Lappeenranta

Highways 6 and 13 pass through Lappeenranta. Bus companies operate frequently from Helsinki and other cities, in normal times even from Saint Petersburg in Russia. Highway 13 extends to the Russian border, some 25 km from the city centre, where the 🌍 Border Station of Nuijamaa/Brusnichnoye (Нуйямаа-Брусничное) is the second busiest border crossing in Finland. Russian tourists usually use this pathway to come to the city either by bus or a car.

If you drive from Helsinki, three almost equal routes are available: you can drive along road 6, via Hamina (roads 7, 26 and 6), or via Vaalimaa (roads 7 and 387)

The 🌍 main railway station of Lappeenranta connects the city to the rest of Finland with fairly modern trains, operated by VR. The travel time to Helsinki is 2–2½ hr. Prices start at €14.30.

At late evening you can take a train to Kouvola and then continue further to Lappeenranta by Yöksi kotiin taxi service, price is €50. Order must be made at least 24 hours before departure.

Trains from Saint Petersburg and Moscow were suspended in 2022 due to the war on Ukraine.

The bus station is located next to the main railway station.

There are direct connections by bus from Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kouvola, Joensuu, Kotka, Mikkeli, Porvoo and Imatra. Coming via Tallinn or Stockholm, there may be coach connections from the port with arranged transfer, mostly via Kamppi. For timetables, see Matkahuolto.

There used to be foreign lines from Saint Petersburg and Vyborg, see Sovavto and Transgold.

🌍 Lappeenranta Airport (LPP  ^IATA). Ryanair flies year-round to Lappeenranta from Bergamo, Vienna and Budapest. There are also seasonal flights from Chania. (updated Jul 2020)

The nearest international flight hubs are in Helsinki and Saint Petersburg. If you come to Helsinki airport at late evening, you can use Yöksi kotiin taxi service which transports you from Helsinki airport to Lappeenranta, price is €87.50. Order must be made at least 24 hours before departure.

Lappeenranta is a popular destination for boaters within the Saimaa lake area. Some cruise boats operate from Lappeenranta to other destinations on the lake. Lappeenranta is connected to the Gulf of Finland through the Saimaa Canal. The canal is also popular among boaters, and private boats occasionally come from as far as southern Europe. Check Boating on the Baltic Sea for instructions on the last legs.

As of summer 2023 the Saimaa Canal is open, but commercial shipping has dropped, because of the Russian war on Ukraine and the resulting strained relations. If coming by own yacht, check whether the canal really is open, and whether there are risks involved in passing through Russian waters (are you on their sanction list? they might find an excuse to give you a hard time).

Everything in the centre is within walking distance. Even the airport is within walking range if you do not have much luggage, but taxi or local bus is probably preferable.

Getting further to the suburbs is easy by bus. City of Lappeenranta has bus schedules. There is a graphical route planner to find timetables. Routes and Tickets mobile app has an address based routing and also a ticket purchase option directly from the app.

You can use NFC payment with Visa, Mastercard or Eurocard (Diners Club and American Express do not work) or a mobile device with Apple Pay, Pivo or Google Pay: the payment card or mobile device is displayed to the reader device, which then says "Lähimaksu hyväksytty" ("Proximity payment accepted").

When travelling to ruralside, school buses can be used. The ride must be booked in advance.

There is a bike sharing system using bluetooth and the Donkey Republic about €1.50/1 hr, €4/5 hr, €12/24 hr. For longer stays becoming a member is cheaper: €9 or €18/month covers all trips of less than 1 hr respectively 12 hr, also in other towns using Donkey Republic – but you need to register as member in the country of your card (available: most countries in western Europe and USA). Customer service info@kaakau.fi, ☏ +358 44 716 0644 daily 09:00–21:00. Several towns in south-east Finland use the same system, which is in use also elsewhere in Finland and abroad.

See also: Finland#By motorised scooter

You can rent electric kick scooters for use in the centre from German Tier, American Bird and Finnish Joe Scooter. Tier has also electric bicycles.

• Taksi Saimaa, ☏ +358 200 60 400, info@taksisaimaa.fi. Also bookable by app. Flag fall M–F 06:00–20:00: €5.90, Sa 06:00–16:00: €5.90, other times and holidays: €9.00; 1–4 persons €1.76/km, over 4 persons €2.28/km (July 2020). (updated Jul 2020)
• Menevä Lappeenranta, ☏ +358 50-471-0470 (head of office), toll-free: 0800-02120 (booking). Also bookable by app or web. Fixed price based on calculated route and time if destination address given when booking by app or web. Flag fall M–Sa 06:00–18:00: €4, other times and holidays: €7; 1–4 persons €0.90/km + €0.90/min, 5–8 persons minimum €20, €1.60/km + €0.90/min (March 2021). (updated Mar 2021)
• Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi

• Ylamaa Gem and Mineral Show (Ylämaan jalokivimessut): 5–7 July 2024, ☏ +358 400-391-590, eskohamalainen@hotmail.com. A yearly fair in Kivikylä, Ylämaa. A good opportunity to make acquaintance with the local spectrolite, Finnish jewellery and related interior design in general, minerals (free identification of interesting stones and minerals you and your children found yourselves). Also a range of foreign companies are present. (date needs fixing)
• LPRHC Fest: August. Hardcore, punk and rap festival in Lappeenranta in early August. After party and more.

Spectrolite is an unusual variety of labradorite with a very rich range of colours, quarried in Ylämaa in the south of the municipality. The Ylämaa bedrock deposits are the first ones known, found in 1940. Spectrolite items may be available from goldsmith shops in Lappeenranta centre, but especially in the Kivikylä ("stone village") by Ylämaa centre, 30 km south of Lappeenranta centre, or at the jewellery fairs arranged there.

• 🌍 Ylämaan Korukivi, Kivikyläntie 17 (Kivikylä), ☏ +358 50-534-0390, info@korukivi.fi. in season, by request or when there otherwise is staff around. Locally made jewellery and other goods with spectrolite. Besides jewellery, products include interior design such as clocks, and individual stones. €35–500. (updated Feb 2024)

• 🌍 Citymarket, Toikansuontie 4 (at the crossing of highway 6 and regional road 390). 
• 🌍 Prisma, Puhakankatu 9 (at the eastern end of the airport). 
• 🌍 Iso Kristiina, Brahenkatu 3–7. The largest mall in the city centre. 

• Small coffee booths at the harbour and the 🌍 market square (Kauppatori) offer traditional meat pies called vety (Eng. "hydrogen") and atomi (Eng. "atom"). Vety consists of a meat pie, ham, boiled egg and condiments. Atomi has either ham or egg, but not both. Also other snack food is offered by the booths. Just ask for 'vetyatomi' and you'll be understood in nearly all the grillikioskis in Finland.

• 🌍 Wolkoff, Kauppakatu 26, ☏ +358 5 4150320. M-F 11:00-24:00, Sa 16:30-23:00. A nice, cozy 50-seat restaurant in a historical 150-year-old house. Non-smoking. In the summertime, seats also available on the courtyard. Main dishes €14-28.. 

• 🌍 Lappeenrannan Kasino, Ainonkatu 10. An old, classy restaurant. Has also a separate terrace docked on the water at the harbour. 

• 🌍 Majurska, Kristiinankatu 1, ☏ +358 5 4530 554. Open M-Sa 10:00-17:00, Su 11:00-17:00, an hour longer in summer. A romantic café in the historical old Fortress. Delicious homebaked cakes and tarts. Not necessarily for small children because of limited space and fragile décor. 
• 🌍 Coffee House, Kauppiaskatu 29-31 (In the shopping mall Amanda), ☏ +358 5 678 6667. M-Th 08:00-22:09, F 08:00-00:00, Sa 09:00-00:00, Su 13:00-20:00. A nice, modern cafe. 
• 🌍 Café Galleria, Koulukatu 15 (In the Galleria shopping mall), ☏ +358 5 453 1644. M-F 07:30-17:09, Sa 09:00-15:00. A small cafe. 

Most of the popular bars are located in the city centre.

• 🌍 Prinsessa Armaada, ☏ +358 5 4513376. Harbour. 10:00–02:00 daily in summer (subject to weather). A popular hangout place in the summer, this restaurant is built on an old parked steamboat. Most people come here for drinks, although they also serve food. Another similar boat restaurant, S/S Suvi-Saimaa, is located next to Prinsessa Armaada. main dishes €9–17. 

• Local student housing foundation, LOAS, offers affordable accommodation during the summer months for tourists.
• 🌍 Pitotalo Miekkala, Partalantie 136, ☏ +358 5 458 1882. A typical Bed and Breakfast hotel, 10 km from Lappeenranta towards Joensuu. B&B €25/person. 
• 🌍 Matkustajakoti Turisti-Lappee, Kauppakatu 52, ☏ +358 5 415 0800. Centrally located. The shower facilities are shared, the double rooms have private toilets but the single rooms do not. Prices include breakfast and the use of the sauna facilities. double €51, single €31. 
• 🌍 Camping Lappeenranta, Kuusimäenkatu 18 (2 km west of the city centre), ☏ +358 50-555-6800, campinglappeenranta@gmail.com. The prices include breakfast and the use of the swimming pool. 
• 🌍 Lahtelan maatilamatkailu, Lahtelantie 120, ☏ +358 5-4578034. Bed and Breakfast south of Ylämaa centre, 40 km south of Lappeenranta. 

• 🌍 Sokos Hotel Lappee, Brahenkatu 1 (next to Galleria shopping mall), ☏ +358 10 762 1000. A comfortable chain hotel in the middle of the city overlooking a desolate square with the town hall's blocky architecture and a fountain. 
• 🌍 Hotel Cumulus Lappeenranta, Valtakatu 31, ☏ +358 5 677 811, lappeenranta.cumulus@restel.fi. 95 rooms with TV, radio, pay-channel, hair dryer and free broadband connection."