Two highways, 6 and 13 pass through Lappeenranta. Bus companies operate frequently to [wiki=8449280a23f8c4fcfb13469f6dc19592]Helsinki[/wiki] and other cities, even [wiki=030731390dab949e28d2e3fa11a3b6f3]Saint Petersburg[/wiki] in Russia. Highway 13 extends to the Russian border, some 25 km from the city center, where the Nuijamaa border station is the busiest border crossing in Finland. Russian tourists usually use this pathway to come to the city either by bus or a car.
The main railway station of Lappeenranta connects the city to the rest of Finland with fairly modern trains, operated by VR [url=http://www.vr.fi].]The travel time to [[Helsinki[/url]] is currently 2 - 2½ hours (EUR 41.30 as of end-2011). Trains to [wiki=030731390dab949e28d2e3fa11a3b6f3]Saint Petersburg[/wiki] and [wiki=7e35e74e610188414ad24235dd787c78]Moscow[/wiki] stop at a smaller station in Vainikkala, located near the Russian border, about 30 km from the city center. There are connection buses[http://www.lappeenranta.fi/In_English/Travel.iw3] from Lappeenranta City to Vainikkala railway station.
Lappeenranta travel centre offers connections to other parts of Finland and to Russia. There are direct connections by bus to Helsinki, Jyväskylä, Kouvola, Joensuu, Kotka, Mikkeli, Porvoo and Imatra. Foreign lines extend to [wiki=030731390dab949e28d2e3fa11a3b6f3]Saint Petersburg[/wiki] and [wiki=4c09c0d635846ae13eb0ea3be8ca5320]Vyborg[/wiki]. More information about bus connections from [url=http://www.matkahuolto.fi]Matkahuolto[/url].
Low-cost expressbus service from Lappeenranta to Helsinki is provided by [url=http://www.pohjolanliikenne.fi]Pohjolan Liikenne[/url].
The airport is located perfectly only 2 km from the center. It is the oldest in Finland established in 1918.
Air Baltic flies to [wiki=c16c50f34911d1f5d3924c8267409904]Riga[/wiki], Ryanair has routes to [wiki=c4d1eb0534b19e9738739de40f6d9a69]Weeze[/wiki] near [wiki=5f22adea9df0d30bf784d08b57acc88e]Düsseldorf[/wiki], [wiki=51ea86e0b20cf9691e499c2f62bbbb9d]Girona[/wiki] near [wiki=550d05ab240ec337038af814ff0de287]Barcelona[/wiki] and [wiki=3a8f916e8f8560773ac9b8eb6349b1c4]Bergamo[/wiki].
There is a local bus connection number 4 from railway station and center of Lappeenranta to the airport. It serves once an hour. Timetables are available from Lappeenranta city website[http://lprwilima.lappeenranta.fi:8080/nettinaytto/web].
Lappeenranta is a popular destination for boaters within the Saimaa lake area. Some cruise boats operate from Lappeenranta to other destinations within the lake area. Lappeenranta is connected to the Gulf of Finland through the Saimaa canal. Visa free (remember to always check the current situation) cruise boats operate from Lappeenranta to [wiki=4c09c0d635846ae13eb0ea3be8ca5320]Vyborg[/wiki], Russia through the canal. The canal is also popular among boaters, and private boats occasionally come from as far as Southern Europe.
Small coffee booths at the harbour and the market place (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.
* Many pizzerias, fast food places and ethnic restaurants are available in the city.
Wolkoff, Kauppakatu 26, tel. +358 5 4150320. Mon-Fri 11AM-11PM, Sat 4:30PM-11PM, Sundays closed. 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.
Majurska, Kristiinankatu 1, tel. +358 5 4530554, [http://www.majurska.com/]. A romantic café in the historical old Fortress. Delicious homebaked cakes and tarts. Open M-Sa 10AM-5PM, Su 11AM-5PM, an hour longer in summer.
Prinsessa Armaada, harbour, tel. +358 5 4513376, [http://www.prinsessaarmaada.fi/]. 10AM-2AM 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 (main dishes €9-17). Another similar boat restaurant, S/S Suvi-Saimaa, is located next to Prinsessa Armaada.
* An old, classy restaurant, Kasino, has also a separate terrace docked on the water at the harbour.
* Most of the other popular bars are located in the city centre.