5 Best Sights in Tampere, The Lakelands

The only museum in the western world devoted to Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, otherwise known as Lenin, the Russian revolutionary and founder of the Soviet Union, is in the Worker's Hall in Tampere, and it's a fascinating collection of posters, photos, and Soviet-era paraphernalia. The location was the meeting place of Lenin and Stalin in 1905 before the 1917 revolution, and the museum has an impressive list of visitors from cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin to General Secretary Brezhnev. Founded in 1946, the museum was long an itinerary fixture for Soviet tourist groups right up to the collapse of the USSR in 1991. It remains one of Tampere's most surprising and memorable attractions.   

One of the city's best museums consists of more than 30 apartments in a collection of wooden houses, plus a sauna, a bakery, a haberdashery, and more from the 1880s to the 1970s. Its cozy Café Amurin Helmi has garden seating in summer and serves fresh bread baked on the premises with breakfast and a soup lunch.

Tampere's cathedral was built in 1906, designed by National Romantic architect Lars Sonck in his own whimsical style, and is worth a visit if only to view some stunning masterpieces of Finnish art, including Hugo Simberg's Wounded Angel and Garden of Death and Magnus Enckell’s The Resurrection.

Finland’s best-loved fictional characters, the Moomins, created by Tove Jansson, are celebrated at the world’s only Moomin Museum. It’s in the Tampere Hall, the city’s main concert and conference hall, and is a dream come true for Moomin fans, where you can relive some of the Moomintroll stories and see a collection of Moomin art. There is a Moomin Museum Reading Room and a gift shop selling all things Moomin. Free guided tours are at 1 on weekends.

The Näsineule observation tower dominates this amusement park on Lake Näsijärvi. It remains a perennial family favorite, offering all manner of rides from the Crazy Bus and Rapids Rides to the Swing Carousel and Tornado roller coaster. There's also an aquarium and a Doghill Fairy-Tale farm, the latter an offshoot from the popular Koiramäki (i.e., "dog hill") children's book series by Mauri Kunnas. Adults are catered to as well as kids in the restaurant and café, both with sensational Lakeland views, which are reached by an elevator at the top of Näsineule (be sure to make a reservation).