The World Heritage site may be visited and accommodation is available all year round. The Verla Mill Museum, lunch café, exhibitions and shops are open only in the summer – or for groups by reservation only at other times of year. Find out about what the area has to offer and plan a visit that’s just right for you.
The World Heritage site may be visited and accommodation is available all year round. The Verla Mill Museum, lunch café, exhibitions and shops are open only in the summer – or for groups by reservation only at other times of year. Find out about what the area has to offer and plan a visit that’s just right for you.
Verla groundwood and board mill can only be visited as part of a guided tour. Tour guides describe the mill to visitors and bring the museum to life with stories about the mill.
Tours in Finnish start on the hour. Tours in other languages can be arranged. The guided tour lasts 50–60 minutes, depending on the size of the group.
The tour starts with a ten-minute documentary film showing the mill in full action during its last weeks of operation in the summer of 1964. After the film, the mill tour continues with a step-by-step demonstration of how spruce timber was transformed into the off-white woodpulp board that became famous in its time.
We recommend booking in advance for groups of more than 20 people and for tours in languages other than Finnish. We recommend booking at least a few weeks in advance. May is a popular month for school trips, so bookings for May should be made well in advance.
Booking a museum tour online
Online bookings have a minimum group size of 20 people and a maximum of 50 people. Groups of fewer than 20 people should order regular tickets online for a museum tour.
Choose the date and the number of participants and then click Book. Your choice will be added to your basket. If you wish, you can add other products from the site to your basket. When you are ready, click Confirm in the basket and complete the purchase.
Our system registers group bookings as open orders, which can be modified until they are billed. Group bookings are billed after the visit and after the final group has been confirmed. The system will send you an email confirming your booking.
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Visitors can explore the history- and forest-themed trails of the Verla World Heritage site on their own, as well as view the site’s prehistoric rock paintings. The Mill Museum’s gardener leads guided tours of the mill owner’s garden.
Admission to the site’s exhibitions is free. Downstairs from the customer service desk, you will find a small permanent exhibition, and opposite that, in the fire equipment shed, is information about the mill’s fire-fighting team. An exhibition about log driving is on display in the frame saw building, and the bale warehouse in the middle of the museum site houses temporary exhibitions. An exhibition at the Lippu Homestead depicts millworkers’ housing.
Local artisans display their wares in the small shops and workshops of the museum site. They offer a wide selection of goods, from organic bread to sweets, from knitwear to ceramics, glassware and handmade paper.
A café serving lunch operates in the Verla warehouse during the summer. There is also a wine shop that organises tastings.
There are many different activities to enjoy at Verla and in the surrounding area. You can easily take to the water at Verla in a rented canoe or rowing boat. After a busy day, take some private time in a lakeside sauna. Near the centre of Verla, a 2-kilometre nature trail winds around Kokkokallio hill.
The Verla World Heritage site is a memorable excursion destination where you can experience both history and nature. Museum tours for May should be reserved well in advance as May is a popular time for school groups to visit.
The Verla Mill Museum is not an accessible site. Should your group include individuals with reduced mobility, we ask that you notify us at the time of making your reservation. A tour designed for those with reduced mobility may also be reserved for an entire group.
In addition to the museum tour, groups can explore the area on their own on various themed trails and excursions.
Repovesi National Park, one of Finland’s most important natural sites, is half an hour’s drive away. Together, Repovesi and Verla comprise an exceptional part of the history and nature of the Finnish forest industry. Numerous stories about hunting, log driving, contracts and the felling of trees, as well as large-scale conservation and protection of biodiversity, create a colourful and intricate environment for visitors who enjoy nature and history.
Visitors from outside the region often also explore the other cultural attractions around Kouvola, such as the Vuohijärvi Nature and Culture House, the Poikilo Museums and Arboretum Mustila. In the summer, the Tykkimäki amusement park is a favourite among families with children.
The Repovesi National Park, one of Finland’s most important natural sites, is a half-hour drive away.
The Verla World Heritage site is located in the village of Verla, a 32-kilometre drive from the centre of Kouvola.
You can reach Verla by car or taxi from Kouvola train station. We recommend that groups charter a bus. On summer weekends there's also a bus connection.
Verla can also be reached from Repovesi National Park by water. Canoes can be rented from Seikkailuviikari in Repovesi.
The Verla Mill Museum is not an accessible site. However, visitors with reduced mobility can take part in a partial tour with the group. A disabled toilet is available in the old stable building where the other toilets are located.
Our safety instructions for visitors are here.
The Verla Mill Museum is committed to the principles of sustainable tourism. Read more here.
The closest train station is in Kouvola, from which a bus runs to Verla in the summer.
Bus nro 9 on Tuesday and Thursday from Kouvola
Bus nro 9 on Tuesday and Thursday from Verla
