ALGO 2018: Local information

Overview

ALGO 2018 will be held on 20–24 August 2018, in Helsinki, Finland. The conference venue is the main building of Aalto University School of Business, situated near Helsinki city center.

There are lots of direct flights to Helsinki Airport, especially from Europe and Asia. Here are some examples of destinations and flight times: Beijing 7:50h, Tokyo 9:45h, New York 8:40h, Chicago 9:15h, London 3:10h, and Frankfurt 2:40h.

There is a direct train connection from Helsinki Airport to the central railway station. The conference venue is just a 15-minute walk from the central railway station. There are tram lines that connect the conference venue, the central railway station, and many hotels and tourist attractions in the downtown area. You can also try Helsinki city bikes — there is a city bike station next to the conference venue.

We have reserved room blocks in several hotels for ALGO 2018 participants; see the hotel information page for more details on how to book a room.

You can find more information on travelling and practicalities on this page below the map.

Map

Source: Guide Map of Helsinki Metropolitan Area. The maintainer of the dataset is Helsingin kaupunkiympäristön toimiala / Kaupunkimittauspalvelut and the original author is Helsingin kaupunkiympäristön toimiala. The dataset has been downloaded from Helsinki Region Infoshare service on 05.06.2018 using the license Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

Please see our map page for additional maps.

Getting to Helsinki

The right airport is Helsinki Airport (“HEL”).

You can also arrive to Helsinki by train from St. Petersburg (3.5h), or take a ferry from Tallinn (a couple of hours) or Stockholm (overnight) — see VR for information on train connections and e.g. Tallink or Viking Line for information on ferries.

Getting to Helsinki city center

There is a direct train connection from Helsinki Airport to the central railway station. The trip takes 30–35 minutes and costs 4.20 or 5.00 euros, depending on how you buy your ticket.

At the airport, follow the train symbols to find the train station; along the way there are also ticket vending machines. At the airport train station, you can take any train going in any direction; it will take you to the central railway station, which is the last stop.

Buy tickets before boarding the airport train. There are regular ticket inspections, so make sure you have a ticket with you. You will need to buy a regional ticket to travel between the airport and the city center. There are two ways to buy tickets:

• Ticket vending machine: the machines are blue and have an HSL logo.
• Mobile phone app: you will need to install HSL app on your mobile phone.

A single regional ticket should cost 5.00 euros in a ticket-vending machine and 4.20 euros if you use the mobile app.

On your way back, board the next P or I train at the central railways station; it will take you to the airport train station (“Lentoasema” in Finnish). For train timetables and other public transport options from the airport, see this page. If you arrive very late or leave very early, taking a taxi might be the simplest option.

Getting to the conference venue

The street address of the conference venue is Runeberginkatu 14–16, Helsinki; see our maps for the exact location. This is the main building of the Aalto University School of Business; simply searching for “Aalto University School of Business” on Google Maps should find it.

The venue is just a 15-minute walk from the central railway station. You can follow the “Arkadiankatu” street from the railway station. Most hotels and the main tourist attractions are also within a walking distance.

There are also plenty of public transport options available. Perhaps the most useful is tram line 2; our maps show a part of the route and the most relevant stops. For some hotels that are a bit further away, metro train (underground) is also useful; the metro station closest to the conference venue is called “Kamppi”.

Please see the venue page for more details on the building.

More information on public transport

Check the HSL route maps and the HSL Journey Planner for more information on public transport options in Helsinki; Google Maps is also usually well up-to-date regarding routes and timetables in Helsinki.

All local trains, metro, trams, buses, and the ferry to Suomenlinna use the same ticket system — see HSL web pages for information on the ticket prices. Helsinki Airport is located outside Helsinki, so you will need a regional ticket for the airport train connection, while for most other trips a Helsinki internal ticket is fine. Ticket vending machines also sell tram tickets that are valid for one tram trip, as well as day tickets and multi-day tickets. Buy tickets before boarding. Single tickets are usually valid for approx. 1 hour from the moment you bought it; there is no need to validate it separately. Here are some examples of ticket prices:

• single tram ticket, from a ticket vending machine: 2.50 euros
• single Helsinki internal ticket, using mobile app: 2.20 euros
• single Helsinki internal ticket, from a ticket vending machine: 2.90 euros
• single regional ticket, using mobile app: 4.20 euros
• single regional ticket, from a ticket vending machine: 5.00 euros
• 1-day Helsinki internal ticket, from a ticket vending machine: 9.00 euros
• 1-day regional ticket, from a ticket vending machine: 14.00 euros

You can also try out Helsinki city bikes. It is best to register in advance to get the access code.

See the Getting Around section of myhelsinki.fi for more information on public transport in Helsinki.

Bying tickets with the HSL mobile app

We recommend that you use the HSL app on your mobile phone to buy public transport tickets.

Even if you do not have a data plan in your mobile phone, you can still use the app to buy tickets at the conference venue: connect to the wifi network at the conference venue and buy a ticket. Once you have got a ticket, it should work fine even if you do not have Internet access during the trip.

The app can also produce a PDF receipt for your purchase if you need it for your travel expense claim.

Finding a ticket vending machine

Please see the HSL sales point map for the locations of the ticket vending machines.

Note that not all tram stops have ticket vending machines; however, there is usually one nearby. In addition to the dedicated ticket vending machines, there are also numerous parking meters that also sell public transport tickets.

Please see our map page for the detailed maps of the surroundings of the conference venue and the Market Square; we have indicated there the locations of the nearest ticket vending machines. There is also a ticket vending machine along the way from the conference banquet to the nearest tram stop.

The parking meters accept Visa and MasterCard (no cash). Some ticket vending machines accept also cash, but having a credit or debit card is the safest option.

Taxis

You will probably not need a taxi, unless you are arriving at the airport around 1am–5am.

Please be advised that the Finnish taxi law drastically changed on 1 July 2018, and while taxis were previously highly regulated, nowadays taxi companies can freely choose their own prices. Check the prices before taking a taxi. A typical taxi fee for 1–4 persons from the airport to the city center is 39 e.

Uber also launched their service in Helsinki in July 2018.

Practicalities

• Accommodation: See the hotel information page.
• Border control: Finland is part of Schengen Area.
• Electricity: Power sockets are similar to those used in Germany; the flat Europlug always fits.
• Emergencies: Call 112.
• Money: Euros. Credit cards and debit cards are generally accepted everywhere, even for small purchases. If you need cash, look for a yellow “Otto.” sign to locate an ATM. For currency exchange, Forex at the central railway station is a good option.
• Pharmacy: “Apteekki” in Finnish. Yliopiston Apteekki (address: Mannerheimintie 5) is open from 7am to midnight.
• Shopping: Try e.g. Stockmann department store or Kamppi and Forum shopping centers. Large department stores are typically open Mon–Fri 9am–9pm, Sat 9am–7pm, and Sun 12pm–6pm; small grocery stores have more flexible opening hours. S-market Sokos Helsinki next to the central railway station is open 24/7.
• Tap water: Perfectly good to drink; there is no need to buy bottled water.
• Time zone: Eastern European time, 1 hour ahead of Central Europe. See timeanddate.com for the current local time.
• Tipping: Never expected in restaurants or elsewhere.
• Tourist information: myhelsinki.fi.
• Weather: See the FMI weather forecast for the current weather.

If you have any questions about practicalities related to your visit to Helsinki, please feel free to email us at algo2018@aalto.fi.

Internet access

There are two wireless networks available in the conference building:

• aalto open: free and open for everyone, no login needed.
• eduroam: if you use Eduroam at your home university, it will work precisely the same way here as well.

There is a free wifi at the airport: select the network Helsinki Airport Free Wi-Fi, click on the “Connect to free WiFi” button in the login screen, and you should be online — you do not need to enter any personal information.

Prepaid SIM cards with data plans are cheap in Finland.