Physics Days 2025

HOW TO GET TO OULU

Despite its northern location, Oulu is easily reached by plane, train, and bus. The airport of Oulu has located 15km from the city centre and is the second busiest in Finland. From here you can take buses 8, 9, or 9K to the city. The train station is 300m away from the center. The fastest trains from Helsinki to Oulu take about five and a half hours. As you plan your travel to Oulu, consider the sustainability of your choices: have a look at Visit Oulu’s advice on traveling responsibly in Oulu and the Pohjola Route.

Overland

Reaching Finland by land will most likely involve coming in via ferry, and completing the rest of your journey via land once there. Finland has a land border with Sweden in the Northwest and Russia in the East.

There are two ways of arriving overland from Europe – through Baltics on a train/bus/car from central Europe to Tallinn from where one can continue with a ferry or through Nordic countries to Sweden where one can take a ferry or drive North to cross the border there.

Trains

Booking train tickets for travel in Finland is best done online, directly from the main provider VR. Seats are assigned on booking (apart from short journeys on the commuter trains), and for the long journeys of 7-8 hours from Helsinki and Turku, we recommend booking a cabin. Train station platforms are labelled so you will know which carriage stops where, it’s easiest to board directly on the one labeled on your ticket. Mind the screens at the station, and the destination written on the train, as trains to various destinations may stop at the platform, and delays can happen.

Your ticket will outline if you are upstairs or downstairs, which carriage and what seat you are on, including if it is window or aisle. Trains have a restaurant, you do need to eat in the restaurant and cannot bring the food back to your seat, they will also announce when it opens and closes. All announcements are made in English as well as Finnish.

Driving

Driving up to Oulu might take a while, but it can be a good way to experience Finland’s impressive landscape, especially if you come off the highway (with the help of a satnav). A couple of tips if you intend to do this:

In Finland, you drive on the right-hand side of the road
Elk, reindeer and other wildlife can wander onto the road, be mindful of road signs indicating the presence of wildlife. Elks are more commonly seen in twilight; reindeer are not as jumpy as other deer, but do drive carefully past them.
Self-service gas stations are popular, chip-and-pin cards work best. There may be long stretches without gas stations, so fill up when you’re in town.
Street names are often on the side of buildings rather than posts.

Helsinki

By train, there are various options, many of which are direct, and take around 6 to 8 hours, depending on the number of stops the train makes. If you do have to change, this will be at Tikkurila, about 20 minutes from Helsinki.

Driving will take around seven hours, going via Jyväskylä through the middle of Finland. It is a very long drive of around 600km, so we recommend stopping overnight, somewhere and taking it over two days.

Take Kaisaniemenkatu/Kajsaniemigatan, Djurgårdsvägen/Eläintarhantie, Wallininkatu/Wallinsgatan, Sturegatan/Sturenkatu and Hämeentie/Tavastvägen to Gustav Vasas väg/Kustaa Vaasan tie/E75, for 17 min (5.2 km)
Follow E75 to Kainuuntie/Route 22 in Oulu. Take exit 8 from Route 4/E75/E8, for 6 hr 26 min (599 km)
Continue on Kainuuntie. Drive to Saaristonkatu, for 6 min (2.4 km), until you arrive at Oulu.

Arriving by plane

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, located in Vantaa, is the main international airport serving the city of Helsinki. It is the busiest airport in Finland, with about 90% of Finland's international air traffic passing through it. The airport has 32 airlines operating and serving flights to and from 88 destinations, with Finnair leading with 116 flight destinations.

Helsinki-Vantaa Airport

Arriving at Helsinki-Vantaa you will have the option to continue to Oulu overland, by train or car; or take another flight to Oulu.

By train, because the airport is outside of Helsinki, you will have to first take the commuter train and then change at Tikkurila, about 20 minutes from Helsinki. The journey time varies between just under 6, and 7 hours.

Driving will take around seven hours, going through Jyväskylä through the middle of Finland. It is a very long drive of around 600km, so we recommend stopping overnight somewhere and taking it over two days.

Get on Route 50/E18 from Parkerinsvägen/Parkkitie, Datavägen/Tietotie, and Flygstationsvägen/Lentoasemantie/Parkerinsvägen/Parkkitie, for 5 min (3.9 km)
Follow Route 4/E75 to Kainuuntie/Route 22 in Oulu. Take exit 8 from Route 4/E75/E8, for 6 hr 23 min (596 km)
Continue on Kainuuntie. Drive to Saaristonkatu, for 6 min (2.4 km), until you arrive at Oulu.

Flying to Oulu will take an hour and ten minutes. There are between 3 and 7 flights a day from Helsinki to Oulu, they can range in price but seem to be a little cheaper at the weekend than the week. All are operated by Finnair and depending on the day can be very pricey compared to the train.

Oulu Airport

Oulu Airport is part of the Finavia airport network. Serving the bustling technology and university city of Oulu, it is the second busiest airport in Finland.

There is also an important direct flight connection from Munich to Oulu

By bus: from the airport, you can take buses 8, 9, or 9K to the city. Buses operate on pay when you get on, you can simply tap a contactless card on the machine next to the driver. It takes 32 to 42 minutes to reach Oulu city centre.

Driving typically takes 16 to 28 minutes, the airport is 15km from Oulu city center.

Head south-east for 250 m
Continue onto Vänrikintie for 600 m
Turn right onto Lentokentäntie/Route 815 for 290 m
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on Lentokentäntie/Route 815 for 2.4 km
At the roundabout, take the 2nd exit and stay on Lentokentäntie/Route 815 for 4.9 km
Turn right to merge onto Route 4/E75/E8 towards Oulu

VISA REGULATIONS

Finland is a member of the European Union and a part of the Schengen area. Citizens of the Nordic countries do not need a passport for entry into Finland. EU nationals and citizens of Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino, Switzerland, and Schengen Agreement countries can enter Finland with a valid passport or a valid identity card. All other nationalities require a valid passport.

Foreign nationals needing an entry visa are requested to apply for it from the diplomatic mission representing Finland in their home country. It is recommended to apply for a visa at least 3 months in advance of the congress. General inquiries regarding travel documents and visa issues should be sent to the passport and visa unit at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (visas.passports@formin.fi).

To ﬁnd out which travel documents citizens of different third countries have to present upon entering the country, please see: um.fi/visa-requirement-and-travel-documents-accepted-by-finland

water is safe to drink. Taxis can be trusted and drivers tend to be ﬂuent in English. Drivers must inform their customers of their price policy before the trip begins.

ACCOMMODATION

With 11 hotels, 1 500 hotel rooms, and 3 300 beds, Oulu offers a variety of accommodation options. You can have your pick of many hotels of international standard. They boast fully equipped rooms and high-quality services.

RADISSON BLU OULU
tel. +358 (0) 20 123 4730

info.oulu@radissonblu.com

SCANDIC OULU CITY
tel. +358 (0)8 543 1000

oulu@scandichotels.com

SCANDIC OULU STATION
tel. +358 (0)8 2374 8949

oulustation@scandichotels.com

UNIVERSITY OF OULU

The spacious university campus offers good facilities for the physics days. The Linnanmaa campus is located 7 kilometers north of the city center. A shuttle bus will be organized between city center and the campus in the mornings and afternoons. Also, Public transportation runs smoothly between the university and the city center, where hotels and social event venues are located. When coming to the campus from the city center, a bus stop called ”Kaupungintalo P” (meaning City Hall, Northbound) is close to the hotels. The bus stop to jump off at the campus is called ”Yliopisto P” (meaning University, Northbound). When leaving from the university, the bus stop is called ”Yliopisto E” (meaning University, Southbound). In the city center, you can hop off at ”Kaupungintalo E” (meaning City Hall, Southbound). We recommend easy contactless payment in the busses with a debit or credit card (Visa, Visa Electron, Mastercard and Eurocard) or mobile (Google Pay and Apple Pay). Mobile tickets can be purchased using a Waltti app. If you pay by cash in the bus, the price is 3.3 €.

The Linnanmaa campus is accessible by bike from anywhere in the city. The Linnanmaa signposts in the bike path network direct to the campus and the bicycle route 'Baana' from the market square downtown brings it directly to the campus. The biggest bike parks can be found at the main entrance 2T.

City centre-Linnanmaa 6 km.
Toppila-Linnanmaa 3,5 km.
Alppila-Linnanmaa 3,5 km.
Kontinkangas-Linnanmaa 7,5 km

The Linnanmaa campus area of the University of Oulu is very functional in terms of accessibility. In addition, attention has been given to accessibility through various arrangements (see campus map). There is an unobstructed passage for example through the main door 2T.

TRANSPORTATION

Public transportation runs between the Linnanmaa campus and the city center. In the city center, the bus stop towards Linnanmaa, ”Kaupungintalo P”, is close to the hotels. The campus bus stop is ”Yliopisto P”. When leaving the university, use the bus stop ”Yliopisto E”. In the city center, hop off at ”Kaupungintalo E”. We recommend easy contactless payment in the busses (credit/debit or mobile payment). Mobile tickets can also be purchased using a Waltti app. You can also pay with cash (3.30 €).

Public transport routes and schedules