“Welcome to Mikkeli!” This chapter of the journey in Finland gets us to a very
beautiful, unusual town of Mikkeli, which is 1.5 hour drive from Lappeenranta, a very
popular destination among Russian tourists. Mikkeli is very attractive not only
for tourists, but also for Finns, who are eager to explore more of their own
land. Besides, the town is very comfortable if you consider that everything
practically in one place, i.e. the harbor, the railroad station, and the city
center.
If you consider
the best accommodation in Mikkeli, you can stay at Sokos Hotel Vaakuna, which is right in the city center. It is a very
comfortable and nice hotel, not fancy, but it is not needed. Guests are offered
all kinds of services; besides, there is a night club, which is very popular
among young people. The club works on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday nights on a regular base and during
national holidays. There is also a bar within the hotel. But if you feel that
you would like to see more, you can walk across the street and check out some
other bars. They are located on Porrassalmenkatu
(as well as the hotel).
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| Sokos Hotel Vaakuna in Mikkeli |
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| Anfora bar |
There is a bus
and a railroad station really near the hotel; it takes 3 minutes to walk there.
If you need some shopping places, keep going on this street (since it is one of
the main streets in town). You will see a big square on the left and plenty of shops
occupying the first floor of the buildings. As soon as you reach Nordea bank,
you see a pedestrian street crossing Porrassalmenkatu. That pedestrian street
is kind of a central one; it starts from the railroad station building and goes
to the church.
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| Mikkeli Railroad and bus station |
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| Main square (to the right), Nordea bank and Railroad station (straight) and Stella shopping center (to the left) |
If you follow
that pedestrian street directly to the church, you will see the same square on
the left, a huge shopping center Stella on
the right. There are many cafes near Stella and on the square, which is full of
people in summer. There you can find some kind of a flea market and farmers,
cafés and some performances. If you keep going straight, you see the police
station on the left side, and Akseli
shopping center on the right side. Yes, there are lots of shops in Mikkeli, so
that visitors as well as guests are able to find anything they need. On the
corner side of Akseli there is an Irish pub, which is a part of Cumulus Hotel. It
is located on Mikonkatu. The hotel is
very comfortable, nice and really suitable for any type of trips. It is in the
heart of Mikkeli, just one small block away from the church, few steps from
shops and in the city center. A good choice for any traveler!
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| Stella shopping center |
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| Cumulus Hotel Mikkeli |
If you continue
your walk straight ahead, you will get to the church, the main one in town. It is very big and quite old, very
beautiful and glorious. It is one of the symbols of Mikkeli. As you are going
to find out that most of towns and cities in Finland have something as a
symbol, for instance, Olavinlinna Castle (fortress) as a symbol of Savonlinna.
Therefore, the more we move on, the more we are about to discover.
If you are on Mikonkatu
and Cumulus Hotel is on your right, keep going straight till the road goes a
little to the hills. There you see a lot of interesting buildings, some parks,
but most importantly, there is another symbol of Mikkeli, which is Naisvuoren Näkötorni. There is a small tower and a café in that
“building”. The place is called Naisvuori (it means
“women’s mountain”). It is a very lovely place, there is a small fountain and a
park, and the view to the whole town is breath-taking. Take your time to visit
it.
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| Naisvuoren Näkötorni (“Women’s mountain tower”) |
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| View from Naisvuori to the town |
Well, one might
ask if there is another symbol of Mikkeli, and the answer would be “yes, there
is!” To get there, you will need to get back to that pedestrian street and walk
all the way down to the railroad station, which is sometimes also considered as
another symbol of the town. It looks beautiful and worth taking pictures. From
there just turn right and passing through the bus station, you get to the
elevator (it works approximately till 11:30 p.m.) or you can use the stairs.
You need to get to the 3rd level and walk all the way down the bridge to the
harbor. The bridge is a covered one, so it is warm in winter; and it has clocks
and schedule screens inside. Once you get to the harbor, you just take your
time and enjoy everything you see in there. Unlike Lappeenranta, it does not
seem large, because this part of the lake
Saimaa is not big enough. However, the boats are able to sail pretty far
getting to the bigger part of the lake. It is very picturesque. There are
everyday cruise boats leaving the harbor, so you might choose the
right one on the website.
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| Mikkeli Harbor (Lake Saimaa) |
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| Café Saimaa |
There at the harbor you can have a
dinner on a boat, or
grab a coffee in a café; it
is totally up to you how to enjoy the day. There plenty of options for everyone
to be satisfied with a trip and many destinations to visit. If you are willing
to purchase some souvenirs from Mikkeli, the best place to do that is on the
parking level in Stella. There you will see the first (the corner) shop in front
of the entrance to the S-Market. There are many nice souvenirs for a good memory.
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| School |
Moving on, it is worth mentioning some
other options as accommodation. First of all, there is a company, proving
apartments for rent for students. But there is one building for rent for
visitors. It is cheaper than a hotel room, but it does not have breakfast
included, obviously. But it is a very good choice if you are not willing to pay
extra or if there are no vacant places in one of the above mentioned hotels.
The company name is MOAS. You
need to open the front page in English and then choose sections “Apartments”
and there “Short-term apartments”. It is one of the options you can consider
when visiting Mikkeli.
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| Stella shopping center |
The above mentioned accommodation is
located on Raviradantie, as well as
another option. There is a self-service hotel Uusikuu right next to those apartment buildings. The prices there are affordable and
everything is very nice and comfortable. But there is no reception within the
hotel; everything is made online. If you choose this option, please, read the
information carefully, since it might seem a little confusing for the first
time. But it is very simple.
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| Uusikuu hotel in Mikkeli |
There are more options exist, of course,
but those three are the most popular and pretty near to the city center. What
comes to the city center, you might be interested in a sightseeing tour. The
best way to see a lot is Mikke-Juna (which means “Mikke-Train”). It is a long funny bus with a very unusual design
and bright colors. The bus goes all across the town, visiting different distant
places and the city center. Mikke-Juna also
goes to the territory of the main university in the town, Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences. There will be a separate
chapter on the university and offered programs later on. So far I can say that
it is a very good study place; I have one of the most incredible times in the
university. So, go check it out.
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| Mikkeli University of Applied Sciences (D-Building) |
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| Sign board with the town’s anniversary information |
This year (I mean 2013) Mikkeli is celebrating its 175th birthday. You can check out the website for more information. This summer the town is one of the most attractive places in Finland due to a large amount of festivals, concerts and different events taking place. For instance, the Ballet Festival in Savonlinna, which took place in July, was also complemented by Vaganova Ballet Academy Master Class in Mikkeli, where teens could become a part of a bigger picture for the future of ballet. Also, you might remember Mikkeli Soikoon, the music festival in Mikkeli, which lasted for 2 days in June and gather hundreds of people. There is a marathon taking place in town every summer, so that everyone can participate. All marathon runners were able to drink juice, lemonade or water for free at special points with tables provided for such needs. It is very considerable to have it all well prepared.
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| Visulahti Park |
Another event that took place in Mikkeli
was a festival of retro American cars in Visulahti Park. There were different cars from
different countries, but mostly from the United States. Finns keep them in a
very good shape and are happy to show their pride during such festivals. The
festival was on June 22. It was very remarkable for people; besides, anyone
could purchase souvenirs and take pictures in front of or inside of those cars,
enjoying a lovely weather. There is also another festival coming
up soon, Jurassic Rock,
from August 9 till August 11. Looking forward to it as there are many world
famous stars performing, the main headliner is System of a Down.
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| Visulahti Park, festival of retro cars |
Visulahti
Park
is very beautiful itself; it a good family place with a wax cabinet, some funny
places, and the waterpark. There is a restaurant for the guests, who are willing
to take a little break during a long enjoyable day in the park. Prices are very
affordable; you can purchase an all-day ticket with an access to all parts of
the park. It is the best option. There is also a hotel (motel) in the park for
visitors from distant places. You can enjoy the trip and have a good rest being
in a gorgeous place not far from Mikkeli. Visulahti Park is approximately 10 km
away from Mikkeli if you go to Kuopio or Savonlinna. It is on Kuopiontie, the
road going to the mentioned destinations. The best option is a car or a bus to
get there. You can get more information at the Info Office in Stella on the 2nd
floor. It is worth visiting and spending a day or a couple of days in the park.
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| Visulahti Park, festival of retro cars |
Obviously, Mikkeli has a lot to offer to
its citizens and guests as well. It is a very interesting and beautiful town,
as well as a very comfortable one. In the following “chapter of the
journey” we are going to continue discovering Mikkeli and speak more about
transport and some other interesting places to visit. So, do not forget your
camera, get ready to take lots of pictures, have fun and keep traveling!
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| Mikkeli in winter |
Kirill “Traveler” Malyutin
About Travel Smart series:
“Travel Smart” is a section,
narrating about different countries and good travel tips, advised by the
author, Kirill Malyutin. The series contains recommendations, including selected
places to visit, character accommodation, and reasonable
shopping. Simply get inspiration!
All stories of the series → О серии «Travel Smart»:
«Travel Smart»
– раздел, в котором автор Кирилл Малютин рассказывает о разных странах и дает
необходимые в путешествии советы. Серия включает в себя рекомендации по
посещенным автором местам, характерным средствам размещения, а также разумному шопингу.
Вдохновитесь приключением!
Все выпуски серии →
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Nice post and really impressive one to read this post. thanks for sharing this post.
ReplyDeleteTirupati tour packages
thank you for your comment! I hope you have a chance to visit Mikkeli and some other towns and cities mentioned in Travel Smart
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