Tampere.
Your next chapter?

Overview

Tampere (Swedish: Tammerfors) is the third largest city in Finland with around 260,000 inhabitants, and around 410,000 in the metropolitan area (as of 2024; second largest). Located 170 km north of the Finnish coastal capital Helsinki, it is also the most populous inland town in the Nordic countries. The city lies on a narrow isthmus between Lake Näsijärvi, which reaches far to the north, and Lake Pyhäjärvi in the south. In addition, there are some 200 lakes and ponds in Tampere, and around 450 in the region. Despite being predominantly a former heavy industry centre, today Tampere is a major hub for information technology, research, education, culture, sports and business.

Understand

The Tammerkoski rapids, which now run in a canal through Tampere centre, connect the two major lakes with an elevation drop of 18 metres. As early as the 7th century people started to gather at the banks of the lakes, and in the 18th century the utilisation of the rapids as a source of hydropower resulted in a population boom. Tampere was officially founded on the banks of Tammerkoski in 1775 by Gustav III of Sweden, and four years later, 1 October 1779, Tampere was granted full city rights. The newly founded city was soon after established as a proving ground of revolutionary economical theories by declaring a freedom of trade to the city dwellers. The status of free town enabled import and export of foreign goods without customs. In addition, it was ordered that the citizens were allowed to freely practice any Christian faith. Due to the uncommon liberties, Tampere grew as a major market town and industrial centre in the 19th century. During the latter half of 19th century almost half of Finland's industrial labour force was in Tampere. The town's industrial inclination in the 19th and 20th centuries gave it the nickname that sticks to this day: "Manchester of the North", Manse for short (in Finnish).

Tampere has been an industrial pioneer in Finland since the very beginning. Finland’s first paper mill started operation in 1783, and the first paper machine was engaged at the J.C. Frenckell & Son’s factory in 1842. The cotton factory established in 1820 by James Finlayson grew to become the country’s first large-scale industrial establishment. The first electric light in the Nordic countries was also lit in Finlayson’s modern production facilities in 1882. Finlayson grew aggressively and eventually became the largest industrial complex in the Nordic countries. The city’s engineering industry was bolstered by the manufacturer of grinding machines and water turbines Tampella, which was established on the upper reaches of the Tammerkoski rapids in 1861.

By the time of the Finnish declaration of independence in 1917, Tampere had already grown into a major industrial hub that was predominantly inhabited by factory workers. Because of the unusually large working class, Tampere was also the worker's union stronghold. The workers' living conditions were terrible, which was increasingly generating social tension in the society. The First World War was initially profitable for industrial Tampere, but after the October Revolution in Russia, the vital eastern trade was severed. Now the Finnish society was deeply divided, and the socialists seized control of Tampere 1918. During the Finnish Civil War in 1918 Tampere became the Red (Social Democratic Party of Finland) stronghold. However, in April 1918 the eventually victorious White forces led by C.G.E. Mannerheim captured the town after the Battle of Tampere. It was the largest battle in the civil war. Whites seized 11,000 prisoners, summarily executing actual and suspected leaders and locking the remaining prisoners into camps. The decisive victory quickly led to the end of one of the bloodiest civil wars the world had yet seen.

After the war, both the city and the national consensus were rebuilt, and Tampere grew rapidly. In 1927 the first of the factories stopped industrial operations, and city offices later moved into the empty buildings. Even though the structural changes were already on their way, by the time of the Second World War, Tampere was centre of the Finnish war industry. In addition to uniforms made in textile mills, Tampella factories were manufacturing mortars and artillery. Tampere was bombarded by the Soviet air force in 1939–1940, but the damages were not extensive. After 1960 most factories started to grind to a halt, but the buildings were kept. Nowadays the cityscape of Tampere is characterised by charming old red-brick industrial buildings, most of them reinstated as offices, restaurants, and places of culture. Modern Tampere has come a long way from its heavy industry roots, and transformed into a hi-tech research and development powerhouse.

In 2010, the City of Tampere came in first in an image survey comparing the largest cities in Finland. Leaving Helsinki behind, it was also found the most attractive city among Finns who plan on moving. In August 2021 the Tampere light rail system opened; as of 2022, it is the only one in Finland outside the capital area.

Talk Like in most of Finland, Finnish is the language generally spoken, while most people speak English more or less fluently. Swedish, while not as universally spoken as in Helsinki, Turku or Vaasa, is still spoken to a considerable degree. Other European languages (mainly German, French, Spanish and Russian) may also be understood by hotel staff and people in tourist profession, and also by many students at the academic level.

The local regional dialect can be recognised by the strong trilling "r"s, as in the greeting Moro!, and the use of mää and sää instead of mä and sä for me and you. There is a stereotypical belief that the word nääs ("you see") is widely used in the area, but it's quite rare in reality.

Visit Tampere Tourist Information. The office hands out travel tips, brochures, and free maps of the city.

Get in

Bus: The bus line from Tampere airport will end operations in 2026. According to current information (as of Feb 2026), only the bus line 34 will continue operations from the airport. This bus goes to Lielahti through Tesoma, not to the centre, meaning you would need to transfer to a train (in Tesoma) or some other bus along the way.

Helsinki Airport has a far greater range of flights. To reach Tampere, don't head into the capital, but take the P-train, bus or taxi to Tikkurila (Dickursby). Buy the train ticket (including the transfer) on the net, at the airport from the ticket machines or from the staffed kiosk.

It is also possible to come using Onnibus, in this case take the I-train from the airport to Kivistö and walk to Keimolanportti bus stop to continue to Tampere.

By train The train is by far the most convenient means of public transport when travelling to Tampere. The national railway company, VR, offers extensive train services from different parts of Finland to Tampere with connections south to Helsinki, south-west to Turku, west to Pori, and north to Oulu, Jyväskylä and Lapland. Since most northbound trains from Helsinki pass through Tampere, there are normally at least hourly connections from Helsinki except for a few hours during the night. The commuter train runs bihourly seven days a week, though with a shorter operating time window on the weekends.

is one of the main hubs of rail transit in Finland, with over six million long-distance train trips yearly through the station. It is at the east end of main street Hämeenkatu. The station has a staffed ticket office (planned to be discontinued in spring 2026) plus machines and cafés; many more in the nearby streets. Most hotels are a short walk from the station. There is a tram stop right next to the railway station, and multiple bus lines adjoin the station.

By bus For coach timetables, see Matkahuolto. There are connections from all directions.

By car Tampere can be easily reached by car. The drive from Helsinki takes about 2 hours and the E12 is a four-lane motorway throughout the journey (speed limit 120 km/h with small portions 100 km/h in the summer, or 100 km/h throughout in the winter). The motorway is in excellent condition, but is mainly not well lit. Care must be exercised when driving in the dark, particularly in winter as driving conditions can be harsh due to snow and slippery roads.

There are also road connections to Tampere from Turku, Pori, Rauma, Seinäjoki/Vaasa, Jyväskylä and Lahti. These are mostly two-lane regular roads with speed limits between 80 km/h and 100 km/h.

You can rent a car from car-rental services found at Tampere-Pirkkala airport.

Get around

The centre of Tampere has a couple of prominent features, which make it easy to navigate: The main street of Tampere, Hämeenkatu, effectively divides the city centre into a north and a south side. The 1-km stretch is limited in the east by the main railway station, where many visitors arrive, and in the west by Hämeenpuisto Park with the City Library and the Church of Alexander. The street continues to the east as Itsenäisyydenkatu and to the west as Pirkankatu. Tammerkoski rapids crossing Hämeenkatu just by the central square, split the centre into an east and a west side. The rapids run from Lake Näsijärvi north of Tampere to Lake Pyhäjärvi in the south. The height difference between the two lakes is 18 meters, but the formerly thundering heart of Tampere now flows through the city centre rather peacefully, because of the several hydroelectric dams harnessing its power. The central square, Keskustori, is next to the bridge where Hämeenkatu crosses Tammerkoski rapids. It is the geographical and social focal point of the city. The centre is understood to be limited by Lake Näsijärvi in the north, Lake Pyhäjärvi in the south, the main railway station in the east, and the Hämeenpuisto park in the west. A great majority of the hotels, shops and attractions are either in the centre or within walking distance from it.

You can get a great overview of the city beforehand from the aerial photos shot in 2011 at Virtual Tampere.

There are only a few neighbourhoods in Tampere that can be considered interesting to most visitors, namely the centre, Pyynikki and Pispala. While the centre is certainly where tourists often hang out in Tampere, it is worth the effort to spend a few hours hiking around the ridge in the Pyynikki and Pispala districts, which lie just 2–3 km west of the centre. Hervanta and Nekala districts are more off the beaten path.

The centre is the oldest part of Tampere, and where nearly all the sights and shops are. The busy main street, Hämeenkatu, runs through the charming main square Keskustori and is lined with shops, restaurants and bars. Many of these are set in the foundations of beautiful historic buildings dating back to late 19th century. Tammerkoski rapids flowing through the centre and between historic red-brick factory buildings only add to the charm and also give Tampere its distinctive look. The canal walls and surrounding buildings are tastefully lit when it's dark. Visitors in a hurry will do well even if they do not have time to wander far from the centre. Pyynikki is an upscale residential area adjacent to the centre, and one of Tampere's most remarkable natural areas of beauty. It is an 85-m-high narrow isthmus between the two lakes defining the city, Lake Näsijärvi and Lake Pyhäjärvi. As such, Pyynikki ridge is regarded as the highest gravel ridge in the world. On top of the ridge there is a 1920s observation tower. Pyynikki is used by residents as an exercising area in all seasons, it is the city's most important recreation area. Some of the trails are lit and they function as skiing tracks in the winter. There are two pedestrian and bicycle paths on the ridge, cycling is prohibited elsewhere on it. The ridge and its nature trail are also of great educational importance. Pispala lies next to Pyynikki and is built both sides of the ridge between Lake Näsijärvi and Lake Pyhäjärvi. This formerly working-class neighbourhood has gentrified radically, and is now one of the most exclusive neighbourhoods in Tampere. Strangely enough, there is also a vibrant artivist atmosphere and Pispala has much in kin with other bohemian arts areas such as Užupis, Montmartre, Greenwich Village or Freetown Christiania. Together with Pyynikki, Pispala is widely considered the most beautiful district of Tampere and locals often guide tourists here for the view and the unique urban design features of the area. There is a famous landmark in the area called the Shot tower. Pispala houses the oldest still active public sauna in Finland, Rajaportin sauna, which began its operation in 1906. Hervanta is one of the biggest and best known suburbs of Tampere, about 10 km south of the city centre. It is home for Tampere University of Technology, Hermia Technology Center, many high tech companies and a large number of students. Hervanta has a gritty reputation based on the large amount of 1970s concrete residential tower blocks and the social problems it suffered especially during the 1980s, but nowadays it has been moderately gentrified. Hervanta's modern red-brick centre is an architecturally interesting work by the architect couple Pietilä. If you find yourself in Hervanta when the University is in session, do check out the campus and you have a good chance of running into something wacky. Take a peek at the rough but still charming side of the city. It is generally agreed that people of Nekala hold a character unlike anywhere else, even if the problems associated with low-income and crime contribute to the atmosphere in a relatively small part. Safety for the visiting tourist is rarely a concern.

On foot and bike Since nearly all the shops, restaurants and attractions are in the compact centre, walking is the preferred way to get around Tampere. From the main railway station, the central square is just a couple of hundred metres straight down the main street. While there are not many pedestrian-only streets, Tampere is still considered a very walkable city. However, there are few cycling lanes in the centre, and therefore bicycles are not encouraged. In the Pispala and Pyynikki districts cycling can be difficult, not only due to the lack of bike lanes but also because of the elevation differences and abundant flights of stairs in many alleyways.

Bike sharing The Nysse city bike network includes a total of about 700 bikes and 95 stations in the city centre, Härmälä, Kauppi, Hakametsä and Hervanta. The bikes are used by an app. After the trip, return the bike to any city bike station. If you return the bike to the station and acknowledge the trip as completed, the time counter resets; you can start a "new" journey directly with the same or a different bike.

Swedish Voi, German Tier and Norwegian Ryde have electric kick scooters for rent to use in the centre.

Information about local buses can be found at joukkoliikenne.tampere.fi. City of Tampere operates a handy trip planner service. You can also use the Nysse Mobiili mobile app for journey planning and ticket purchasing. When searching the app on Google Play, be sure the download the Nysse app by Waltti Solutions. There is another app with similar name (Nysse), which works fine as a journey planner, but doesn't let you purchase tickets. Also the Matkahuolto Routes and Tickets app can plan your route and sell you tickets for it.

An extensive city bus and tram network connects the suburbs to the centre. Due to the unique geography of Tampere centre, most of the bus lines run in the east-west direction and pass through the main street Hämeenkatu. All buses except a few circle lines stop at the central square, Keskustori, or nearby Koskipuisto.

The regional public transit system operates on a system of three zones. A ticket must always include at least two zones. Zones A and B cover all of Tampere and Pirkkala, as well as some adjacent parts of other surrounding municipalities. Adults with a baby in a pushchair can travel for free.

You can also use NFC payment with Visa, Mastercard or Eurocard (Diners Club and American Express do not work) or a mobile device with Apple Pay or Google Pay: the payment card or mobile device is displayed to the reader device, which then says "Lähimaksu hyväksytty" ("Proximity payment accepted").

Longer-term guests may consider buying a Nysse Travel Card for cheaper trips and more convenience. Purchase the travel card at the city transportation office at Frenckellinaukio 2 B, on the north-eastern side of the Central Square.

City buses offer a cheap and convenient way to get to know off-the-beaten path-locations. Nearly all the bus lines stop at the central square, Keskustori.

Some interesting and useful bus lines include:

2 Särkänniemi–Tammela–Rauhaniemi A midtown line which takes you from the amusement park Särkänniemi to Tammelantori market place, Lapinniemi spa (and Naistenlahti marina) as well as to Rauhaniemi beach and public sauna. Departures every 10-15 min. 5 Keskustori–Vuores–Hervanta Get off the bus at Västinginmäki and you can enjoy nature paths around lake Särkijärvi or at Siltanen to reach lake Hervantajärvi recreational area. This bus also goes next to IKEA. 11 Killo–Petsamo Westbound this line takes you to Partola, a shopping hub just outside of the city borders. Eastbound this line gets you to the idyllic Petsamo garden suburb, with deep woods and allotments nearby. This line passes through the railway station instead of Keskustori. 27 Pispalanharju–Ratina–Järvensivu A relatively short (ca 20 min) line from the must-see Pispalanharju ridge and Pispala workers' district through nearly-untouched Pyynikki ridge with the observation tower. It then descends through the upper-class Pyynikki with luxurious villas and palaces and arrives at Ratina shopping centre. Eastbound from Ratina, it continues to Järvensivu, a "light edition" of Pispala. Departures every 60 min. 40 Tampere–Kangasala An affordable way to enjoy beautiful lakeside nature of Kangasala. 44 Kangasala–Valkeakoski A route through idyllic countryside. 55 Tampere–Lempäälä–Vesilahti(–Narva) Using this bus route you can visit Ideapark shopping centre in Lempäälä. ABC bus ticket needed. Departures every hour from the bus station. You can also use bus route 60 Tampere bus station–Valkeakoski, or the line 50 from Keskustori to Lempäälä (though this line skips the motorway meaning longer travel time). 90/90X/93A/93B Keskustori–Kämmenniemi-various termini in the area The bus routes to various parts of the vast rural areas incorporated in the city of Tampere. The ultimate experience available with your Tourist Card. The common route for all the lines is from Keskustori to Kämmenniemi. From there, the bus 90X continues on to Terälahti and 93A/93B to Mäntylä up north. There is an option to change the bus in Sorila for the line 91 (Aitoniemi) or 92 (Viitapohja-Kämmenniemi). Recommended for adventurous backpackers. If you want to see some oldest fossils on Earth, the 2-billion-year-old "carbon bags" (hiilipussit), take the Aitoniemi-bound bus from Sorila. If you want to experience the hillbilly scene of Tampere, take the bus all the way to Kämmenniemi (the first proper village after Sorila). There's the somewhat legendary Kessan baari, the local pub. If you proceed further north, there's Terälahti, the last village with any services. There's though only a small grocery store and a library with irregular opening times, so it's more for hikers than shoppers. The final terminus within city limits is in Kaanaa, and there's practically nothing there, except forests and farms. The Viitapohja-line takes you to deep woods. Departs about once an hour.

After a few years of construction work, tram services on the red trams started in August 2021. The tram network is a part of Tampere public transport and its ticketing system (See Tampere#By bus). The network is still being built. As of now the network consists of two lines, 1 and 3. Both lines pass through the section Koskipuisto-Railway station-Tulli-Sammonaukio, and only the line 1 goes to Keskustori.

1 Lentävänniemi–Keskustori–TAYS This tram line departs from the main hospital, passes through the entirety of Hämeenkatu and takes the scenic waterfront route to the new Lentävänniemi suburb. Probably the more useful tram line for tourists, as it also goes near the Särkänniemi amusement park, as well as the Pyynikki and Pispala neighborhoods. 3 Sorin Aukio–Kaleva–Hervanta This tram line is a popular one among the students since the line terminates in Hervanta, an area known for a Tampere University campus and cheap apartments aimed for students. The line passes another popular residential suburb, Kaleva.

You can also use your Nysse ticket (granted it covers zones A to C) for the trains between these towns.

Smartphone apps: Valopilkku, 02 Taksi, Uber, Bolt, Good Way

By car There is no need for a car if you are visiting Tampere only. Driving in the city is safe and straightforward, but there are many one-way streets in the centre, and after the inauguration of the tram system, driving on the main street Hämeenkatu is allowed only for going to and from buildings along that street (not for transit). Roads in Tampere are in excellent condition.

Parking: street parking is limited, but there is ample parking in indoor car parks in the centre:

Railway station. 461 parking spaces.

Car rental Many major car rental companies have offices in Tampere, both at the airport and clustered around the railway station. Autorentti is a local car hire business.

Cars can be picked up and dropped off in select public car parks.

See

Most of Tampere's museums concentrate on its industrial history. Kids will get a kick out of the Moomin Valley and the Spy Museum.

Amuri Museum of Workers' Housing. Amuri is a block of 19th-century wooden houses turned into an open-air museum that vividly displays how the working-class used to live between 1880s and 1970s. The houses form an almost closed inner court, and there is a nice old-fashioned cafe with seatings both indoors and in the courtyard. Highly recommended for history buffs, but interesting to others as well.

Art and Craftcenter Verkaranta. Monthly exhibitions on arts and crafts.

Finnish Labour Museum Werstas. The exhibitions at Werstas offer an overview of the history of the industrial era, worker population and civil society from different perspectives. At Werstas, you can visit the Textile Industry Museum, the Steam Engine Museum and the Labour Museum's changing and permanent exhibitions. The huge steam engine that used to give power to the entire factory complex is the definite high point of Werstas.

Hiekka Art Museum. Home museum of art collector Kustaa Hiekka.

Nootti. Formerly the Lenin Museum, this is a small and quirky museum that has expanded its scope from covering one of the founding fathers of Soviet communism, who met Stalin for the first time in this building still owned by the Workers Association of Tampere, to the broader story of Finland-Russia relations. Contains a lot of texts, maps and pictures as well as some artefacts. The museum shop is also worth visiting.

Milk Platform Museum. The smallest museum of Finland.

Moomin Museum. The only museum in the world devoted to the Tove Jansson characters, with original sketches and drawings.

Police Museum. A museum presenting the history of the Finnish police, established in 2004.

Rupriikki. Media museum focusing on the history and development of mass communications. There is also an exhibition on the history of the Internet, and a bunch of cool retro computer and video games in the GameCabinet.

Sara Hildén Art Museum. Modern art, both Finnish and foreign.

Spy Museum. Claims to be the first spy museum in the world, exhibiting everything from world-famous spies to their equipment such as spy cameras and secret weapons – many of which you can try. You can also attempt to fool the classic lie detector.

Tampere Art Museum. Changing exhibitions of Finnish and foreign art.

Tampere Mineral Museum. Not quite as boring as you'd think, the museum has plenty of gemstones cut and raw, including a 600-kg chunk of Brazilian amethyst, meteorites and even a couple of dinosaur eggs.

Vapriikki. Museum centre with ten exhibitions varying from prehistory to technology and art. Exhibitions include the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, Doll Museum, Shoe Museum and Tampere Museum of Natural History.

Kaleva Church. Solid concrete modernist church designed by famous architect Reima Pietilä in 1966. It is likely the most important piece of architecture in Tampere. Locals call it "The Silo of Souls" (Sielujen siilo) and from the outside it's not hard to see why, but the stark interior is quite awe-inspiring: very high and big room without pillars, minimalist interior made of bright wood. Some Sundays, community members guide onto the roof, which offers a good view over Tampere, and let one have a nice view from the top into the church room.

Messukylä Old Church. The oldest building in Tampere, built in medieval times with parts dating back to the 1400s. Unheated and thus open only from May to August.

Tampere Cathedral. Imposing church in the National Romantic style, designed by architect Lars Sonck and completed in 1907. The interior has a series of famously macabre frescos by Hugo Simberg, including The Wounded Angel (once voted Finland's "national painting") and the Garden of Death.

Church of Alexander. This is a neo-gothic red brick building. Its interior is simple coloured wooden craftswork. It is surrounded by a small park containing a few old grave stones.

Old Church. The oldest church in Tampere centre is this yellow wooded church built in 1824. Four years later, a bell tower designed by Carl Ludwig Engel was added.

Tampere Orthodox Church. Russian-style onion-domed church dating to 1896, serving Tampere's tiny Orthodox minority.

Finlayson Church. The church in the Finlayson area was built in 1879 for the factory workers. It is a small church in Gothic revival style with a red brick façade. This is the favourite wedding church in Tampere.

Aitolahti Old Church. The stone church from 1928, designed by Birger Federley.

Check out the official map of parks in Central Tampere.

There are three symbol species of Tampere: the white wagtail, the false heath fritillary butterfly, and the great-spurred violet flower; see if you can spot them on your visit! A fifth of the city is dedicated to park space.

Duck Park. Large park around a pond by Tampere Hall, near the city centre. Good choice for a summer picnic. In the summer there are also different species of birds in cages by the pond.

Hatanpää Arboretum. A mansion with an arboretum (a collection of trees and plants), a rose garden and a park by Lake Pyhäjärvi.

Koskipuisto Park. Park by the Tammerkoski rapids in the centre of the city. Popular place to have a picnic or a beer on a sunny summer day.

Southern Park. A park with a fountain. From the park you can walk through the woods to Pyynikin uimaranta, the most popular beach in Tampere.

Viinikka Park. A peaceful park in a picturesque residential area. Lime trees are beautiful in autumn.

Näsi Park. Nice park by Lake Näsijärvi, created in the early 20th century. Starts from the north end of Hämeenpuisto. On the highest point of the park lies a memorial for the victims of the shipwreck of S/S Kuru, which sunk off Tampere in 1929, killing 138 people. By the memorial you'll have a great view over the lake Näsijärvi and Särkänniemi Amusement Park.

Aunes Bridge. The arch bridge from 1899. It crosses the longest inland fjord in the Nordics, also known as Aunessillansalmi.

Finlayson historic factory complex. Collection of historic factory buildings gradually extended from a textile mill founded by a Scotsman named James Finlayson in 1820. The oldest building, six-storey high-rise TR1, dates back to 1837. The complex also includes the factory church, now the most popular wedding church in Tampere, stable yards with arts and crafts shops and pony rides, and the owner's mansion with park and a restaurant. The factory buildings have been transformed into shops, restaurants, museums, movie theatres, and office spaces. Well worth visiting for anyone.

Haihara Mansion. A peaceful place to visit on a warm summer day. There is a cafe, art exhibitions and a garden. The mansion's history dates back to 16th century. The last stop of bus line 15 is near Haihara.

Kauppi Observatory. The observatory owned by Tampereen Ursa ry, the association of astronomy enthusiasts.

Lielahti Manor. A historically significant manor house dating back to 1872.

Mannerheim Statue. The statue from 1956, sculptured by Evert Porila. It represents General Mannerheim (1867–1951) during the conquest of Tampere in 1918 during the Finnish Civil War.

Market Hall. Built in 1901, the historic market hall is still a beautiful social focal point of the city. Lots of fresh goods, cafes, cheap local eateries and infinite people watching opportunities.

Shot tower. Old and well-preserved shot tower. Shot towers are nowadays quite rare throughout the world, especially ones that are in good shape. No admittance though.

Tampere City Library. In 1978 a competition was arranged for the design of a new main library. The jury unanimously chose the design by Raili and Reima Pietilä. The architects said they had been influenced by various elements, such as Celtic ornaments, sheep horns and glacial spin formations. The basic idea was a space coiling spirally like the shell of a snail. The form of a bird appeared in the design process. Increasingly, the building began to resemble a large game bird, the capercaillie, known in Finnish as metso – now the building's nickname. Seen from above, the building looks like a bird carrying a shield. Houses the Tampere Mineral Museum.

Tampere Hall. Meetings, concerts, functions, exhibitions.

Tampella historic factory complex. Founded in 1844, Tampella is the other major remaining historic factory complex in Tampere. Tampella factories started as iron works, but later were converted into a cotton mill and a textile factory, and finally into a machine shop and a groundwood plant. Operated until 1991, Tampella factories manufactured, among others, water turbines, ships, paper machines, steam engines, trains, artillery and airplane engines. Many of the beautiful original buildings remain and have been converted into theatres, museums and office spaces.

The Pyynikki observation tower. The Pyynikki observation tower is on top of the world's largest esker over 150 meters (500 feet) above sea level, offering a wonderful view spanning over two lakes and the entire city of Tampere. The beautiful Pyynikki esker surrounding the tower was selected as nationally valuable landscape attraction in 1993. The current over 80-year-old tower is 26 meters (85 feet) tall, and at top there are scenic levels indoors and out in the open air. Even if the height of the tower wouldn't feel spectacular, considering its location at the top of the Pyynikki esker in the middle of Tampere it is obvious that the view from the top is clear and magnificent in every direction!

Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre. The Tampere Exhibition and Sports Centre (TESC), known locally as "Pirkkahalli", hosts various exhibitions and sports events.

Woodhenge. Have you heard about Tampere's own "Stonehenge", made of wood? Yes, that really exists.

Do

Fishing. You can fish at the Tammerkoski rapids that run right through the city centre. You must purchase a fishing permit from a nearby R-kioski (Hatanpään valtatie 2), tourist office (Verkatehtaankatu 2) or a vending machine at the wall of restaurant Rosso. You may catch at most three salmonoids a day, whitefish not included.

Guided bus tour. A comfy way to get acquainted with the city's attractions and neighbourhoods in less than two hours. Departs from the railway station at 11 during summer months. Tickets are sold in at the tourist office in the railway station.

Ikuri Arcade. An arcade hall including pinball machines and video games.

Iso-Vilunen Skate Park. A high-quality skatepark with BMX and trial biking courses.

Särkänniemi Amusement Park. The second largest amusement park of Finland, after Linnanmäki in Helsinki. Rides are open between May and September, and other attractions year round. The park includes a modern art museum ("Sara Hildén Art Museum"), a children's zoo with mainly domestic animals, a planetarium, an aquarium and the landmark 168-metre Näsinneula observation tower, topped by a revolving viewing deck and a fine dining restaurant serving high quality Finnish cuisine. On a clear day, the views of the surrounding forests, lakes, ridges and the city are awesome.

Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. The best of the classics and new works. One of the largest symphonic orchestras in the Nordic countries plays in Tampere Hall.

Viikinsaari Island. On a sunny summer day, take a 20-minute boat trip here from Laukontori (few blocks south of the central square). There are beaches for swimming, playgrounds for kids, places for barbecuing (buy food beforehand, there is no store on the island) and a restaurant with a dance pavilion on the island. However, most of the island is a nature reserve, and there is a short nature trail around the island.

Arthouse Cinema Niagara. Artsy movies are shown in their original language.

Cinema Plevna. 1653 seats divided into ten halls. The largest room has 495 seats a 136 m2 screen. All halls have been made to meet the latest quality standards. Plevna shows mainstream movies in their original language with subtitles.

Charter cruises. Cruises to Hämeenlinna (a leisurely 8 hours), to Nokia (a neighbouring town, not the company) or just on the lake are popular in the summer. There are many regular boat routes on both lakes (Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi).

Ravintolalaiva Tampere. Restaurant ship Tampere makes lunch and dinner cruises on lake Pyhäjärvi. Departs from Laukontori harbor.

Downhill skiing. There are two small skiing hills in Tampere. One is in Hervanta (buses 13, 23 and 30 eastbound). The longest slope in Hervanta is 350 meters with altitude change of 59 meters. The other hill is in Mustavuori (buses 70 and 71 westbound), near Kalkku. The longest slope in Mustavuori is 350 meters with altitude change of 69 meters. Both hills offer courses and equipment rental.

Hiking. In Finland, everyone has a right of public access to the wilderness provided that you don't cause damage. In Tampere, good hiking/jogging/cycling/skiing grounds with marked paths can be found in the Pyynikki and Kauppi forests. In Hervanta, there's a popular 4-km loop trail around lake Suolijärvi (take bus number 30 to get there).

Ice walking. A popular pastime during sunny midwinter day is to go for an ice walk. In March people walk the kilometre to the small island of Siilinkari on lake Näsijärvi and have a picnic. This is only safe when the lake is well-frozen. Only go if you see other people doing so; ice-fishers don't count, they go as soon as the ice settles.

Tour skating in the lake Näsijärvi. In the winter, when the lake Näsijärvi has thick-enough ice, a company called Hiking Travel HIT maintains a free tour skating track on the lake. The main track goes along the shore from Kaupinoja to Onkiniemi. The Siilinkari Cafe (in the middle of the lake) serves skaters and walkers alike. There is also an Eastbound track from Kaupinoja and a Northbound route from Siilinkari. Hiking Travel HIT rents all the needed equipment from their equipment rental located in Kaupinoja. Follow their website/Facebook for the up-to-date info on the track and its maintenance.

Football: Ilves play soccer in Veikkausliiga, the top tier. Their home ground is the newly-built Tammela Stadium (Tammelan Stadion) 1 km east of town centre, shared with third-tier clubs TPV and Tampere United. The playing season is April-Oct.

Ice hockey at Nokia Arena. Tampere has two ice hockey teams, Tappara and Ilves, which are among the most successful in Finland and, naturally, enemies to one another. Hockey culture is big in Tampere, and the city can be even considered the hockey capital of Finland. This culture and sportsmanlike rivalry can be seen, heard and felt when visiting Tampere during the hockey season. Both teams share the newly-built, luxurious Nokia Arena as their home ice. It is a modern, 15,000-seat multipurpose arena (12 700 for hockey), serving as a stage for both local and international ice hockey and concerts. The arena also includes a first-class hotel. The regular season runs from September to mid-March, with playoffs in April. Games and schedules found from the team's websites as well as the Liiga website. Be on the lookout for the matchup between the two, as the teams fight for "The dominion over Tampere" ("Tampereen herruus"). Since it is a local derby, the atmosphere is unmatched, and the new premises offer great experiences to both the regular viewer and the unexperienced.

Kaanaa Center. Motor sports centre and racing track.

Kauppi Sports Center. A sports centre that offers physical entertainment for both adults and children. Includes e.g. trampoline park, gym, bicycle rental and other group exercise.

Kenneli DIY. An indoor skatepark in one of the buildings of a former pulp mill.

Tammer-Golf. The high-quality golf course has a beautiful environment and lovely atmosphere. The season starts around April and ends in late October.

Vihioja Discgolf Park. The oldest discgolf course of the Pirkanmaa region since 1994.

Holiday Club Tampere Spa. A spa hotel, about 1 km from the city centre, built into an old cotton mill situated next to a marina. The large spa department offers swimming pools, jacuzzis, a children's pool, saunas, a steam room, and spa treatments also for day visitors.

Ice swimming. During winter, you can combine sauna with ice swimming: drill a hole into the ice cover of a lake and hop in! The water under the ice stays at constant temperature of +4°C, and is very refreshing. You can try ice swimming at Kaupinojan sauna or Rauhaniemen kansankylpylä on Rauhaniementie near hotel Holiday Club Tampere.

Rajaportin sauna. The oldest still-functioning public sauna in Finland. In old days, people who didn't have a sauna of their own went to a public sauna to clean up. In addition to seeing a piece of history, you can experience one of the best quality saunas in the world: the stove is 3 m³ in size and contains over a ton of stones that are heated literally glowing red with burning logs. After simmering for a couple of hours, the sauna is ready for the customers, and it doesn't get any bigger or better than this!

Festivals and important holidays Most festivals are held during summer, but events are always organized somewhere throughout the year. Some national holidays, such as May Day, are also celebrated like festivals, and others, such as Midsummer, may offer other special events.

Tampere Film Festival. Five days and nights of celebrating film art in Tampere! The thematic special programmes include interesting documentaries, animations, experimental films and short fictions alike.

Tampere Biennale. Tampere Biennale introduces the most important phenomena in Finnish contemporary music – today’s leading composers and the latest compositions.

Tampere Kuplii Comics Festival. Tampere Kuplii Comics Festival is a five-day comics festival merryment – bringing together comics makers and enthusiasts from around Finland. The festival hosts exhibitions, sales tables, talk shows, Cosplay-competition and comics signings.

Mukamas – International Puppet Theatre Festival. Mukamas Theatre has organised the international puppet theatre festival in 1999, and since 2000, every two years. It is the biggest international puppetry festival in Finland and it has established its position as an important developer of Finnish puppet theatre.

Walpurgis eve fills the streets with party people and sparkling wine. A large market is held in Keskustori with vendors selling cheap carnival paraphernalia. May Day fills the green areas downtown with hungover picnicers. There are also parades in Hämeenkatu (communists, Christians, tech students carrying crazy thingemabobs). A fun Tampere tradition is that on May Day the freshmen of Tampere University of Technology are dipped with cranes in Tammerkoski rapids.

Tampere Guitar Festival. Enjoy spectacular concerts by the world’s greatest guitarists at Tampere Guitar Festival. During the annual festival week there are various concerts, international master classes, and a guitar camp.

Pispala Schottische – International Folklore Festival. International folk dancing festival Pispala Schottische gathers together folk dancers and players from all over the world. International and domestic folklore-groups perform in various parts of the city.

Triennial of Pirkanmaa. The Triennal offers a view to contemporary arts in the Tampere region every three years. The cardinal exhibition venues are TR1, Mältinranta Art Center, the Finnish Labour Museum Werstas and Gallery Saskia but the exhibition also stretches to the Lenin museum, Hiekka Art Museum, Housing Fair of Vuores, Mediatunnel and various city landscape.

Midsummer is celebrated by fleeing the city to countryside or summer cottage. Bonfires are also traditionally burnt. If you come during Midsummer, you may mistake Tampere for a ghost town!

Tammerkosken Sillalla. A Tampere city festival for everyone. The Festival tent of Central Square and clubs all over the city central present more than 30 events, half of which are free if charge!

Tammerfest City Festival. The biggest city festival in Finland. 80 000 people gather annually to see bands and musical shows in more than 20 different stages in downtown area.

Tampere Flamenco Festival. Tampere Flamenco festival is the largest and oldest flamenco festival of the Nordic countries.

Tampere Floral Festival. The Floral Festival decorates the downtown with a huge amount of flowers. There are also a lot of free events and performances. A "Tampere floral girl of the year" is chosen at the festival. The event culminates in a samba parade by the local samba school União da Roseira. Almost all of the festival events are entirely free of charge. There might be some minor charges to some events, such as to go on a Ferris wheel.

Tampere Theatre Festival. Tampere Theatre Festival is one of the top festivals in Europe, thanks to the fresh and influential programme it offers. The repertoire consists of the Main Programme, Programme Tent, Club Festival Encorebaana, OFF Tampere, The Great Nocturnal Happening and numerous seminars and workshops.

Blockfest. Big urban music festival that brings a wide variety of rappers and hip hop artists.

Circus Ruska Festival. Circus Ruska Festival is the oldest contemporary circus festival in Finland. Five circus tents will be anchored in Southern Park. The festival brings together new contemporary circus acts, where the circus techniques go hand in hand with new expression methods.

South Park. June. Heavy metal festival in Southern Park. Started in 2014 following the bankruptcy of Sauna Open Air festival.

Autumn The Great Nocturnal Happening ("Tapahtumien yö") is a night filled with arts and culture. Museum stay open until late.

World of Tango. International cross-cultural tango festival designed to recall the roots and starting points of tango art, as well as to create space for the new expressions of other types of urban folk music.

Monsters of Pop. Monsters of Pop is a three-day festival concentrating on indie-music.

Lost In Music. The aim of Lost In Music is to showcase a cornucopia of new and rising pop-, rock-, indie and metal bands, hiphop and world music – not forgetting the more experimental side.

Tampere Jazz Happening. Every year the international programme of Tampere Jazz Happening gathers together top names of international jazz and pioneers of the future.

Youth Theatre Festival MURROS. The goal of the festival is to offer a high-quality international theatre festival open to all. The performances at the event are mainly by young people aged 13–20.

Winter Tampere Christmas Market open up in Keskustori in mid-December. It doesn't really live up to its central European counterparts, but is worth visiting nevertheless. Fire crackers, rockets and the smell of gunpowder is in the air during New Year's eve. There's a large fireworks show in Ratina stadium downtown.

Festa de Novembro. A samba show to celebrate November, held by the local samba school União da Roseira. The event also includes the selection of Roseira's new passista dancer for next year's carnivals, voted by the audience. Held on a Saturday in late November.

Learn

The Tampere University and Tampere University of Applied Sciences have some 25,000 and 10,000 students respectively.

City of Tampere runs the Adult Education Centre that offers rather cheap courses for everyone.

Buy

Although Tampere is lacking some of the international high end boutiques and brand stores, there are still lots of shopping opportunities from small specialised shops to malls. As Finland is generally quite an expensive country, one would do best to concentrate on finding high quality Finnish products, such as textiles, clothes, glassware, design and home decor. Notably, smaller boutiques are usually closed on Sundays.

Grocery stores in Tampere (and in Finland) are usually quite easy to find. There are grocery departments in the bottom floors of all three department stores in the centre (see below). In addition, look for e.g. K-market, S-market, Sale, and Lidl for small to mid-size grocery stores. Supermarkets (Prisma, Citymarket) are large stores outside the city centre, where you can buy a range of different products (e.g. food, clothes, electronics). Alcohol, however, can only be sold 09:00–21:00. Generally, wine or strong liquor are only sold in Alko stores, which are closed on Sundays. They are found next to larger grocery stores and by the three department stores.

Stockmann. Upscale department store right next to the railway station. The top floor sells high quality Finnish glassware and home furniture.

Tullintori. Smallish mall. More interesting architecturally than shopping-wise: the mall and surrounding buildings are built in modernist style.

Ratina. Many clothing stores, some restaurants, two big grocery stores (K-Supermarket, Lidl), a department store etc.

Market Hall. Fresh food and other shopping in a historical market hall built in 1901. It is said to be the second biggest market hall of its kind in the world.

Laukontori. Marketplace at the shore of Lake Pyhäjärvi. In addition to few booths, many cruises depart from the tiny harbour right next to the market. Here you can get a taste of the Tampere speciality, mustamakkara black sausage, look for "Tapola" sign. From Laukontori you have also a good view of one of the last remnants of the city's heavy industrial past: a fully-functioning cardboard factory at the middle of the city.

Tammelantori. Busier marketplace surrounded by rather dull-looking 1960s and 70s apartment flats. There's also a booth that sells proper mustamakkara sausage.

Tallipiha Stable Yard. Unique arts and crafts products in quaint atmosphere next to Finlayson. Find traditional Finnish handicrafts, design, decorations and handmade chocolate to take home. There's also a café, and frequent events and exhibitions. Kids can take a pony ride around the stables, workshops and boutiques.

Kehräsaari. Small and genuine art and crafts shops, restaurants, an arthouse cinema, and a souvenir store in a historic factory buildings right next to the rapids.

Keittiöelämää. Small shop filled with culinary delights, both edible and inedible.

Marimekko. Probably the best known Finnish fashion company. By September 2011 there were 84 stores around the world. They are particularly noted for brightly-coloured printed fabrics and simple styles, used both in women's garments and in home furnishings.

Finlayson factory store. While the historic Tampere factory is no more operational, you can still feel their rich heritage of manufacturing quality textiles since 1820 in a factory store on the premises. The place to buy textiles, towels, bed concepts, duvets, pillows and mattresses.

Aarikka. Finnish design, jewellery and home decorations.

Liutun Maalaistalo. Products of domestic craftsmen and small businesses. The old goods store sells vintage style interior items.

Akateeminen kirjakauppa. Tampere's best selection of books in Finnish and English; especially well stocked with international newspapers, magazines, non-fiction and university course books.

IKEA Tampere. Large furniture store. The best spot in Tampere for ready-to-assemble furnitures, kitchen appliances, decoration, home accessories, and various other goods and home services.

Verkkokauppa.com. Very large home-electronics store. The best spot in Tampere for electronics, computers, digital cameras, mobile phones, etc.

Kirpputori Silinteri. A flea market.

Eat

Tampere's most famous dish is black sausage (mustamakkara), made from pig blood, minced pork and rye. Despite the intimidating pitch-black appearance, the taste is rather mild and fans of English black pudding will feel right at home.

The cheapest and most authentic way to try this is to buy from one of the stalls at the Tammelantori or Laukontori markets, with a dab of lingonberry jam (puolukkahillo) and a pint of milk (maito) on the side, but old Tampere hands will insist that the one true condiment is a mix of lingonberry jam and mustard. You can also try a doughnut (donitsi) with a cup of coffee. Both markets close by 14:00 and are closed Sundays too.

The department store Sokos has family friendly cafés that can come handy. When you are in the city and want to grab something to eat you can check the Tampere lunch options page and prices to decide where to go.

Yhteisökahvila OmaNaapuri. Community cafe of Tesoma, serving soups and salads at lunchtime.

Silta-Lounasravintola Viinikka. Only lunch. Lunch includes salad, bread, food, dessert and coffee or tea.

Peurankello. Ordinary Finnish home cooked food for lunch.

Kansalaistalo Mansikkapaikka. Affordable lunch including salad and dessert.

Kauppahallin kotilounas. Simple home cooking for lunch only. Prices include salad buffet, bread, drinks, coffee and dessert.

Puhti. Hospital staff restaurant, also open to outsiders.

Carotiini. Hatanpää Hospital staff canteen.

Paulikki. Light lunch. You can also read the daily newspaper in the café.

Ravintola Kierto. Lunch includes salad, main course, bread, drink and coffee. Lunch also includes a vegetarian option.

For inexpensive fast food, you can always visit McDonald's and Subway, or local fast food chains Hesburger (McDonald's with added mayo) and Kotipizza pizzeria (they're actually rather good, although dry – they win international pizza contests on regular basis); they have restaurants everywhere. Ethnic kebab-pizzerias can be found throughout the city, and they are usually even cheaper than the fast food restaurants. Some restaurants stay open as late as 05:00 in weekends.

Lunch can also be bought in several places in Kauppahalli (the market hall) and in university restaurants on the campus (in the centre).

Duck's Burger. There is more to this small roadside grill than meets the eye. Cheap but edible food (and beer) is served all day every day, but the grill's real charm lies in its rugged atmosphere. The grill is visited by both locals and people driving the E12 highway so it's a great place to meet people from all walks of life.

Gopal. Excellent vegetarian lunch restaurant just outside the centre. While not an actual Indian restaurant, the food is seasoned in Indian style.

H and H Deli. Fine dining restaurant "Hella ja Huone" hosts a tiny fast food place that serves coffee, salads and tasty subway sandwiches. Early hours and the location in the train station make it a great place to grab a breakfast sub to a train when heading out of town.

Lukonmäen Grillikioski. A grill kiosk.

Pyörykkäbaari. A local favourite serving meatballs (hence the name "Meatball bar") and sausages by the pound! Be sure to have their famous creamy pepper sauce on the side. It's a treat.

Siipiweikot. This restaurant is concentrated mainly on hot chicken wings. Although the restaurant itself is in central Tampere, it delivers its famous hot sauces to other restaurants in Finland too. The dishes range from 6 wings all the way to 100 wings. There are seven different kinds of sauce available: mild, medium, hot, X-hot, XX-hot, kamikaze and Vampyree Wing (medium hotness, smoked garlic). The "hot" kind is usually enough to satisfy the need for hot sauce, the sauces above that are scorching hot and for die-hard enthusiasts only.

Tapolan mustamakkarabaari. Get the freshest possible black sausage straight from the Tapola factory's oven at their "black sausage bar".

2h+k. The name means "two rooms and a kitchen", and the establishment indeed consists of two rooms, one of which functions as an Italian-style restaurant, the other as a pub.

4 vuodenaikaa. Authentic French food. This delightful lunch bar-restaurant is one of the best kept culinary secrets in Tampere. Affordable and delicious, topped with a unique market hall atmosphere. Easily the best lunch offers in town.

Antika. Greek neighbourhood restaurant. Very cosy atmosphere and friendly staff.

Bodega Salud. Spanish restaurant catering to carnivores and vegetarians. Serves also more exotic courses such as Rocky Mountain oysters, horse, gnu, and kangaroo.

Chitir Chicken. A chicken-food restaurant.

Classic American Diner. American-themed burger joint. Serving sizes range from mid-size meals to towering behemoth burgers.

Coussicca. The oldest neighbourhood restaurant in Tampere. Known for its large breaded pork escalope, or Coussican vinkkari.

Diagonal. A restaurant specializing in pasta and steaks, also serving kebabs, pizza and burgers.

Finlaysonin Palatsi. Beautifully located restaurant at the mansion of Finlayson factory complex.

Gastropub Nordic. Offers Nordic beers and a few Nordic style dishes. Friendly staff, may be a bit crowded on Friday and Saturday nights.

Gastropub Tuulensuu. Moody gastropub serving super tasty Belgian food. Astounding selection of mostly Belgian beers, French ciders, wines and cigars. Friendly and competent staff.

Heinätori. A fine dining restaurant in its most basic form, with an excellent setting for a company lunch or private functions. Traditional Finnish pork sauce, the restaurant's specialty, is served on Wednesdays.

Hook. Hot chicken wings and other deep-fried dishes. Local favourite, prepare for a queue.

Maisa. A bistro restaurant in the countryside.

Maruseki. Japanese restaurant and tea house founded and owned by Marjo Seki, who lived 20 years in Japan as a teacher and interpreter. Maruseki had the first tea house in Finland, and you can experience real Japanese dinner kneeling in front of a kotatsu-table wearing a kimono.

Nanda Devi. An excellent Indian curry restaurant. A popular buffet lunch on weekdays.

Pancho Villa. Mexican restaurant. Tasty dishes and stylish Mexican decor, but a bit pricey.

Patarouva. The restaurant with full of relaxed atmosphere, and on the pub side you can experience exciting sports moments and enjoy the day in the company of friends.

Piha. A restaurant with a bright and modern space. Especially specialized in organizing various corporate and private events, from meetings to evening parties.

Pizzeria Napoli. The oldest and most loved pizzeria in Tampere. Pizzas vary from ordinary to exotic (for example, ostrich meat, or Finlandia vodka with fried game)

Rioni. A Georgian restaurant serving authentic food.

Sauna Restaurant Kuuma. A New-Nordic-styled restaurant, including saunas.

Speakeasy. A restaurant themed after the early 20th-century American prohibition era. The menu is very meat-oriented, but there are fish and vegetarian options available. The entire menu concentrates mostly on thick, greasy diner food. The restaurant is famous for its chicken wings, and the biggest option available consists of no less than 200 wings. There are four different choices of sauce – mild, medium, hot, or extra hot. Try the mobster sandwiches – there's a chicken, bacon and fish option available, each with vegetables and spices, served with French fries. This is usually the last restaurant open in the Finlayson factory building.

Thai Golden Chang. The first Thai restaurant in Tampere. Stylish Thai decor, extremely friendly staff and good food.

Viking Restaurant Harald. Viking-themed restaurant completed with a dragon-ship salad bar, stuffed animals, costumed waiters and long wooden tables – not subtle but plenty of fun. Dishes all bear Norse-sounding names and feature big steaks and game choices. Signature dishes are shared platters served on a shield, or enormous vegetable or meat kebabs in a sword.

Sitko Pizza & Bar. Real artisan pizza in the centre of Tampere. Known for the delicious sour dough base and quality ingredients. Also good selection of craft beers and wines.

Roka Sushi & Robata. Authentic hand-made sushi and robata-grilled food. Very broad variety of products in a cosy ambience.

Tivoli. Tivoli is themed after Danish culture and serves Danish-style filled sandwiches. Licensed to serve beer, but surprisingly no Danish beers on tap.

Bertha. Started in fall 2010 but became very popular almost right away. Received the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs badge after only six months. Reservation is usually needed on Friday and Saturday.

Henriks. A modern Finnish restaurant in a beautiful historic building.

Hella ja Huone. Fancy, experimenting and surprising French-Scandinavian fusion cuisine next to Duck Park.

Masuuni. Local ingredients turn into fancy but still comfortably laid-back dishes at the bottom level of Hotel Ilves.

Näsinneula. Revolving restaurant atop the sightseeing tower. It's expensive, but they specialize in Finnish ingredients and the results are above average.

Ravintola C. An excellent restaurant that values great ingredients, uses a lot of local, seasonal ingredients, and is well known for its wine list. Awarded with the Finnish Restaurant of the Year award in 2011.

Stefan's Steakhouse. A steak restaurant opened up by American-Finnish Stefan Richter, an American Top Chef finalist who owns a couple of restaurants in Santa Monica. Serves also Wagyu beef steaks.

Tiiliholvi. In the basement of a beautiful 19th-century building is this very attractive red-brick restaurant. Menu consists of classic French with a Scandinavian twist.

Drink

Amurin helmi. Cosy atmosphere in a historic wooden building which is part of Amuri museum of workers' housing. They serve Tampere specialities and homemade bread to go with the brew.

Arnolds. Tasty doughnuts baked on location. Arnolds is a chain restaurant with locations in all Finnish cities, so it might not be an unforgettable experience, but the doughnuts are good....

Brander. Family-owned Tampere institution has 90 years of experience in the fine art of confectionery. The view to a parking lot is not something to remember, but instead you can rest your eyes on the decor from the good old times. Try some of the traditional Finnish sweet pastries or cakes.

Cafe Europa. Quirky cafe bar with interesting decor including antique sofas and weird paintings all over the walls. Europa is hugely popular hangout among artsy students and foreigners both early and later in the evening.

Café Ståhlberg. A café that offers savory and sweet treats with coffee, as well as a delicious lunch service. It is also possible to rent the café premises for private events.

Kahvila Runo. A cute, medium-sized café with a good selection of tea. The name translates into "Cafe Poem" and probably has something to do with the heaps of (mostly) poetry books laying around which form an essential part of the decoration. The café also features a small, changing art exhibition.

Kauppahallin kahvila. A central location within Kauppahalli market hall provides ample opportunities for people watching in moody surroundings.

Luubaari. A café near the Kalevankangas Cemetery.

Pyynikki Observation Tower Cafe. Serves sugar-coated donuts praised best in town by locals. The observation tower is only 26 meters high, but since it is on top of Pyynikki ridge, it offers a surprisingly good view of Tampere and the surrounding lakes.

Board game café Taverna. Finland's first board game café. Coffee, delicacies and board games.

Caffè Vèneta. A café near the shores of Lake Näsijärvi.

Vohvelikahvila. Cosy cafe in the smallest stone building in Tampere. The name means "Waffle Cafe" and that's what you'll get, in both sweet and savoury versions.

Cafe Normal. Absolutely the cheapest cafe in Tampere. More of a take-out themed spot connected to a location of the dollar store chain Normal. Only a couple of seats and no latte art for your travel photos, but the perfect spot to satisfy your urgent need of caffeine, costing next to nothing.

There's no shortage of nightlife in Tampere, and better yet, it's all concentrated to a very manageable area downtown. Virtually all the noteworthy establishment are either on the main street Hämeenkatu or on the adjacent streets. Therefore, pub crawling is ridiculously easy and there is virtually no fear of getting lost even on the morning hours.

As anywhere in Finland, most pubs close at 02:00, but nightclubs stay open until 04:00, at least on weekends. People enter the clubs quite early by central European standards, and the queues are the longest around 23:00. The legal drinking age in Finland is 18, but some places have even more strict limit at 20 or 22. Dresscode is rather informal even in the highest end clubs (one might even say that there are no high end clubs in Tampere), but locals still often dress to impress.

Bartenders in night clubs are usually not very knowledgeable and drinks are almost always poorly made, if available at all. On the other hand, there might be a rather good selection of shooters and beers in some bars. While the standard big brewery Finnish lagers are rather bland, new and exciting microbrews are popping up every year. Be sure to give them a try somewhere along the way. Nearly every decent pub has some of them nowadays, but you won't find them in clubs. Also, a kind of Finnish drink speciality are ciders and long drinks which are flavoured with (sometimes exotic) artificial essences. The ciders do not bear a strong resemblance to their Continental European counterparts.

Especially in Tampere, there are quite a few pubs - or gastropubs - with varying but decent and affordable dinner (and lunch) menus that are definitely worth a try for any visitor. The Belgian style menu in Gastropub Tuulensuu is a fine example and worth trying.

Erotic Club Big Tits. An erotic restaurant bar operating since 1998, whose repertoire includes striptease and private shows.

Gastropub Soho. English pub with good selection of bitters, gins and bar food. They also show sports events on screens.

Heidi's Bier Bar. Pub full of fun and beer with the Oktoberfest and After Ski spirit.

Inez Tapas Bar Sidreria. Spanish tapas bar in Tampere. Also a noteworthy selection of Spanish beers and ciders.

Kessan kahvila & baari. A pub that also serves pizza, wings and other grilled delicacies to fill your stomach.

O'Connell's. Irish pub near the railway station. Many staff members and owners are Irish.

Old Mates. A British-style pub near the Tulli Business Park. Several British beers on tap and a selection of British pub food. Board games also available.

Olutravintola Konttori. Quaint and easy-going beer house that has an old office theme. A good selection of beers and malts.

Oluthuone Panimomestari. A British-style pub in the centre of Tampere, only about a block or two from the railway station. A wide variety of beers and ciders from the local Tampere brewery Plevna on tap, plus various others beers and ciders from all around the world in bottles. A good choice to try various beers and ciders if you're in a hurry to visit Tampere.

Panimoravintola Plevna. Plevna Brewery Pub & Restaurant is a true Tampere institution in an 135-year-old weaving hall, which saw the first electric light bulbs in Nordic countries in 1882. The pub is named after a Balkan town where men from Finlayson cotton mills fought alongside Russian troops in the Russo-Turkish War. They serve hearty traditional meals accompanied with their own delicious microbrews, with more sausages and sauerkraut than you can shake a mug at. Try, for example, the arguably best Finnish beer, Siperia Imperial Stout, with hearty mustamakkara blood sausage.

Teerenpeli. Teerenpeli offers a variety of home-brewed and imported beers and Finnish style ciders. A good selection of malts.

Ilona. Large night club for a more mature crowd. Classics and Finnish hits.

Ilves. Quite popular hotel night club. Music mostly from top hits to club. Classy, you have to dress up a bit to blend in.

Klubi. A bar/night club in the old customs house built in 1901. Live music presented often.

Vastavirta-klubi. One of Finland's most prominent underground music clubs with a punk spirit. Beautifully located on top of Pispala ridge. Features gigs of various genres, usually from Wednesday to Saturday.

Yo-talo. Disco, clubs, and live music in a student union building from the early 20th century. Type and age of the crowd depends heavily on the program. Frequented mostly by students.

Sleep

Dream Hostel. Small well-run place, very central, with dorms and hotel rooms.

Homeland Tampere. Budget apartment hotel near Tammelan tori.

Hotel Hermica. Simple basic hotel in Hervanta, near Tampere University of Technology.

Hotel Kauppi. A budget hotel convenient for motorists.

Hotelli Iltatähti. Four apartments in alpine-style lodge. Mainly does long term lets but may have availability for single nights. They also have one apartment in the centre on Satamakatu.

Hotelli Lamminpää. A Gasthaus-style inn at affordable prices. The nearest places to eat and drink can be found a few hundred meters away, the hotel's own restaurant is mainly only for private events. Visa, Master Card, Maestro, American Express and Diner's Club accepted.

Härmälä Camping. Camping area for tents, tourer caravans and with cottages, open mid-May to Sept.

Mango Hotel. Budget hotel with comfortable rooms. Customer can also make reservations on the internet or in the reception. Coriander Bar & Restaurant on the backside of the hotel.

Omena Hotel Tampere. Budget hotel chain on the main street. No reception, they email your door code. Small rooms.

Hotelli Tredun Helmi. Hostel room with shared toilet, shower and kitchen. Customer service is open M-F 08:00-14:00.

Holiday Inn Tampere. A business hotel, very central for city.

Holiday Club Tampere. A spa hotel next to a marina, built into an old cotton mill with high rooms.

Lillan Hotel & Kök. A boutique hotel with restaurant.

Scandic Tampere City. Modern hotel on main street, which has been dug up - some noise from this.

Sokos Hotel Villa. Comfy hotel built into an old grain storehouse.

Wanha Velada. An atmospheric inn in the peace of the countryside.

Scandic Rosendahl. In a beautiful lakeside location under Pyynikki ridge. Some rebuilding under way in early 2019.

Sokos Hotel Ilves. Tampere's best known hotel, next to the riverside park.

Radisson Blu Grand Hotel Tammer. Historical Art Deco hotel, next to the riverside park.

Sokos Hotel Torni Tampere. Good modern hotel with rooftop bar.