Central Vaasa is filled with fine architectural history and the buildings have many interesting stories to tell. Experience the city on foot in the footsteps of architects from different ages or jump into the world of past cultural influences. Choose a guided walk or go out and discover Vaasa on your own.
Guided walks (June-August)
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The Vaasa barracks area is one of the best-preserved 19th-century wooden barracks areas in Finland. On this guided tour, you get to know St. Nicholas Church and the barracks area. After the tour, there is an opportunity to have coffee and donuts in canteen (at own expense).
Tour days 2023: Wednesdays in August 5 pm to 6.30 pm
Starting point: The Setterberg memorial, Kirkkopuistikko 34.
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 free of charge.Book one day in advance, at the latest!
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Along the jogging path in Asevelikylä a lot of Outsider art can to be seen. The path is named after Vaasa-born artist Edvin Hevonkoski. He was inspired by Finnish politics and literature. Besides art, there are also a trench, a military shelter
and a smoke-sauna close to the path. The park has twice been rewarded as the best Outsider art park in Finland.Time 2023: Wednesdays in July and August at 13.00-14.30
Start: Edvininpolku, Aleksis Kiventie 59.
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 years free of charge.
Book at least one day in advance. -
Famous people and buildings of Vaasa
Vaasa’s current city plan and many of the buildings were designed by architect Carl Axel Setterberg in the 19th century. On the tour, you will hear how e.g. consul’s wife, Tulla Moe, composer Toivo Kuula, architect Viljo Revell and marshal Mannerheim are linked with the cityscape.
Tidpunkt 2023: Wednesday in July 5 pm to 6.30 pm
Start: Vaasa City Hall, Senaatinkatu 1, Vaasa.
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 free of charge.Book one day in advance at the latest!
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Promenade in the Alkula Garden
In 1849, August Alexander Levon established the first steam mill in Finland called Alkula. His passion for gardening can still be seen here.
Time 2023: June, Mondays 17.00-18.30
Start: Alkula Farm, Gripinpolku 1, Old Vaasa.
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 years free of charge.
Book at least one day in advance.To get to Old Vaasa you can take the local traffic bus line number 1, 4 or 5. You find the timetables here.
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Historical walking tour from statue to statue
Enjoy a walking tour through Vaasa’s history with stories behind the statues, old architecture, parks and esplanades. Tour starts from the Finnish Statue of Liberty at the Market Square.
Starting point: Finland’s Statue of Liberty in the market square.
Tour days 2023: July-August, on Mondays at 1-2.30 pm.
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 years free of chargeBook at least one day in advance!
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The traditional and popular guided walking tours i Vaasa graveyards continue also this summer.
Time i July 2023:
Tuesdays 4.7. and 28.7. at 18-19.30 the Old graveyard.
Tuesdays 11.7 and 25.7. at 18-19.30 the New graveyard.Meeting at the gates to the graveyards.
Free of charge and no advance booking. -
Kappelinmäki graveyard dates back from 1782 and is one of Finland`s oldest cemeteries still in active use. Much of Vaasa`s ancient history lies buried in its soil.
Tour dates in 2023: Tuesdays in June from 6 – 7.30 pm
Starting Address: Kappelinmäentie 167, Vaasa
Price: 10 €/person, chilren under 12 years free of charge.
Book at least one day in advance!From the city center you can take bus 1, 2 or 5 to cross roads of Kappelinmäentie/Vanha Vaasan katu. You find bus schedules and route maps here.
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It’s not often that a TV show focusing on household subjects manages to generate entirely new sayings. When something doesn’t work out Finns like to say “it didn’t go like in Strömsö.” In the Strömsö TV show, all the cooking, crafts and building projects are always a success. This trip gives you the opportunity to visit the set of this
lifestyle show in Västervik in Vaasa.You will be guided on the premises of the old villa which today is a well-known TV studio for a very popular life style TV series. Also the garden is part of the program and well worth seeing.
Tour days 2023 in July:
Tuesdays 2-3.30 pm
Thursdays 5-6.30 pm
Saturdays 2-3.30 pm.Buy tickets at least one day in advance!
Address: Strömsöntie 16, Vaasa
No arranged transportation, but you can reach Strömsö (Västervik) with local bus. Line number 2 traffics from Vaasa city centre to “Västervikin ranta”, from the bus stop about 200 m walk to the Strömsö area. Check the schedule and route for the bus. -
Afternoon promenade in Old Vaasa
Vaasa was founded by the Swedish King Charles IX in 1606. In 1852 a catastrophic fire destroyed the town. Some of the houses e.g. Wasastjerna residence and the old Court of Appeal survived the flames. We also visit the ancient site of the former castle and ruins of the medieval St. Maria church.
Starting point: Falander house (Musuem of Old Vaasa), Kauppiaankatu 10.
Time 2023: June, on Thursdays at 5-6.30 pm
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 years free of charge.
Bookings at least one day in advance!To get to Old Vaasa you can take the local traffic bus line number 1 or 4. You find the timetables here.
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Präntöö better known as Palosaari
Vaasa’s first suburban district has a special place in the city’s history. The history begins in the 1780s when the port was moved here from Old Vaasa. Authors, shipbuilders, artists and factory workers have shaped the history of the island. The university campus is said to be the most beautiful in Finland.
Starting place: Market square at Palosaari
Time 2023: June, on Wednesdays at 5-6.30 pm
Price: 10 €, kids under 12-years free of charge.
Bookings at least one day in advance! -
On the tour you will hear about heroic pilots, periods of oppression, smugglers, Russian military expeditions, jaegers, interesting villagers, and of course about land raising and much more. At the end of the walk, a visit to the leaning Replot Church.
Time 2023: In August on Saturdays at 1 – 2.30 pm.
Starting point: The parking lot at Replot church, Kyrkvägen 58, Replot.
Price: 10 €/person, children u. 12 years free of charge.
Book at least one day in advance! -
Join our guide on a walk through the municipal center of Korsholm. We leave from Elly Sigfrid’s square and walk through new Smedsby. We travel back in time to the old Smedsby center, returning to the Cultural Hall.
Time 2023: Mondays in July 5 pm – 6.30 pm
Starting point: Elly Sigfrids square, Torgvägen 1, Korsholm.
Price: 10 €/person, children under 12 years free of charge.Book at least one day in advance!
Discover the city on your own
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In this guide, you will find a walking route that goes around the market square and City Hall with a lot of interesting things to see and learn on the way. There are also walking guides with longer routes
available.We hope that this walking guide will help you to discover the rich variety of nature, culture and history that are in our immediate environment.
Paper version of the guide can be bought at Visit Vaasa’s tourist information. Price 1 €.
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In this guide, you will find a walking route that goes northwards from the City Hall and back along the shore with a lot of interesting things to see and learn on the way. There are also walking guides with other routes available.
We hope that this walking guide will help you to discover the rich variety of nature, culture and history that are in our immediate environment.
Paper version of the guide can be bought at Visit Vaasa’s tourist information. Price 1 €.
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If you go for a walk with the members of the walking club, you will get to know Vaasa and its inhabitants better at the same time! For 20 years, the club’s members have walked 10 km every Sunday. The Sunday walks always start from the market square (by the statue) at 10 am. and go in different directions around Vaasa, the pace is set by the participants and no one is left alone.
Organizer Vaasan Kävelyklubi ry, but you do not need to be a member of the club to participate in these hikes, all hiking enthusiasts are welcome.
Also note the Vaasan Marssi walking event in your calendar! The event, which is held annually in August, offers a chance to meet new people and see fantastic nature.
+358 407361238
helena.kyrolainen@netikka.fi
Nature trails in Vaasa
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The first part of the nature trail around Vaasa Southern City Bay (Eteläinen kaupunginselkä – Södra Stadsfjärden) is now complete (opening 1.6.2022). The ten kilometer long trail runs along the shores of Vaasa from Kalaranta all the way to Risö, and along the trail, new rest areas and a completely new bridge over the Old Vaasa canal have been built.
Facts about the route
- Kalaranta-Risö is the beginning of an approximately 30 kilometers long outdoor trail around the City Bay.
- Along the trail, rest areas, benches and landing places for paddlers have been built. In addition, the lighting and signs have been improved.
- On the trail there are several culturally and historically valuable objects, which signs erected along the trail tell more about.
- The trail is mostly accessible and, for example, from Suvilahti there is a two-meter-wide accessible passage all the way to Majakkakivi.
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History and culture in the form of Edvin Hevonkoski’s wooden and metal sculptures, in the middle of the nature along the nature trail in Asevelikylä. At the moment there are over 100 named works of art or groups of works of art. The Korsu Museum consists of a crew bunker filled with wartime objects, the maintenance bunker Töpinä and a smoke sauna, all authentic from World War II.
+358 50 560 6496
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The Pilvilampi recreational area is located approximately nine kilometers east of the city centre. It makes up a proportion of an elongated ridge, of which includes Höstvesi and continues north of Vaasa. The recreational area itself covers an area of roughly 800 hectares. In the winter, the area is ridden with marked cross-country ski trails, which in summer are transformed into bicycle and hiking paths.
Download brochure for the nature path at Pilvilampi here.
https://www.vaasa.fi/en/living/freetime/naturevaasa/attractions/natural-environments/pilvilampi/
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Risö ja Ryövärinkari 4.9 kilometres
The Eteläinen Kaupunginselkä bay (the Southern City Bay) is located southeast of the city centre. There’s a nature trail and two bird towers in the area. Follow the signs ´Lintutorni` from the crossroad of the streets: Kanavasillantie/Hevossaarentie
https://www.nationalparks.fi/description-of-trails#RisoNatureTrail
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Welcome to a walk from the Öjbergsmossen bog to a giant’s pot hole and over a devil’s field to the dwarfed pinetree-covered meteorite-crater rim of Söderfjärden
Öjberget is located in Sundom, at a 9 km distance from the centre of Vaasa. The trail is 2,5 km long and the starting point is beside a big information board in Öjberget´s stadium area.
Öjberget is a unique ”mountain landscape” for the Ostrobothnian coast, with its highest point at an elevation of 50 metres. It is a magically rocky landscape with very old dwarfed pine trees, dramatic rocky formations, a giant’s kettle, and an ancient shore area called the Devil’s Field
The most ancient traces of human activity in the area of Vaasa are also found here. The findings originate from the Stone Age about 4,000 years ago.
In the outlook tower(+65 m a.s.l.) on the top of the slalom hill there are info boards about what you see in different directions: the meteorite impact crater Söderfjärden, the Kvarken archipelago, the village of Sundom and the centre of Vaasa.
Information leaflet: http://www.sundom.fi/getfile.php?fid=94
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Öjen’s nature trail is 4,5 km long. There are 11 information signs along the trail that tell you about the area’s nature, medicinal plants and folk tales. There are also maps showing your location. The trail is easy to walk on because the terrain is fairly flat. However, please remember that the duckboards can be very slippery depending on the weather conditions. It takes about 2,5 to 3 hours to go around the trail.
Facilities: at the campfire site, there are benches, firewood, an axe and a dry toilet.
