this decade Vuosaari will have a population of 40,000. Vuosaari harbour and business parks are scheduled for completion in 2008.
Aurinkolahti
Aurinkolahti is characterised by its typical Vuosaari pine trees, the sea, the waterfront promenade, the blocks of flats bordering on the seafront and the park sectors wedged between them. The Aurinkolahti sands stretching nearly a kilometre are the longest bathing beach in Helsinki.
The Uutela Canal
Maritime Aurinkolahti is expanding down to the canal. At the head of the bay surrounded by blocks of flats will be a paddling pool the shape of a raindrop and two waterfalls. The canal is crossed by several bridges. On the eastern bank of the Uutela Canal is a 105-hectare conservation area that also serves as a recreation area.
Kotka
Kotka is the biggest city in the province of Kymenlaakso. Overlooking the Gulf of Finland on the estuary of the River Kymi, it is known for its port, industry and maritime festivals.
Sapokka Water Garden
Sapokka Water Garden is built round an inlet of the sea reaching into the city centre. Its construction began in 1990 and took four years to complete. Water is the dominant element of the garden, in a variety of planes, channels and falls. There are also many hundred plant species. Sapokka Water Garden has won more awards than any other green area in Finland – for its environmental and civil engineering, its lighting and its use of rocks.
The linden boulevard
The 800-metre linden boulevard on Kotka’s Keskuskatu is the setting for sculptures.
Sibelius Park
The formal garden in the centre of Kotka acting as a ‘living room’ for the local residents was given a face-lift in 2000.