Tampere is the third largest city in Finland, 170 km (1,5 hours) away from the Helsinki. Tampere is located between two lakes – Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi and the city is diveded in two halfs by Tammerkoski rapids. The centre of city is defined by the national landscape of Tammerkoski rapids, red-brick buildings and beautiful lighting. Here are some tips to help you make the best of your trip to Tampere!
The stunning neo-renaissance style Tampere City Hall is located on the central square. It was designed by Georg Schreck and completed in 1890.
Until the 1920s, the Finlayson area was the biggest industrial district in the Northern Countries. In the 1800s Finlayson grew to be a city within a city with its own school, hospital, police force, and even its own currency. Nowadays the area is a modern and versatile center, housing restaurants, cafés, businesses, and cultural services, including a multiplex cinema. Events are held all year round. The Finlayson Church, the Finlayson Palace and Tallipiha Stable Yards are located nearby.
Just a stone throw away from the city centre you can walk up the Pyynikki ridge, the biggest gravel ridge formed by ice age in the world. Pyynikki offers fantastic views over the two lakes as well as the beautiful housing area of Pispala with colourful wooden houses.
Vapriikki is a museum centre that offers things to see and do for the whole family. Vapriikki is a home to the Natural History Museum of Tampere, the Media Museum Rupriikki, the Mineral Museum, the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, the Doll Museum and the Postal Museum. Visitors are served by museum restaurant Valssi and the Vapriikki museum shop, which offers a wide selection of books, gifts, and souvenirs.
The Amuri Museum of Workers’ Housing showcases the homes of workers in the Amuri district and tells the life stories of the kind of people who may have lived there. It enables you to take a peek into the day-to-day life of Tampere’s workers over the span of nearly a full century, from the 1880s to the 1970s. Only open from mid-May to mid September
The Tampere Art Museum is renowned for its active exhibition policy and the Young Artist of the Year event. The museum presents important themes from art history and phenomena of contemporary art in both its Finnish and international exhibitions. The museum’s collection is the second-largest collection in Finland with it’s 14.000 works of art.
The Moomin Museum is situated at Tampere Hall. The Moomin Museum is an art museum devoted to original works by writer and artist Tove Jansson (1914 – 2001). Its unique collections comprise around 2000 works of which about 800 are Moomin-themed. The three-dimensional tableaux built by Tuulikki Pietilä add to our own picture of the goings-on in the Moomin stories. The gem of the collection is a blue five-storey Moomin House. The superb new venue enables the museum to present a wider selection of works in an exciting, experiential space. Museum visitors can also enjoy Tampere Hall’s amenities.
You can find more information about the museums in Tampere here.
Saunas
With over 20 public saunas in the region Tampere truly is a Sauna Capital.
Rajaportti sauna in Pispala, built in 1906, is the oldest public sauna in Finland still in use – taking you on a time travel to the Finnish sauna culture.
Kaupinoja sauna is situated by lake Näsijärvi close to the UKK-Institute. There is some ten minutes’ walk from the Arvo-building to Kaupinojan sauna.
Rauhaniemi Public Sauna is located only a couple of kilometers from Keskustori central square, in the district of Lapinniemi.
Särkänniemi amusement park with its 168-metre high Näsinneula observation tower, is located right on the side of the city centre. You can see breathtaking views from the observation deck or the revolving Restaurant Näsinneula.
Bus tours, walking tours, special theme tours, tours to the surrounding countryside, visits to particular sites. Tours tailor-made according to your wishes, also by taxi cab or minibus. Learn about the history, architecture, sights, museums of Tampere… Professional Tampere Tourist Guides welcome you to get to know the beautiful city of lakes throughout the year! Tours are available in Chinese, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, Spanish and Swedish.
Tampere offers a number of things for you to do. The best place to explore these is via the Visit Tampere webpages.
Download the Tampere app for things to see and do
The Tampere.Finland application includes guided tours, local bus and tram routes and timetables, the Tampere event calendar, as well as the Tampere Pass discount application (Tampere Tunnetuksi Passi).
The application can be downloaded free of charge from Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
More information on the Tampere Pass