Lahti strikes chord with fans of Finnish composer

LAHTI, Finland -- This modern, lakefront city -- which will host its fifth annual festival of music by Finnish classical composer Jean Sibelius this September -- is positioning itself as a base for music-themed tours across southern Finland.

Home to the spectacular, 4-year-old Sibelius Hall congress and concert center, Lahti also is a short drive from other sites associated with Sibelius, Finlands most famous composer, such as his birthplace of Hameenlinna; Helsinki, site of the world-famous Sibelius monument; and Ainola, the rustic country home he built in 1904.

In short, Lahti is an ideal location from which to strike out on musical tours, said Essi Alaluukas, project manager at inbound operator Lahti Travel.

"Our main advantages are our location -- were only a one-hour drive to the airport [in] Helsinki -- plus were close to nature, [being] on a lake, and you can easily walk around town, which is friendly and midsize," she said.

Lahti, the Windy City?

Although plain, unassuming and largely free of the typical tourist draws, Lahti -- known to locals as "Finnish Chicago" for its modern, North American feel -- is the countrys unofficial skiing and winter-sports capital, and its close to many of southern Finlands natural, historical and cultural attractions.

In town, visitors can check out the Ski Museum at the Lahti Sports Center, which also boasts three ski jumps; the Church of the Cross, the last project of famed architect Alvar Aalto; the largest musical fountain to be found in Scandinavia; and museums dedicated to fine art, media, military medicine and even military music.

Whats more, Lahti boasts nine major hotels, such as the Sokos Hotel Lahden Seurahuone (see Room Key), and several other overnight venues -- including hostels, lodges and even school dormitories -- with rates well below big-city prices found in Helsinki, one hours ride away by motorway.

Nearby, visitors will find the medieval stone church at Hollola; cruising on lakes Vesijarvi and Paijanne and the Vaaksy Canal; and the countryside Vuorenmaki resort at Artjarvi.

Of course, Lahtis star attraction is the 1,250-seat Sibelius Hall, which opened in a converted sawmill in March 2000.

Designed by U.S. architect Russell Johnson, the $25.5 million, all-wooden concert and meetings venue -- the largest such structure built in Finland for a century -- was conceived as a way both to promote construction in wood and to honor the local heritage of carpentry.

But most importantly, its the venue each late summer for the Lahti Symphony Orchestras tribute to Sibelius, who was an occasional visitor to the area.

This year, the orchestra will hold the Fifth International Sibelius Festival -- to be conducted by Finnish-born Osmo Vanska, musical director of the Minnesota Orchestra -- from Sept. 2 to 5.

The four-day festival, organized around a different theme each year, consists of symphony and chamber-music concerts.

(For more on the orchestra, visit www.lahti.fi/symphony online; for more on the hall itself, including seating charts, visit www.lahti.fi/sibeliustalo.)

Booking Sibelius

In order to grow business, latourism officials last year founded inbound tour operator Lahti Travel, which offers nature-, sports- and culture-related packages, including a family of Sibelius-themed products.

Alaluukas said Lahti Travel teamed with the Finnish Tourist Board to target agents in the U.S., where its core Sibelius tour is marketed as part of the Music on the Kings Road campaign.

"So far, we havent been working with U.S. travel agents, but we would like to do that in the near future," she said.

Currently the bulk of visitors to Lahti hail from the U.K., Germany and the Netherlands.

"We certainly hope that the effort weve put into the American market will soon bring us groups from the U.S.," Alaluukas added, noting stateside travel retailers can book tours directly with Lahti Travel, which offers agents net pricing.

At press time, no U.S.-based outbound operator to Finland was offering Lahti Travels tour packages, said Alaluukas.

The operators primary product -- a mouthful, its named "In the Footsteps of Composer Jean Sibelius in Southern Finland" -- is sold in two versions, one for stays during the annual Sibelius Festival and the second for all other times of the year.

The festival version of the Lahti Travel package -- priced at about $250 per person per night, net, based on double occupancy, or $299, single -- includes accommodation at either the Sokos Hotel Lahden Seurahuone or Hotel Salpaus; continental breakfast; roundtrip transportation from Helsinki; and an evening concert ticket.

The year-round version -- with the same features, save the Sibelius Hall concert ticket -- is priced from about $183 per person, double, or $228, single.

Also available are three add-on cultural day-tours, priced at about $115 to $140 per person, to the Vaania farmstead outside Lahti; Sibelius childhood home at Hameenlinna; and Ainola, which is located in nearby, lakeside Jarvenpaa.

Each tour includes lunch and bus transportation; depending on the itinerary, clients also may be treated to private Sibelius concerts, steamboat cruises or visits to local artists studios.

Homey and picturesque

Ainola -- where visitors can explore the Sibelius family quarters, the composers grave, a traditional sauna, a snack and gift shop, gardens and hilly, wooded grounds -- is celebrating its 100th anniversary with special exhibitions and concerts.

This summer, Ainola -- named for Sibelius beloved wife, Aino -- is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Sundays, until Oct. 3; admission fees, which include a guided tour for visits booked in advance, are $6 for adults and $1.25 for children age 7 to 16.

Reservations may be made by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at (011) 358-50 350-3819; for more, go to www.ainola.fi.

Lahti Travel can arrange additional overnights in Helsinki upon arrival or before departure from Finland or guided city tours or Sibelius-themed excursions to the capital district.

For more information on Lahti Travel products or to book, call (011) 358 387-7677; fax (011) 358-3 877-6700; send an e-mail to [email protected]; or visit www.lahtitravel.fi online.

To contact reporter Kenneth Kiesnoski, send e-mail to [email protected].