Jyväskylä Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
Jyväskylä[1] is a nice little city in Western Finland.
Contents |
Get in
By plane
Jyväskylä has a small airport which is mostly served by the "Golden Air" Airline. From the airport you can reach the city in about 20 minutes with a Finnair bus (6 Euros) that leaves a few minutes after the arrival of the flight. The same bus goes from the city to the airport 50 minutes (at the train station stop) before the flight leaves.
By train
Jyväskylä is quite well connected with railroads to the other Finnish cities, and getting in by train is rather effortless. One way Helsinki-Jyväskylä train ticket costs a bit under 50 euros for adults (August 2006).
By bus
Buses travel between Jyväskylä and other Finnish cities, as well as smaller destinations. When traveling between cities, using trains is typically faster. Express Bus from Jyväskylä to Helsinki airport is about 50Euros. (Autumn 2005)
Get around
Jyväskylä has rather nice opportunities for getting around by foot or by bicycle, so if you're not in a hurry, you might want to just consider walking everywhere.
Local buses travel between the different parts and suburbs of Jyväskylä. The fares are relatively costly, 2.60 € per trip (the exact amount changes quite often). If you need to change buses during one trip, you need to ask for a special receipt that you can show in the next bus (you'll have to get on to the next bus within one hour from buying the ticket). This receipt does not currently cost anything extra, but you still have to ask for it explicitly before you pay for the trip. If you're planning to stay longer and want to use the bus service regularly, you might want to consider buying a bus card, which will be a bit cheaper (much cheaper if you are a student).
See
There is a nature preservation area just a few hundred meters off the city center. The area is located on the bank of the Tourujoki-river. There are also six other recreational 'nature paths' in Jyväskylä.
Exhibitions and art museums: Admission is free for all on Fridays to Jyväskylä Art Museum, Craft Museum of Finland and Museum of Central Finland. Ask for a student discount in the museums and galleries.
Do
The city's web site [2] has an event calendar for current and upcoming events.
Buy
You'll definitely want to look for shopping opportunities at the Jyväskylä pedestrian precinct, which is located at the other end of Kauppakatu.
During the summer, the marketplace (Yliopistonkatu 15) is a good place to visit if you want fresh vegetables or fish, flowers or craft items.
Eat
There are many pizzerias offering large pizzas for as cheap as 4-5 €, guaranteed to fill your belly.
- Katrina Restaurant, near the city center. The only vegetarian restaurant in Jyvaskyla. Unfortunately, it is open only for lunch between 11 am and 2 pm.
Drink
Nightlife is centered in the down part of Kauppakatu and cross streets. Cheap places in this area are Bar Explosive, Bar 68 and Anneli (about 3€/beer).
- Vihreä Haltiatar. A quality establishment with over 100 beers to choose from.
- Vakiopaine, Kauppakatu (towards the university from downtown). Definitely the coolest spot in town to have a beer, afternoon or evening (happy hour is 9 pm til 11pm sunday through thursday, 9pm-10pm friday and saturday, .4 liter tap for 2€). Art shows on the walls change every 20 days or so. Lots of board games available for play.
- Ylä-Ruth, just a block further from Vakiopaine. A true Finnish drinking experience, you'll hear the word "Perkele" several times before your first beer is gone!
Sleep
There are a few hotels in the vicinity of the train station.
- Hotel Alba, Ahlmaninkatu 4 (near the University campus), tel. +358-14-636311. A nice, mid-range budget hotel. Half of the rooms face the lake, while the other half face the city.
Contact
You can find an internet cafe with moderate rates in the city. The address is Puistokatu 1.
Get out
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