Finland, first stop: 48 hours in Tampere

"Moi moi!" Yes, that is how to say "hello!" in Finnish, and how I greeted my very blond seating companion at 6am on the Ryanair flight to Tampere. The look of surprise on his face was very amusing!

Oh, the excitement of an exotic new country! Taking this early flight was really demanding, but it totally paid off, as we were able to visit most of the city in only one day.

View from Hameensilta bridge

We started with the right foot at the Hotel Cumulus Koskikatu, located in the heart of the city. The centre of Tampere is located around the Tammerkoski rapids, which connect the northern lake to the southern one and is surrounded by old industrial buildings. It's quite an interesting and charming sight of large red-bricks factories and tall chimneys, artificial dams and waterfalls, inviting green walking areas and minimal bridges, all reflecting into the dark twirling waters of the rapids.

Tampere walking tour

We started with the west side at the main square Keskustori, a wide and welcoming space with a the Old Church, the City Hall, the Tampere Theatre, some cafes and bars and beautiful Art Nouveau buildings on the southern side. This style is very common around the city, however it is much more minimal and geometric than what we've seen in other cities, with decorations concentrated on the street number, on the top of the façade, or on the main door. We received maps and useful information at the information point by the square - highly recommended! - and started off on our walking tour, combining three of the proposed itineraries. We passed by the very peculiar modern building of the Library, visited the neo-Gothic Alexander Church (nothing much inside) and strolled along the wide tree-lined Hameenpuisto Avenue. It was a very quiet sunny morning; the city felt clean, welcoming, tidy and orderly, partly thanks to the stern buildings and rigorous statues that remind us about the strong influence of Sweden and Russia on the whole nation of Finland. We reached a park on a hill to the northern edge of the city with a beautiful view on the lake and on the Sarkanniemi adventure park, recognisable from afar thanks to the Nasinneula Observation Tower. From here south, by the rapids, so many buildings are related to the factories built in the 1800's, starting with the cute Tallipiha Stable Yards that now hosts arts and crafts little shops. 

The Finlayson factory

The Finlayson area deserved more time that we dedicated to it: the former cotton mill, built and managed by Scottish entrepreneur James Finlayson in 1820,  was turned into a buzzing area of museums and cultural institutions, a cinema, shops and restaurants, and offices. We were way too hungry, so we made our way to the Kauppahalli Market Hall, a charming old building perfect to discover the local delicacies.

Tampere lake walk

We were all quite tired, but the sun was high, so "gambe in spalla" as we say in Italy (legs on your shoulders, hilarious!) and we set off to explore the southern side of the city. We walked past the harbour and along the lake, where we met a weird enormous duck made of tyres. The path took us by the water among the trees, between cyclists and a row of wooden boats waiting to be used during the weekend. It was such a relaxing atmosphere!

There are two small beaches that must be pretty full during the weekends, but were almost empty on our Wednesday afternoon. Even though no one joined me, I still took my shoes and socks off and ticked off my bucket list "put my feet in a Finnish lake" :)

Pyynikki tower

A short hike up the hill led us to the objective of our afternoon, the Pyynikki  Observation Tower , top attraction of Tampere. A tower for lazy people who want to use the lift! Ok, I admit it, I also used it :) The view was beautiful from the top, on one side the city, the Nasinneula Tower in the amusement park, civilisation and noise, and on the other the peaceful lakes, thick forests, wild and quiet. As per the recommendations everywhere online, we tried the doughnuts at the bar, which were indeed tasty and unique - somehow reminded me of Earl Grey Tea - but, well... Not really unforgettable.

The sun was still high and we started to realise how special these long last days of June are, because we went to the hotel and had time for a nap before dinner! Lazy and tired, we stayed at the hotel restaurant Huviretki which provided tasty local cuisine, and then headed out to the nearby pub Papaan Kapakka for some live music, my dad's main reason to travel. We had a pleasant time with a local jazz band and the company of three spirits, Minttu, Laku and Fisu, flavoured of mint, liquorice and Fisherman's candy, respectively. And at 10pm, our day was clearly not over yet! 

View of the bridge and northern lake
from the rapids

My sister already in bed, my parents heading there, Darek and I instead walked North along the rapids towards a good sunset spot, hoping to catch it on this June 22nd, only one day after the summer solstice. We were so captivated by the bright reflection of the sun on the dark water and between the pillars of the bridge, that we missed it by 30 seconds :( it was around 11pm, and for multiple reasons, we did not have another occasion to see it during our holiday. The view was still magical and breathtaking, but it was quite a shame to miss it by so little. So yes, travellers, take advantage of the present as much as you can!

We kept many indoors activities for the second day, as we knew it would be raining. Before joining the morning Silverline cruise, we went to visit the two churches on the eastern side of the city centre. From the outside, the massive grey-granite Tampere Cathedral reminded me of Medieval castles, marking an interesting contrast with all the other modern residential houses around. It was built only in 1907 in the Finnish national romantic style, which becomes clear once you step inside and admire the unusual combination of wide space, thick pillars, stained glass windows, and weirdly modern frescoes. Don't miss the red snake on the ceiling!

Tampere Orthodox Church

Personally, I liked more the neo-Byzantine Orthodox Church in the lower part of town: both the exterior of  (obviously) red bricks topped by seven little domes, and the interior, small and cosy but still awe-inspiring thanks to the interior decorations of elaborate geometrical patterns under a starred dome. Absolutely gorgeous!

Unfortunately, we were the only passengers for the morning cruise, so the captain convinced us to join the dinner cruise, that lasted longer and would take us on a more beautiful itinerary. So, what to do now? It was still raining, so we headed to the nearby Koskikeskus mall - it's always time for a local sweet snack! - to find a Finnish sweater for my mum. Unfortunately we failed, but I bought a cute little book of Finnish nursery rhymes  :) perhaps my new travelling collection!

Our golden treasure of the day was Pella's Cafe , right next to our hotel. Looking for some simple lunch, we decided to try the jacket potatoes that come with fillings of your choice, from salmon to cheese to meat to avocados. It was absolutely delicious, a big gorgeous plate with bread and salad, free tap water by the counter, and coffee included afterwards! (mind you, Finnish big-cup watery coffee). And cheap!! It was brilliant. We wandered around a while longer; looking back, we could have visited the Spy museum or the art exhibition in the Finlayson factory, and had a nice nap before heading to the sauna in the hotel.

My original plan was to go to the oldest and most original sauna in Tampere and in Finland, Rajaportin, but I did not count with a sister with low blood pressure, a mother who couldn't care less, and a father who does not like nudity. My second plan was to go to the sauna in Rauhaniemi, where you can wear your swimsuit and sunbathe by the lake, but the weather decided this was not going to happen. So at least we had a good time in the hotel wellness area, totally alone, enjoying a very hot sauna on wooden benches (women separate from men) and then some swimming in a veeery cold pool. Not the best ever, but it's a must for all Finnish trips!

The dinner cruising plan was ruined by me being so sick I had to take a taxi back to the hotel and rest. At least, it was still cloudy and drizzly, so perhaps we did not miss out on an amazing scenery and unforgettable sunset. After dinner, we had again a great time at the Paapan pub, where a band of 80-years old kept us entertained with catchy and jazzy tunes. Through the clouds at 11pm, the sun was still shining at the horizon, and my sleepless sister guarantees that the sky was alight through the whole night. Magical!

We left by bus for Helsinki at 10 in the morning and came back at 5ish on Sunday afternoon, just in time to have another jacket potato at Pella's before heading to the airport.

We could have made better use of our time, but we really enjoyed this relaxing holiday, and our feet were pretty sore anyway. Tampere is pretty, very unique, easy to visit on foot, it stimulates your curiosity and can certainly fill up your day with attractions and places to visit, but it is not so mind-blowing or memorable that you will regret not going there or visiting that. Perhaps in one more day we would have visited the Nasinneula Tower, a museum, and strolled by the northern lake; if it had been only Darek and me, we would have tried to meet some locals, rent a car to  get lost among lakes and forests, and chased some local unpronounceable delicacy. Good ideas for the next trip!

Are you planning your trip to Tampere? Some practical advice:

• Google maps worked perfectly without internet access, however you cannot star-save new places offline
• I did not like much the City-Opas app, it was somehow useful at home to browse the attractions, but it lacked the explanations and historical information that I was looking for while visiting them
• Use the Visit Tampere app for events and happenings - although we were busy enough by ourselves
• Evernote was not accessible offline, perhaps due to my free-of-charge plan, so all the information and history that I was planning to read on spot was unavailable :( perhaps One Note would work
• The paper map of walking tours by Tampere All Bright was all we needed, with short and concise information to guide us, and no need to recharge it :)
• Another larger paper map "From Locals with Love" again by Tampere All Bright featured more interesting spots, restaurants, clubs, shops, events... This would definitely keep you busy for 3-4 full days.

Was this information useful? Did we miss something fundamental? Let us know in the comments! 

Next stop: Helsinki!