Ostrobothnia · Finland
Where to stay in Vaasa
Vaasa is a city in Ostrobothnia, Finland, home to about 71,000 people. This guide covers 1 hotel in Vaasa, with about 27 rooms between them.
- Places to stay in this guide
- 1
- Best months
- June to August
- Nearest airport
- VAA9 km · Vaasa Airport
- Currency
- EUReuro
- Time zone
- Europe/Helsinki
- Language
- Finnish, Swedish
About
About Vaasa
Vaasa, formerly (1855–1917) known as Nikolaistad (Finnish: Nikolainkaupunki; lit. 'city of Nicholas'), is a city in Finland and the regional capital of Ostrobothnia, located on the west coast of the country, on the Gulf of Bothnia. Vaasa city has approximately 71,000 inhabitants, while the Vaasa sub-region has a population of approximately 112,000.
Vaasa was an important place of governance when Finland was part of Sweden. It started in the 14th century when Korsholm castle was built near the village of Korsholm (Finnish: Mustasaari). In 1606 the village was granted city status and five years later it was renamed Wasa in honor of the Swedish royal lineage. The old names live on in the municipality that surrounds Vaasa. The old town of Vaasa burned to the ground in 1852, and when it was rebuilt it was relocated closer to the sea some six kilometers northwest from its original location.
Wikipedia and Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Things to do
What to see and do in Vaasa
See
- Market place and Finland's Statue of freedom
- Old Vaasa
- The University of Vaasa
- Academill
- campus of the Swedish School of Economics and Business Administration
- Waterfront
- Trinity Church and surroundings
- Vaasa City Library
- Rewell Center
- Huutoniemi Church
- Strömberg Industrial Park
- Brage Open Air Museum
Do
- Tropiclandia
- The Water Tower
- Zip Adventure Park
- Doo-Bop Club
- Skafferiet
- VPS
- Vaasan Sport
- Night of the Arts
- Korsholm Music Festival
- Vaasa Choir Festival
- Wasa By Night
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Where to stay
Places to stay in Vaasa
1 place to stay from the chains this guide covers, each linked to its own website.
| Place to stay | Rooms |
|---|---|
| Omena Hotel Vaasa hotel | 27 |
Schematic: the city centre in orange, each place to stay as a dot, distance rings in kilometres.
When to go
The best time to visit Vaasa
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Vaasa are June to August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 21 °C; July is the wettest, with about 60 mm of rain.
Comfortable means average daytime high between 18 °C and 29 °C and under 80 mm of rain in the month. Averages for 1991–2020 over the surrounding area, a grid square about 50 km across, so a coast or a nearby mountain can make the town itself warmer or cooler. Data: CRU TS v4.10, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (Open Database License).
Getting there
Getting to Vaasa: airports and arrival
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Vaasa Airport (VAA), about 9.0 km from the city centre in a straight line; Umeå Airport (UME, 102 km) and Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK, 103 km) are also within reach.
Getting in
Highway 3 (also E12) from Helsinki through Tampere to Vaasa (419 km). The coastal national road 8 (E8) goes from Turku through Rauma and Pori to Vaasa (332 km) and continues through Kokkola to Oulu (318 km). E8 and E12 both continue to Norway: via Tornio to Tromsø and by ferry to Umeå and on to Mo i Rana, respectively. The Blue Highway uses E12 in the west, in the east it leads to Russia (but the border is closed as of 2025). All trains from Helsinki to Oulu and Rovaniemi via Tampere stop in Seinäjoki. From there you can take connection trains, which head to Vaasa.
Getting around
The city is quite compact and most things to see are within walking distance. The commercial centre and nightlife are concentrated in the area around the market square. The distance to much of Korsholm, on the other hand, is some 12 km. Replot is 20 km away, Björköby 35 and Panike 45, the latter north and north-west of Replot. Single tickets can be bought by card or mobile payment or cash (€1.80 or €2.30/2.10 respectively in 2025), or by the Waltti app or card (€1.80/1.30/1.10). The eastern parts of Korsholm form zone B, requiring a two-zone ticket (€3.20 or 4.90/2.90).
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
VAA · Vaasa Airport
UME · Umeå Airport
KOK · Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport
Local knowledge
Eating, drinking and staying safe in Vaasa
Eat
There are numerous cheap hamburger, kebab and pizza joints. At lunch time there is a huge variety of places to eat inexpensively. For the cheapest lunches head to a student lunch restaurant. A Finnish student card is required for the subsidised price, but even without it prices are very good value at around €9.
Drink
There are several bars and nightclubs in Vaasa. Most restaurants have bars or pubs in connection to them and especially the summer restaurants have popular terraces to start the evening on.
Wikivoyage contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0; excerpted.
Good to know
Accessibility, parking and families in Vaasa
How many places to stay in this guide offer each, in their operators' own words.
of 1 place
Questions
Vaasa: questions travellers ask
When is the best time to visit Vaasa?
The most comfortable months for a city stay in Vaasa are June to August. July is the warmest month, with average highs of 21 °C; July is the wettest, with about 60 mm of rain.
Which airport is closest to Vaasa?
The nearest airport with scheduled flights is Vaasa Airport (VAA), about 9.0 km from the city centre in a straight line; Umeå Airport (UME, 102 km) and Kokkola-Pietarsaari Airport (KOK, 103 km) are also within reach.
What currency is used in Vaasa?
euro (EUR).
Nearby
Destinations near Vaasa
Sources: city facts from Wikidata and Wikipedia; airports from OurAirports; climate from CRU TS v4.10 (University of East Anglia Climatic Research Unit), 1991–2020 monthly means, 0.5° grid; places to stay, guest scores and amenities from each operator's own public pages. How this guide is made.