
Have a walk around! “Tammelantori” market place is a nice place to spend some time Finnish style have a coffee and buy something fresh. Often I leave my phone home! There are nice little neighbourhoods too. I love to go under the tree with my book and spend some quality time in a fresh air. There are green parks and areas everywhere. Overall, it’s very nice to hang outside in Tampere because the cityscape is very appealing. But “Laukontori” and Tampere Market Hall (= kauppahalli) are nice too. It’s a common thing to go to the market place on Saturdays in Finland – during the summer season any day! You have a coffee or buy some fresh stuff – like strawberries! I really like these real life situations where you can sit back and relax and watch all kinds of citizens going by, people and furry friends. Tammela market place and green parks everywhere Climb also on the Pyynikki tower and eat a delicious traditional donut. When you walk in Pyynikki you see Pyhäjärvi lake. It’s open the whole year round and you can even do some ice-swimming! The nature is all around in Tampere. The land of thousand lake and a warm evening… Rauhaniemi sauna is in a nice setting. It’s healthy! A lonely sail boat gliding on the peach gold surface of the sweet water lake Näsijärvi Sun dipping in Naistenlahti If the weather is good Eliander beach is charming Finnish summer can be beautiful. The one where I have been is the Rauhaniemi sauna which is by the lake and you can swim there throughout the year (yes, ice swimming too!) The sauna might be a bit crowded – but don’t worry it’s a Finnish habit that everybody go to sauna together, no matter if it’s a stranger or a family member! Enjoy the lovely nature setting, have a beer and swim and go back to sauna, again and again. I highly recommend foreigners to also try out the public saunas. It was such a calm moment in a warm summer evening. Then I dipped and swam in the sun bridge until I got back on the dock and sat there until I was dry. I went on the nearby platform by the water, I was sitting there in the evening sun and enjoying the warmth of the sunrays which were also sparkling on the lake. One afternoon I spent on a nice Eliander beach. The Finnish summer has shown its best lately. On another night I saw the fully orange huge sun diving into the horizon.

One evening I had to stop walking and sit down because the scenery was stunning: it was peaceful and the surface of the Näsijärvi looked like it was peach gold: the night sky sun was reflecting amazing colours. It’s nice to go jogging by Näsijärvi lake in Rauhaniemi area or in Pyynikki area to have the Pyhäjärvi views. Tampere lies between two big lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi. Tampere is a lovely city for sure – and here are the best parts of the red brick town: Beautiful lakes Näsijärvi and Pyhäjärvi: beaches, nature and sauna!

But one thing is for sure I will probably never have bad feelings about this city. In fact, one distant dream of mine is maybe to buy a house in Tampere some day, maybe. It’s not too big (well nothing is big in Finland), it’s not too small – it’s very charming. Just because I really enjoy my time in this town. This summer I have spent my time in Tampere – like I did last summer too.

Blue-collar workers and shining stars – what a combination! Common things for all these three cities are the industrial background and the fact that there are famous artists and bands coming from there. “Manse” is the well-known nickname for the city.

If Detroit is a lovely city – Tampere is too! They don’t call Tampere Finland’s Detroit though but they call it “Manchester of Finland”.
