Oulun seudun oppaat ry - Oulu Region Tourist Guides: Briefly in English

Briefly in English

Oulu Region Tourist Guides are at your service when you or your
guests want to familiarise yourselves with the City of Oulu, Oulu Region, neighbouring municipalities, their history and the present-day life.

Excursions and site visits get new content and become much more rewarding also for locals when you have an expert guide telling you the hidden stories from the past and present!

Oulu Region Tourist Guides are language proficient; we guide in Finnish, Swedish, English, German, French, Italian, Dutch, Greek, Russian and Japanese.

On this page you can find further information on

• Summer tours and walks
• Custom-made tours and walks
• Other services
• Guiding tariffs
• Booking of guides and guiding services

SUMMER TOURS AND WALKS

Summer tour season of 2011 has ended. We thank all our customers and wish you welcome on our custom-made tours, or on summer tours again next summer!

In summer 2011 the Oulu Region Tourist Guides together with Go Arctic, City of Oulu Marketing and the Bus Company Huiput arranged the following scheduled tours and walks in Oulu in English. There are also summer tours in Finnish. Summer tours were part of the Oulu Summer 2011 weekly programme. Please remember that all tours can be made also to order year around!

Notice! During Midsummer festivities 24 - 25 June there are no guided tours!

Guided walks in English
on Thursdays 23 June – 25 August 2011
Departure at 15:00 from the Oulu City Hall, Kirkkokatu 2a. Duration 2 hours. Walks are arranged in cooperation with Go Arctic! and the City of Oulu Marketing. Free admission. Take comfortable shoes and an umbrella with you in case it happens to rain.

Guided sightseeing tours in English and Finnish
on Saturdays 2 July – 27 August 2011
Departure at 15:00 from the Oulu City Hall, Kirkkokatu 2a. Duration 2 hours. Sightseeing tours are arranged in cooperation with Go Arctic!, the City of Oulu Marketing and the Bus Company Huiput. Free admission.

CUSTOM-MADE TOURS AND WALKS IN OULU (in English)

Bus Tours in Oulu

A Guided Sightseeing Tour in Oulu (1, 1.5 or 2 hours).

Today the people of Oulu design software, produce the finest paper in the world, do business all over the world and provide high quality services for each other and tourists.

This tour takes you to the river, seaside, marshlands and woods. You will visit the old and new monumental centres of Oulu, the sites of culture and technology. During the tour you will hear stories about tar merchants, ship builders, sea farers and salmon fishers during the history of Oulu.

Sightseeing tours by bus to neighbouring municipalities are also available!

Guided walks in Oulu (2 hours)

Promenade in old Oulu
A two-hour -walk takes you from the old monumental centre, the place where the first settlers had their homes, market place and church, to the new one built in the 1960´s. The guide will tell you about salmon fishing, tar burning and seafaring and you will hear about the life in the magnificent houses of power ful tar merchants and sea captains.

Beyond the Customs at Heinäpää
Join our guides for a walk through what used to be the southern border of the town, where the country folks had to pay duties at the small customs house. You will discover the dark shadows of the past including stories of flood and fire, soldiers and sailors, horse drills and circus beauties, witches and gallows, which hide behind today´s prosaic facades.

On the Alleys and Backyards of Kakaravaara
Far from the grand residences of the gentlefolk were the modest huts of Kakaravaara, where the only riches of the inhabitants were their numerous children. The Fathers were sailors working for hometown ship owners, or earned their daily bread as craftsmen. The Mothers stayed at home to take care of their young ones, potato patches and cows. On a two- hour -walk the guide will show you the remnants and you will also find out how the wooden community has been replaced by today´s busy centre of traffic and telecommunication.

Big Island Tour
The river and the sea, the parents of our town, have seen many changes since the time of the big bang at the Oulu castle. Some islands at the mouth of the Oulu River boast of modern public and residential buildings, while others preserve the old world charm. On the tour the guide will tell you facts and fiction about the past and the present.

Roses and Romance in Hupisaaret
Hupisaaret is a park area in the city centre. Already in the 19th century people used to lead an easy and enjoyable life there. Handsome gentlemen and lovely ladies met on dim lanes. While listening to band music they enjoyed refreshing drinks and whispered about love. The walk takes you through the present day Hupisaaret. You will have a chance to admire the spouting springs in the River Oulu and specific Finnish trees and flowers as well as visit Oulu City Art Museum which was formerly a glue factory. The guide will also tell you about other buildings and places there.

Something old, something new, a little bit of blue
A walk of an hour and a half -  two hours takes you from the old monumental centre to the new one. The guide will tell you about the persons and events of the past, show you where the long narrow boats full of tar barrels landed and lead you to the old storehouses and to the market hall guarded by the statue of a policeman. You will be revealed the humorous stories behind this figure loved by everyone.  

Walk on the Cemetery
Quiet atmosphere in the middle of busy city life. During the leisurely walk you will get to know the cemetery of Oulu founded in 1781. The guide will tell you about influential persons from the golden times of sea faring and tar trade, from the world of literature, art of painting and music as well as from social life. The stories bring to life the history of Oulu for over two centuries. During the walk you will also get acquainted with numerous impressive monuments of the cemetery and the Christian funeral traditions.

OTHER TOURS AND SERVICES

Oulu Region Tourist Guides are also at your service e.g. on airport transfers, as tour leaders or speakers of your events. In addition to the above-mentioned tours and walks you can also give your own wishes for routes and destinations or site visits!

GUIDING TARIFFS 2011
Tariffs below apply to ordered tours and walks.

Prices are in euros. Guiding fees include guiding services, booking fee and VAT (23%). Guided sightseeing tour fees include also bus transportation. Fees do not include admission fees to sights or resorts.

Minimum charge is 1.5 hours after which in half an hour periods. Minimum charge for airport transfers 2 hours.

The Finnish Guide Association’s recommendation on guiding fees is applied to the tariffs with the exception of the actual fee. Right for price changes is reserved.

NOTICE! Weekday tariffs are valid Mon-Sat 6.00 - 23.00. Sunday tariffs are in force on Sundays and public holidays 00.00 - 24.00 and on weekdays at 23.00 - 06.00.
Multi-language tours: 15% increase for every additional language when the guide works simultaneously in more than one language.

CANCELLATION TERMS
Confirmed orders can be cancelled free of charge min. 2 business days before the start of the guiding. The minimum fee will be charged as a cancellation fee if the ordered service is cancelled less than two but at least one business day before guiding. If the cancellation is done later or has not been done at all (no show) full fees will be charged.

Detailed instructions for paying the guiding fees can be requested from the booking office. Go Arctic will bill the customer after the guiding.

BOOKING OF GUIDES

Go Arctic!
Nahkatehtaankatu 6, PO Box 53, FI-90015 City of Oulu, Finland
Tel. +358 (0)440 224 060, Email: info[at]goarctic.fi
www.goarctic.fi