10 Top Things To See And Do In Tampere

Tampere in central Finland is a city often overlooked by tourists, many of which never venture beyond Helsinki. But by spending only a few hours travelling north of Helsinki, visitors can experience a highly different type of Finnish city and many new sites and experiences. These are some of the top-rated attractions in Tampere:

The Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame

Finns are mad about hockey, which is why Tampere is home to one of only six museums in the world dedicated to the sport. The permanent exhibit showcases the history of Finnish hockey, some of its most notable players, and their international achievements through audio-visual displays. There are also interactive exhibits in which visitors can try out being a hockey commentator or player.

Tampere Cathedral

This beautiful Lutheran cathedral dates from 1907 and is built out of the iconic Finnish grey granite with a striking red roof. The eerily gothic frescos inside are particularly notable, not only for their artistic merit but the controversy surrounding them. When the cathedral opened, many residents were angry at the depiction of a serpent on the roof, believing it represented sin and corruption.

Särkänniemi Theme Park

Särkänniemi is far more than just an amusement park. It is an entire complex holding days’ worth of entertainment. There is an aquarium, planetarium, carnival game area, the famous Näsinneula observation tower, and a regular calendar of events. The amusement park also contains the world’s first Angry Birds themed land.

Moomin Museum

The Moomin Museum celebrates Finland’s favourite franchise through the collection of creator Tove Jansson’s illustrations and artwork. The piece-de-resistance of the collection is the iconic Moomin House replica, built by Jansson and her partner Tuulikki Pietilä as a full-scale dollhouse version of the Moomin’s home. The cafe and shop also sell adorable Moomin themed food and merchandise.

Spy Museum

The Spy Museum takes a fun and fascinating look at the world of espionage, particularly during the Cold War, with authentic documents telling the stories of real life spies. The interactive exhibits, such as the lie detector test, make this a particularly enjoyable museum for children.

Duck Park

This rather oddly named park next to the Moomin Museum is a great place to relax, have a picnic, and feed the ducks on the lake or the domestic birds in the aviary. Alternatively, you can stroll around to find all of the sculptures displayed throughout the park.

Finlayson Church

A gothic revival church from 1879, made of the same red brick as the other industrial buildings that make up Tampere. This is highly fitting as it was originally built for the employees of the Finlayson cotton company, but is now a general use Lutheran Church. Most notable of all is the organ from St. Petersburg, which dates from the church’s opening.

Alexander Church

One of the most stunning churches in Tampere, named for Tsar Alexander II. The gothic style church again uses red brick and has a roof tinged green with age. Despite its grand appearance, it is still peaceful and relaxing inside. The surrounding gardens and graveyard also offer a lot of history of the church and a place to relax.

Tampere Mineral Museum

The mineral museum in the Vapriikki complex holds a huge range of minerals, rocks, jewellery, seashells, corals, and sculptures from around the world. Particular highlights are pieces of meteorites, dinosaur eggs, fossils, and stone carvings. It is a great museum for anyone interested in either natural history or art.

Market Hall

No trip to a Finnish city is complete without dropping by its market hall. They are a staple of Finnish lifestyle, providing locally and internationally sourced goods to the community for over 100 years. Tampere’s market hall has been open since 1901 and is the largest covered market in the Nordic countries. It contains a huge range of produce stands and cafes and is a particularly good place to stop for lunch or meet locals.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.