Studera utomlands

Another city on my bucket list was Tampere. It is an important industrial historical city, only two hours away from Turku. As I decided to spend only a day in Tampere, I really had to decide what I wanted to visit and spend as little time as possible travelling between the touristic attractions. This is why I spent most of my time in the Finlayson district.

Vapriikki museum

The Vapriikki museum (also known as Museum Center Vapriikki) is the best place to visit if you want to see a lot but do not feel like walking from one museum to another. It hosts different exhibitions, including the natural history museum of Tampere, the media museum, the mineral museum, the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame, postal museum and the Finnish museum of games. And, if you were wondering, you have access to all the exhibitions with just one ticket, making it a really good deal for students on a budget. As an insight into the museum of games, you can actually play most of the games, including plenty of arcades. I did enjoy playing some pinball and Donkey Kong. And yes, the games are free to play.

Spy museum

It is the first opened spy museum in the world, and it offers a complex experience. It is up to you if you just want to simply visit the museum following the espionage story from ancient times till modern days or you can take the “Agent test” to see if you have the skills necessary to become a spy. Keep in mind that it is not allowed to take pictures inside the museum besides a selfie with James, James Finlayson.

3 churches – 3 different stories

There are three important churches in Tampere, each with their own story. I am talking about the Tampere Orthodox Church, Tampere Cathedral and Finlayson Church. The Finlayson Church was built during the industrial development of the Finlayson factory, in the district with the same name, so that the factory workers could practice religion. The Tampere Cathedral is a Lutheran church that is said to have famous frescoes (unfortunately, there was a funeral so I could only see the church on the outside). The Tampere Orthodox Church is a church built during the Russian occupation, and it is an important architectural monument.

The Finnish Labor Museum Werstas

This museum is a must, especially for students on a budget visiting Tampere, because the entry is free of charge. This museum tells the story of the Finnish working life as well as the social history. One of the exhibits in this museum is the Steam engine museum where you can see the impressive Sulzer steam engine that had an output of 1650 horsepower, and it was used to produce the power for the Finlayson cotton mill.

Tampere is a beautiful city that you can enjoy during a day trip but the more time you have, the merrier. If you want to spend only one day in this city, I suggest you follow in my footsteps and stay in the Finlayson district.