The 17th annual conference of the European Society for Aesthetics (ESA) is taking place on
8-10 June 2026 in Jyväskylä, Finland. The conference will be in person only.
The conference is co-organised by the ESA and the University of Jyväskylä. The conference venue is the Main building C and Seminarium building S on the Seminaarinmäki Campus (Campus map).
Conference fee is €50 for students and unwaged, and €100 for academics.
The confirmed keynote speakers are:
– Diarmuid Costello (University of Warwick)
– Monique Roelofs (University of Amsterdam)
– Max Ryynänen (Aalto University)
About Jyväskylä
Jyväskylä is a lively city of 150,000 residents located in the heart of Finland’s lake district. It is known for its strong academic and sports culture, as well as its diverse event and culture scene. The city center is relatively compact. The train station is in the city center, and the main campus is about 1 km away. Read more at Visit Jyväskylä [https://visitjyvaskyla.fi/en/]
Accommodation
Room allocations have been reserved at the nearby hotels listed below. They are located approximately 1 km from the conference venue unless otherwise stated. These allocations are from June 7 to June 11 and remain valid until the specified deadline or until all rooms within the block have been booked. Please refer to each hotel’s information for the final validity date and the reservation code. Please note that many other conferences and events are taking place in Jyväskylä at the same time, so many hotels are already almost fully booked.
Hotel Verso in the city centre
[https://hotelliverso.fi/en/]
Reservations by May 10, 2026. Use code ESA2026.
Phone +358 14 333 999
Email info@hotelliverso.fi
Online book.hotelliverso.fi
Standard room single: €120.00 € / night
Standard room twin/double: €135.00 € / night
Superior room single: €135.00 € / night
Superior twin/double: €150.00 € / night
The price includes a breakfast buffet and access to the guest sauna.
Finlandia Hotel Alba in the Mattilanniemi campus by Lake Jyväsjärvi
[https://www.hotellialba.fi/en/]
Reservations by April 30, 2026. Use code ESA26.
Email info@hotellialba.fi
Online www.hotellialba.fi/en/
Standard room single: €109.00 / night
Standard room twin: €130.00 / night
The price includes a breakfast buffet and access to the guest sauna.
Scandic Hotels
Scandic Jyväskylä City (city centre), Scandic Jyväskylä Station (city centre) and Scandic Laajavuori (spa hotel a bit further away) offer discounted rate for conference guests with the booking code CGRO.
Time to stay hostels
Time Hostel City (next to campus) and Time Hostel Nova (2 kilometres from the conference venue)
No allocation but the hostel offers a 10% discount for conference guests with code eurosa. Online https://app.moder.fi/time
There are many other nice accommodation options in the city centre, most of which are 1-2 km from the conference venue. You can find a list of hotels here [https://www.jyu.fi/en/about-us/academic-events/accommodation-in-jyvaskyla].
Lunch options
We recommend the campus restaurants Tilia, Uno, Taide and Wicked Rabbit vegetarian lunch buffet (Tue-Wed) at Café Tiede, restaurant Villa Rana near the main building, and the vegan restaurant Katriina, which is close to the campus area. The Aalto2 Café at Alvar Aalto museum near the campus also serves lunch. Here is a list of these restaurants in Google maps. You can find more restaurants by walking towards the city centre from the venue.
Pre- and Post-Conference programme: Sauna and Alvar Aalto architecture trip
The sauna and architecture excursion will take place provided there is sufficient interest.
SAUNA (SUNDAY JUNE 7)
On Sunday evening before the conference, there is an opportunity to experience Finnish traditional sauna in Kiviniemi on the shore of Lake Tuomiojärvi, a few kilometres from the centre of Jyväskylä. We will have access to two wood‑heated saunas, one of which is a smoke sauna. Finnish sauna culture is included in UNESCO’s list of Intangible Cultural Heritage. You can read more about sauna traditions, for example, here [https://www.visitfinland.com/en/articles/10-sauna-tips-for-beginners/]
EXCURSION TO SÄYNÄTSALO (THURSDAY JUNE 11)
Day Trip to Säynätsalo offers an opportunity to visit two works of Finnish modern architecture: the Säynätsalo Town Hall, designed by Alvar Aalto, and the Muuratsalo Experimental House by Alvar and Elissa Aalto. Excursion provides a peek into material experimentation and the interplay between built form, landscape, and communal life.