The small town of Kouvola is located just 100 km from the Russian-Finnish border. Finland annually receives hundreds of thousands of tourists, but most of them are Russians. Trains running from St. Petersburg almost every day bring hundreds of travelers to Kouvola who want to have a good rest, have fun and see the sights. There is really something to admire in the town: it will be interesting for young people, married couples with children, elderly people - they will find everything,
First of all, it is necessary to note the magnificent amusement park called "Tykkimäki". It is the third largest in the country. It is an ideal place for fun with the whole family, and perhaps only for its sake many tourists visit Kouvola. Finland has always amazed foreign guests with exciting attractions. In "Tykkimäki" entertainment programs are constantly held, pop stars perform. Here you can visit the Castle of the Reptiles. Not only children, but also adults will be delighted with modern attractions. The park has a mini farm where visitors can play with pets.
You should definitely visit the museums to learn more about a city like Kouvola. Finland has a very interesting history and rich cultural heritage. Fans of painting will certainly like the Kouvolan taidemuseo art museum, although it is young, but has already managed to collect more than a thousand works of art. In addition, exhibitions are often held here. The Pharmacy Museum, which contains a large collection of equipment, antique furniture and tools, is of great interest to tourists. All this was brought from various Finnish pharmacies.
Kouvola is one of the largest train transfer centers. Finland is proud of this, which is why a museum of miniature railways was created in the city. It will appeal not only to children, but also to adults: the collection includes, in addition to ordinary trains, computer-controlled steam locomotives. The radio museum is of great interest, where visitors can get acquainted with the main stages of the development of technology in the twentieth century.
Kouvola is also famous for its natural attractions. Finland receives only positive reviews from tourists, and this is largely due to the local scenic landscapes. You can arrange a family vacation and go to the Repovesi Park for the whole day. A walk among clean lakes, age-old trees and granite rocks will appeal to absolutely everyone. There are parking areas with awnings where you can hide from the rain, just relax or have a snack. The main highlight of the park is a fifty-meter suspension bridge, which not everyone dares to cross.
A map will help you navigate the city and not miss the main attractions. Kouvola (Finland) is a snowy city that is proud of its ski resorts. The local complex is called "Mielakka". There are two slopes available here: the first is for professionals, and the second is for beginners and toddlers. Kouvola is one of the most interesting cities to visit, which gives only positive emotions and impressions.
Finland is an amazing country. Its cozy towns are fraught with incredible appeal. Kouvola is no exception. Most tourists who come here on vacation come back again and again to breathe in the clean mountain air, enjoy the amazing nature and see the sights.
The city, located in the southeastern part of the country, is inhabited by about 90 thousand people. It was founded at the end of the 19th century. Its residents were mainly engaged in the maintenance of the railway running from St. Petersburg to Riihimäki. The first houses of the railroad workers have survived to this day. They now house historical museums and souvenir shops.
Today Kouvola is the most important transport hub in Finland. Not so long ago, a high-speed train from St. Petersburg to Helsinki began to run through it, and the number of guests from Russia has grown rapidly. The city station constantly receives thousands of tourists who dream of relaxing in nature, kayaking or fishing. If you want to see the real Finland and get into its spirit, be sure to visit this glorious town. There is something to see.
Vacation with children
Kouvola is a great place to relax with the whole family. Children will not be bored there, because the town has a huge Tykkimäki amusement park. It has about 40 attractions.
Finland is sensitive to the park, where people from all over the country relax. At the entrance, the kids are greeted by the symbols of the amusement park - a cute family of frogs. They invite everyone to visit their little house and play exciting games.
The most popular swing in the amusement park:
- Orient Express and Sand Castle. They are intended for young visitors.
- Starflyer. Suitable for those who like to tickle their nerves. An amazing carousel lifts people up 72 meters and circles at a speed of 70 km per hour. Visitors who decide on such a test will have a breathtaking panorama of the city, so take a ride.
- Loopfighter. Entertainment for people with a strong nervous system. The carousel spins at a fairly high altitude and flips around its axis.
- Chains. The attraction is so popular that it has become a symbol of the city. Therefore, its image is easy to see on advertising brochures.
In the park, you can take part in various entertainment programs and listen to performances by Finnish pop stars. Toddlers love to play with the pets on the special small farm and travel around the delightful Reptile Castle.
Most tourists go there for the whole day, so there are several establishments in the park where you can have a delicious lunch. Pay attention to the restaurant "Raveliini". It has a special menu for children, where vegetables are so deliciously cut and cooked that they can attract the attention of the most capricious kid.
For history buffs, Kouvola will be a nice surprise. In the museum quarter, located near the city center, you can see many interesting exhibitions.
- Be sure to visit the Radio Museum. It houses a huge collection of ancient technology. They began to collect it in 1920. Looking at rare radios, cameras, radio stations, you can clearly see how technological progress took place in the world.
- The Museum of Models of Railways displays miniature train models. At the fascinating exhibition, old factory steam locomotives and modern computer-controlled trains stand next to each other. All models are exactly the same as the originals and are in working order.
- Many tourists will be interested in the military part of the city. Here Finnish history is closely intertwined with Russian. Kouvola is the city where the garrison of the soldiers of Nicholas II was located. The buildings of red brick, in which the soldiers lived, have been perfectly preserved to this day. There are now offices on the territory of the garrison, where you can order a tour telling about historical events.
- While on holiday in Kouvola, visit the art museum. This is one of the most beautiful buildings in Finland. It was created at the beginning of the 20th century and has already managed to collect in its collection a thousand paintings by masters of contemporary art. Exhibitions of famous artists are often held on the premises of the museum.
After admiring the sights, travelers can stroll along the main street, visit cozy cafes, shops and buy small gifts for friends in a souvenir shop.
City outskirts
Finland hospitably invites all people who have missed the untouched corners of the wilderness. Kouvola is surrounded by beautiful lakes and majestic trees.
- The whole family comes to Repovesi National Park to walk along the fascinating hiking trails along the mountain slopes and lakes.
- All visitors are interested in seeing the 5-ton suspension bridge over the Lapinsalmi Strait. It is located 10 meters above the water level, and walking along it is an unforgettable adventure.
- If you dream of conquering the summit, be sure to go to the park to Mount Olhavanvuori. Repovesi workers have created a special route along which everyone can climb it and feel like a real rock climber.
- It is easy to see all the sights of the park from the Elving Tower. The observation deck is open on weekends during the warmer months.
There are many excursions in Repovesi Park. Tourists enjoy kayaking, riding a river tram in summer, and hiking. Staying in this beautiful corner for the night, you can hear the singing of rare birds, meet an elk or a marten.
Finland offers a lot of fun in winter. The ski slope of Mielakka is always crowded. Not only tourists come there, but also locals to ride along the snowy track. The ski complex has three slopes. A steep descent, designed for professionals, and a gentle one, is safer and more relaxed. The smallest children's slope is equipped with a free lift. Kouvola offers winter equipment for hire and the services of professional downhill skiing instructors. In the summer, Mielakka does not stop working. Skis are replaced by bicycles, auto racing, and the rest continues.
If you are for the first time in the city of Kouvola, be sure to visit the Arboretum Mustila arboretum. It is very beautiful there in early summer, when alpine roses and azaleas bloom. The forest park stretches over 120 hectares, on which rare species of shrubs, conifers and herbaceous plants grow. The air is incredibly healthy in this place, and walking there is a great satisfaction. After the tour, tired travelers can have a snack with fresh pastries and ice cream in a small cafe.
In the vicinity of Kouvola there is a beautiful manor house called Anjala. Now there is a historical museum displaying the way of life of the past centuries. The homestead is open to the public during the summer months.
Kouvola is a beautiful and calm city, all the sights of which are difficult to list. The residents of this beautiful place are always glad to see guests, and the authorities are doing everything to attract tourists.
Just a two-hour drive from St. Petersburg is the quiet town of Kouvola. Quiet, of course, only by Russian standards: in Finland it ranks tenth in terms of population (88,000).
Kuovola is almost unknown to Russian shopholics: after all, the city is too far from the border to go here exclusively for shopping. However, lovers of outdoor recreation, rock climbing, fishing, canoeing, as well as families with children have probably heard about it, and if they have not, they should certainly hear and visit this glorious town. Unlike and, long ago chosen by our compatriots, Kouvola remains a truly Finnish city. So for those who want to feel the Finnish spirit, there is a direct road here.
Entertainment and attractions of Kouvola
Kouvola is famous for its fabulous nature: the city is surrounded by forests with about 450 lakes. In the vicinity there is a small (about 15 square kilometers), but very picturesque national, created in 2003. About 40 kilometers of routes have been laid here, designed for different levels of tourists' training.
Repovesi National Park Address: Riippusillantie 55, Kouvola Www: www.repovesi.com
Unique attraction of Kouvola - located 30 kilometers from the city center Arboretum Arboretum Mustila, one of the largest in Northern Europe. It is best visited in May and June, when the azaleas and rhododendrons growing here begin to bloom.
Arboretum Arboretum Mustila Address: Mustilantie 57, Elimäki Www: www.mustila.fi
Kouvola has a well-developed infrastructure for family vacations: it is the third largest in Finland. To services of tourists - more than 40 funny and safe attractions, as well as a mini-zoo. Every year a new attraction opens here; in 2014, a water park appeared on the shore of the lake next to the park.
A very interesting historical site of Kouvola, known outside Finland, is pulp and paper mill Verla (Verla), which closed in 1964. The monument is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. Immediately after the closure, the factory was mothballed and nothing was changed here. The guides show the traces of the honored worker of the factory, which has stood in one place for several decades. An elderly woman went blind, but none of her superiors suspected this - she knew her job and all the technological processes so well.
Verla Factory Museum Address: Verla Mill Museum, Verlantie 295, Verla Www: www.verla.fi
Poikilo Art Museum is another significant tourist attraction. In addition to the permanent exhibition, it is worth visiting the temporary exhibitions that are held regularly. For example, Russian art connoisseurs would be interested in the exhibition "The Light of Water": the museum staff collected from private collections paintings by the artist Nikolai Shcherbakov-Tervakorpi, unknown in Russia, who remained in Finland after the revolution. A student of Repin, he was famous for the skill of photography.
Poikilo Museum is part of Museum Quarter... Next to it there are old pretty houses where the founders of the city, railway workers once lived: now they are occupied by souvenir shops, cafes and museums. Among them are the Pharmacy Museum, the Household and Radio Museum, the Pikkupuoti Aino handmade souvenir shop and so on.
Museum quarter Address: the block is bounded by Varuskuntakatu, Pajaraitti, Uudenmaankatu and Ruotsulantie streets.
The people of Kouvola are very fond of horse racing. The city has a modern hippodrome, where, in addition to racing, there are also various fairs and festivals. It is interesting that races - when the rider is sitting on a horse - are not held in the city, only races are something like chariot races.
Kouvola Racecourse Address: Hevosmiehentie 1, Kouvola Www: www.kouvolanravirata.com
Kouvola festivals
Various festivals are constantly held in Kouvola and the surrounding area. Among them, the annual Kymijoki Beer Festival (www.facebook.com/kymijokibeerfestival, www.beerfestival.fi). The recipe for success, like all such events, is very simple: a picturesque place plus good beer and a generous portion of perky music. The Finns have no problems with either one or the other. The festival is held on the banks of the Kymijoki River - the event is named after her.
The city also hosts agricultural fairs such as Meidän Maaseutu festival("Our Village"). This is a local event, but tourists, especially families with children, should attend this event, which is held in Kouvola once every two years. The large section with animals is of interest: here you can pet, feed and take pictures. Children can interact with sheep, goats, ponies, chickens and other livestock, as well as admire how skillfully trained shepherd dogs manage the herd.
An important cultural event in the life of the city is the annual music festival, which is held in, on the shore of the lake. A raft serves as a stage for the performers. Classical music is usually performed. Thanks to the water and rocks, unique acoustics are created here.
How to get to Kouvola
There is no direct bus service between St. Petersburg and Kouvola. You need to go by high-speed train "Allegro". The cost of a one-way ticket is from 1,500 rubles, you can compare prices and see the schedule here - rzd.travel.ru. The journey takes 2 hours and 20 minutes. On the one hand, traveling in a comfortable train with Wi-Fi is very pleasant, the road flies by unnoticed. On the other hand, a train ticket is much more expensive than bus tickets to Helsinki or Imatra, which are familiar to Russian tourists.
If you go by car from St. Petersburg, the journey takes about 4 hours, the distance is 280 km. It is necessary to move first along the E18 highway to Vyborg, then along the A127 road to the Brusnichnoye checkpoint. When you reach Lappeenranta, you need to turn onto road number 6 and continue about 90 kilometers to Kouvola. You can also drive across the road to Helsinki along the E18 highway through the Torfyanovka checkpoint, 5 kilometers after Hamina you should turn onto road 15.
You can get there by public transport with transfers. For example, there are direct buses from St. Petersburg to Lappeenranta. Buses and minibuses from St. Petersburg to Helsinki stop at Hamina. From there, local regular buses run to Kouvola, the timetable can be viewed on the website www.matkahuolto.info. There is also a railway connection between Lappeenranta and Kouvola (www.rv.fi)
The distance from Kouvola to Helsinki is 134 kilometers. You can get to the city from the capital of Finland by bus or train.
Hotels and cottages in Kouvola
There are three large hotels in the city center: Sokos Hotel Vaakuna Kouvola, Cumulus Kouvola and Hotel Turistihovi. Clean rooms, all comforts from Wi-Fi to air conditioning, great Swedish breakfasts, courteous staff and family-friendly orientation (there is a sign at the Cumulus Kouvola's reception that reads "Kids Are Our Stars").
If you are coming for a week or longer, it is better to rent a cottage by the lake. In total, there are more than 7.5 thousand cottages in the vicinity of the city, from simple forest houses without amenities to luxurious villas. Prices are different - from 30 euros per day to infinity. The average price for a forest cottage with a sauna for a large company is 100-150 euros.
There are also tourist campsites in the vicinity, on the territory of which there are both cottages and places for placing caravans and tents. About 50 kilometers from the city center, on the shore of the lake, next to the Reppovesi National Park, is the Orilammen Lomakeskus tourist base, which has been operating since 1957. It is a family business now run by the third generation of the family. Here you can book both hotel rooms and houses. You can also order meals according to the buffet system: the food is very tasty, at lunch you can admire the view of the lake.
Tourist information
Kuovola emerged as a railway settlement on the way from Helsinki to St. Petersburg in 1875. Railwaymen's cottages have survived to this day: now these neat little houses house various museums and souvenir shops. The launch of the Allegro high-speed train between the two capitals revived the sleepy life of the town: the number of tourists from Russia began to skyrocket. In 2013, the number of Russians in Kouvola increased by more than 50 percent compared to last year.
The city deliberately tries to attract visitors from Russia: there are inscriptions in Russian on the main tourist sites, booklets in Russian are offered to guests of the city, and a Russian-language website is operating - www.kouvola.fi.
Kouvola Tourist Office is located at Kauppalankatu 5, in the very center of the city, 500 meters from the train station. There are also Russian-speaking employees working here.
Is your child a fidget and cannot sit still for a minute? Take him to town Kouvola.
After all, it is there that the third largest moon is located - the park of Finland, the very name of which is "cannon mountain", speaks for itself. This is where the little minx can find something to do with himself: more than forty rides designed for any age. Loop Fighter, Tornado and Starflyer older children will like it, and for the smallest there are certainly cars and slower. Every year the organizers come up with something new. In 2013 it will be a bungee trail.
Tykkimäki amusement park in Kouvola
If your child is a researcher by nature, then he will certainly like the factory. Verla(Verla) - a cardboard factory of the early 20th century, where you can touch the cogs of monstrous machines and imagine yourself as a great inventor.
If your child wants to imagine himself as a pirate, then you can go play mini-golf with him, which is a real pirate island.
After active entertainment, you can go to the city pools Kouvola- there are five of them in the city, and kids under five years old are admitted free.
It is possible, in passing, to remind the child of the rules of the road in the corresponding Park, where 25 pedal cars are organized for children up to 140 cm tall, the streets are equipped with traffic lights - everything is organized according to the rules of a real "adult" life.
If your family prefers hiking in wild untouched nature to all other entertainment, then you will undoubtedly be impressed by the National Park, whose pristine beauty cannot leave anyone indifferent. Arboretum Mustila Arboretum will appeal to little botanists in a good sense of the word - because here are collected plants from all over the world, seen and unseen, like in a fairy tale. The special magic in the park begins with the arrival of June, when rhododendrons bloom. And already there are no places for fishing, golf, bowling and all sorts of other fun near the city of Kouvola, there is also a ski resort Mielakka with five lifts and six slopes, and a flat ski trail, 3 kilometers long, and that's all - Kouvola, a two and a half hour train ride from St. Petersburg.
Coordinates of the city of Kouvola:
Latitude: 60 ° 54′0.1 ″ N (60.900029),
Longitude: 26 ° 42′21.32 ″ E (26.705923).
Photos of the city of Kouvola:
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