We took an inter-city train from Helsinki to Tampere. VR Finnish trains are very comfortable and smooth, run on a wider gauge than English trains and have an upper deck. We booked seats upstairs so that we could enjoy the best views along the 90 minute journey.
Tampere is Finland’s third largest city and is located 100 miles north of Helsinki. It is often referred to as the ‘Manchester of Finland’ due to its industrial past as the former centre of the Finnish cotton trade.
On leaving the station we strolled along Tampere’s broad main shopping thoroughfare until we reached the river. Here you will find the former Finlayson cotton mill which was established in 1820 by a Scottish engineer called James Finlayson. He originally produced woven wool but realising the climate was cool and damp and perfect for cotton spinning as the thread would not snap, he transformed the building into a cotton mill in 1828. The Finlayson company still exists today and is a noted Finnish textile manufacturer producing high quality linens, towels and bedding.
Since production ceased in the mill in the 1970’s and industrial use of the buildings ended in the 1990’s it has been redeveloped into a cultural centre housing museums, restaurants, bars, a cinema and art gallery. We enjoyed a delicious lunch buffet in the mill overlooking the Tammerkoski Rapids. Tampere is located between two lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. These two lakes differ in level by 18 metres and the Tammerkoski Rapids which link the lakes has been an important power source for the surrounding mills, producing energy to drive the machinery.
Going through the ornate entrance way, pictured above we arrived at Vapriikki – a museum centre in what used to be the engineering works of Tampella Ltd. It’s home to the Natural History Museum of Tampere, the Media Museum, Mineral Museum, Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the Finnish Postal Museum, which relocated from Helsinki. The museums are housed in the vast factory hall which produced a wide range of goods including locomotives, turbines and linens. The name of the museum Vapriikki means ‘fabric’ relating to the history of the former mill building.
Leaving the cultural landmarks of the city behind we took a 20 minute uphill walk through a pine tree forest to the Pyynikki Observation Tower located at the top of the world’s highest gravel ridge Pyynikinharju. The old tower stands 26 metres high and a small lift takes visitors to the observation deck for €2. There are splendid views from the top looking down on Lake Pyhäjärvi. On the ground floor there’s a pretty little cafe which has a good range of homemade cakes and buns and is very popular with locals and visitors to the area.
Moving on, we walked down some steep wooden steps and followed a path to the edge of Lake Pyhäjärvi which looked crystal clear in the bright sunshine. The path continued past an attractive beach before heading back through the forest towards the town centre.
Next, it was time to stroll across the town to the Näsinneula Observation Tower which is located on the edge of the Särkänniemi Amusement Park. The tower is the second tallest in the Nordic Region and the most famous symbol of Tampere. It costs €5 to take the lift to the top and we were rewarded with far reaching views of around 20 kilometres in every direction. The two lifts take only 32 seconds to ascend the 130 metre tower, rising at a rate of six metres per second.
From the top we could see a panorama of the city and of the beautiful ridges and lakes surrounding it. The views were breathtaking and we couldn’t have wished for a more perfect day to view the city from here. From the photograph below you can see part of the Särkänniemi Amusement Park which looks like a toy town from such a great height.
After all this walking we were ready for some tea and cinnamon buns and we found the perfect cafe for our afternoon tea, sitting on a sunny terrace overlooking a small marina on the lakeside.
Afterwards, there was still enough time to take a look in the attractive old market hall with its wooden stalls painted an attractive shade of grey. We then glanced in some of the high street shops before heading back to the station for our early evening train back to Helsinki. After so much walking and sightseeing we were soon asleep on the train after such a splendid day out in this most beautiful of Finnish cities.
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Love Travelling Blog 
A beautiful city with a lot of history. I love touring old industrial sites and museums showing how the industry developed. The views from the tower look amazing. Thanks for sharing Marion. Allan
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We couldn’t have visited Tampere on a better day weather wise. Along with Helsinki, it’s one of my favourite Finnish cities and has similarities to Manchester with its cotton mills. Thanks for taking an interest. Marion
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Reblogged this on Donmaker's Blog and commented:
Never been to Finland, but after reading this would love to go! Closest I’ve been is Amsterdam.
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Thank you for re-blogging my post. Tampere is Finland’s delightful 3rd city. I’m certain you would enjoy visiting along with Helsinki, there’s so much to see and do.
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I’m just finally getting caught up on my blog reading after a busy week at school. This looks like it was another lovely day, Marion. There is so much more to do in Finland than I ever knew about, and it looks like the weather was beautiful for so much walking. It sounded like you should be putting this post up for one of Jo’s Monday Walks!
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Thank you for your positive thoughts, Susan. We did indeed have a lovely day wandering round this small city. I’m sure you would enjoy it sometime.
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Great post! I absolutely love reading your stories about Finland, especially your experiences with all those places that I visit regularly in my daily life. Also great to learn lots of new things about my country.
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Gosh,that is such a lovely compliment, thank you. I’m pleased you are enjoying reading about Finland from an English perspective! I’m enjoying your Greek posts, too.
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Great story!
I like to go to the highest point in a city and have a panoramic view. It’s so cool! I like your photos from the tower!
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Thank you for your kind words Igor, we were lucky to have such good weather for our trip up the tower.
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What an amazing view from the top of the tower and how cheap to take the lift to the top, makes you realise how expensive everything is here, we’d never get to do that for 5 Euro!! Sounds like a really interesting day trip too – I can see the resemblance to Manchester with the red brick mill buildings but it looks like the natural setting of this city is stunning.
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Tampere is one of my favourite cities in Finland and when the weather is at its best it looks so beautiful. I thought the cost of ascending the tower was good too and if you buy wristbands for the amusement park then the observation tower is also included. Cafes always seem to look more inviting too than the ones we get at home and in Finland nearly every cafe lets you have tea or coffee refills at no extra charge.
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Did you love the Näsinneula Observation Tower? I love when cities have things like that, so you can get an even better view. Sounds like a great place to visit!
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Yes I loved the observation tower and because the weather was so good we had such good views. The price to ride up the tower is quite modest too which is good. I’ve been to the top of observation towers in cities such as Auckland and Seattle and it’s fun to do if the weather is good.
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I’m jealous of all your travels, but it sure is fun to read!
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Thank you so much for taking the time to read my posts and for your kind words.
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Interesting to read of my former home town, more than 20 years, it still looks very beautiful. Thank you for a nice sightseeing around the city.
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What a lovely place that you used to live in, Tampere s one of my favourite Finnish cities. I’m sure it is also beautiful where you are living now – it looks gorgeous from your photos. Thank you, as always, for your nice comment.
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It’s fun to read about my hometown from someone else’s point of view! I really loved the photos and you made Tampere look so beautiful 🙂
And I learned something new because I didn’t know that Vapriikki means Fabric (it must be old word because no one uses that :D)
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Thank you for such an amazing comment, when the sun is shining Tampere is so beautiful. Inside the museum we picked up a leaflet and that told us the origins of the museum’s name otherwise I wouldn’t have known either!!
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Great post! 🙂 Did you try the donuts at Pyynikki Tower? They are very sweet, but also very good!
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Thank you for your lovely comments. We have tried the donuts at the tower cafe previously but we didn’t this year as we had eaten a big lunch a short time before. It’s such a cosy cafe though with all those felt puppets in the window sills!
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Fabulous .. i love train journeys and the VR intercity looks really good. I find public transport in Scandinavia generally of a very high standard, reasonably priced and reliable. Enjoyed the cotton mill bit. Continued happy travelling. :0)
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Thank you so much for your positive thoughts on my Tampere visit. We had a great day out and Finnish trains are definitely a step up from those found in the UK.
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Good Morning Marion.
Thank You presenting Tampere in so interesting way that I like to revisit is immediately again. To me Tampere deer due to its Vapriikki museum. It arranges high quality exhibitions. We have been visited there many times. Few years ago museum presented Terra Cotta Army. My post from it is waiting for publication.
Another thing why Tampere is deer is theatre. My family have habit to visit in winter theaters. I do not know if people abroad tend visit other cities and at same time theater. Some hotels arranges weekend visits and theatre tickets. Think how relaxing it is to spend a weekend in some town, eat there, explore the town and finally crowning all this to visit a local theater. I beg Your pardon that I again got lost on the topics, but I wanted to tell to You about one of our habits.
Have a nice day!
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Good Morning Matti!, and thank you once again for your positive thoughts, this time on Tampere. It’s such a lovely city with its natural beauty, museums and culture. We enjoy spending an evening at the theatre, too. Sometimes when we are staying in other towns in England but usually near home. I enjoy watching plays and musical productions very much – combined with a meal out, it’s a perfect evening. Best wishes, M.
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