Tampere, Finland

A rock concert in Tampere, Finland (cc)

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A university town that rocks with "Manserock" – a genre of rock music with Finnish lyrics that originated here in 1969. There's a vibrant nightlife with live bands belting it out at local bars and clubs, restaurants offering innovative cuisine, a lively arts scene, a legacy tied to cell-phone maker Nokia that grew up in the satellite town of Nokia, and unique museums dedicated, one each, to spies, shoes and Socialist hero Lenin.

Tampere Travel Guide

Introduction

Tampere is a city of rock. In fact, Tampere, Finland, like Manchester, England, evolved from a market town into a major industrial center and then into a prominent rock city with a rollicking nightlife, which is why it's popularly referred to as "Manse" – a nickname derived from "Manchester." Tampere is actually the birthplace of "Manserock," a genre of rock music with Finnish lyrics that originated in 1969, and consequently the home of several Manserock musicians and Finnish bands of note – among them Juice Leskinen, Kaseva, Virtanen, Eppu Normaali, Popeda, Karanteeni and Kontra – as well as that of the Finnish record company Poko Records, founded here in the 1970s, which produced some of the earliest Manserock records. But apart from its notoriety as a music city, Tampere comes into its own as a hub of commerce and culture, with 21st-century technologies – think Nokia, originally founded in the Tampere metro satellite town of Nokia – a well developed arts scene, culinary prowess, and a slew of unique museums, including one dedicated to spies, another to shoes, and another to Lenin who resided here from 1905 to 1907, before fleeing to Sweden with the Russian secret police hot on his tail. Tampere, by the way, is also a university town, and, too, the largest of all the inland cities in the Nordic countries.

Location

Tampere is located in southern Finland, centered on an isthmus between two large lakes, Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi, with the bulk of the city unfolding to the east and west of there.

How to Get There

Sightseeing

Neighborhoods

How to Get Around

Where to Stay

Where to Eat

Where to Party

Essential Information

Nearby Destinations

How to Get There

Tampere is linked to Helsinki both by road and rail: it's an easy 2-hour drive (1.5 hours by train) north from the capital city to Tampere. There is also an airport here, Tampere Airport, the third-busiest in Finland, with domestic flights available in and out of Tampere.

Sightseeing

Main Neighborhoods