What to do on a twin-city break in Helsinki and Tampere, Finland

Finland’s history of art and culture takes many forms, ranging from the charming illustrations of Tove Jansson’s Moomin books and the bent-wood furniture of Modernist pioneer Alvar Aalto to the iconic poppy designs of lifestyle brand Marimekko. Yet such riches often get lost amid a focus on the snowy north, where dog-sled rides and aurora-hunting dominate the imaginations of travellers. For those more interested in Finland’s abundance of art and design, a twin-centre city break linking capital Helsinki and Tampere (just 90 minutes apart by train) is a much better fit.

Of the two, Tampere will be less familiar to visitors. It’s often dubbed the Manchester of Finland for its similar industrial heritage and red-brick buildings; however, the city has regenerated its roots in recent years. The old Finlayson factory area now hosts museums and festivals, while music venue G Livelab was once the boiler house of a paper mill. To locals, it is perhaps better known as the country’s sauna and theatre capital, though it also boasts the archive of Tove Jansson, stored within the world’s only Moomin Museum.

Helsinki, on the other hand, is the natural home of Finland’s major galleries. Ateneum holds the country’s largest collection, with beautiful paintings of rural life and woodcuts of the northern lights joining international works by the likes of Paul Cézanne and Vincent van Gogh. Contemporary galleries Amos Rex, Kiasma and the intimate Kunsthalle, which hosts a roster of temporary exhibitions in its 1920s Neoclassical building, are clustered pleasingly close together, making it easy for visitors to grab some quick culture.

Finland’s cultural evolution is closely linked to the forging of its national identity. Having been a Swedish colony since the medieval period, the switch to comparatively relaxed Russian rule in 1809 encouraged the nation’s first steps towards autonomy, which were explored through art, architecture and literature. In the mid-19th century, folk creation stories were woven into the epic and influential poem Kalevala, whereas National Romanticism (Finland’s interpretation of Art Nouveau) blossomed later the same century. Tampere’s cathedral is among the many celebrated examples of this design style, while Helsinki rivals the likes of Prague and Barcelona for its Art Nouveau-style architecture.

In 1917, following 18 years of attempted ‘Russification’ by Tsar Nicholas II, the Russian Revolution enabled Finland to finally regain independence. These early years of freedom coincided with the emergence of Modernism (known as Functionalism in Finland). It also gifted us one of the movement’s most internationally influential figures, Finnish architect, furniture designer and town planner Alvar Aalto, who worked until the 1970s.

A more recent artistic renaissance was prompted by Helsinki City Council’s 2016 rejection of a proposed Guggenheim Museum. Several homegrown arts venues were funded instead, while private development brought about the Amos Rex gallery, the futuristic courtyard of which is now among Finland’s most recognised sights.

The cities’ cultural celebrations are particular highlights. August’s Helsinki Festival is one of the largest arts gatherings in the Nordic countries, covering music, dance, theatre and circus, with the striking Musiikkitalo concert venue at its heart. September’s Helsinki Design Week incorporates an open-house policy at many notable buildings in the capital, while Tampere has a similar ethos on the weekend closest to Tampere Day (October 1), the anniversary of it being granted city rights.

Of course, a cultural twin-city break needn’t exclude Finland’s natural wonders – you can even combine the two. Tampere is known for its lakes and easily accessible forest, with Lake Näsijärvi overlooked by the Sara Hildén Art Museum. Helsinki, meanwhile, has multiple sparsely populated islands a short ferry ride away – one of which, Vallisaari, holds the Helsinki Biennial international art event in the summer of 2025.

Female artistic trailblazers

The original ink illustrations of Tove Jansson – some with correction fluid still visible – line the walls of Tampere’s Moomin Museum, a place with equal charm for adults and kids. Jansson’s most famous books, featuring the adventurous and hippo-like Moomin characters, were created in the shadow of the Second World War, with the first book published in 1945. Later themes of adapting to the unfamiliar, charting a midlife crisis and enforced self-reliance (the latter book written while grieving her mother) reflected shifts in the author’s own life.

Today, admiration for Jansson goes beyond her legacy of art and literature. Having been in a relationship with a woman for 45 years, which she never hid during an era when homosexuality was still illegal in Finland, she’s now hailed as an LGBTQ+ trailblazer. Throughout the museum are delightful tableaus created by her partner, artist Tuulikki Pietilä, some repurposing trinkets collected during the couple’s travels.

On a much larger scale, Tampere’s streets showcase the works of another pioneer, Wivi Lönn, the first woman in Finland to set up her own architectural practice. Her functional-yet-elegant designs greatly influenced the city’s look during its early 20th-century boom. Chief among her celebrated creations is the 1908-built central fire station, which features an ornamental tower with Art Nouveau-style carvings of flames and water.

Finland’s sauna culture

Finland’s UNESCO-listed sauna culture may be more than 1,000 years old, but it is still so much a part of the country’s national identity that many Finns will sweat out their stresses several times a week.

As a visitor, take local guidance on which saunas favour swimsuits over nudity, are chatty or dark and contemplative, or trap the smoke inside instead of using a chimney. Tampere has Finland’s highest number of public saunas, including the oldest in operation, Rajaportti, which dates from 1906.

Many locals like to follow a sauna with dinner. At Tampere’s Saunaravintola Kuuma bistro on the waterfront, the sauna lies just behind the bar, and you can dash from the steamy benches into a lake plunge pool. In Helsinki, a ten-minute ferry ride will take you to tiny Lonna Island, where the sauna’s terrace steps lead daringly into the Baltic Sea. Afterwards, sundowners and a meal at the island’s inventive fine-dining restaurant make for a relaxing evening.

Alternatively, you could also double up on culture with a visit to the architecturally unique Serlachius Art Sauna, near Helsinki, which is part of a site with several galleries.

A stroll around Helsinki will take you through Finland’s notable architectural eras.

Katajanokka district, between the bustling South Harbour and lesser-visited North Harbour, is a good place to start and is filled with examples of the nature-inspired stone carvings of National Romanticism. Moving onto Senate Square, you’ll find Helsinki Cathedral and the university and government buildings, all designed in Russian Neoclassical style by Germany’s Carl Ludvig Engel. And at the city’s heart, don’t miss the Art-Nouveau Central Railway Station, with its iconic lantern bearers guarding the entrance.

Nearby, on Keskuskatu, the Academic Bookstore in the Stockmann department store bears Alvar Aalto’s Modernist hallmarks, from beautiful, curved-brass doorhandles to sleek balconies. It also has a retro-style café on the first floor.

Artek, the company Aalto co-founded, has its flagship store next door. It sells classic armchairs and L-leg stools made using his wood-bending technique, as well as homewares and textiles, and designs created by his first and second wives, Aino and Elissa, who were both respected designers in their own right. Nearby, Tram 4 takes you to Aalto’s wood-clad 1930s suburban home and 1950s studio for pre-booked tours.

One of the capital’s more modern architectural marvels, the Library Oodi that flanks Kansalaistori Square, dates from just 2018. In this amazing facility, robots are used to sort the books, and residents can use sewing machines, VR headsets and even electric guitars (the latter in soundproofed rooms). As a visitor, you can play chess, read in a pod-like chair or enjoy coffee on the sun-trap terrace.

Top three things to do in Helsinki and Tampere

Amos Rex

Helsinki’s subterranean Amos Rex is Finland’s largest private art museum. Visitors enter through a 1930s Functionalist building, their path lit via lightwells that protrude into an undulating courtyard above. The collection includes paintings, sculptures and challenging installations – one recent show invited visitors to lie down with illuminated blobs on their abdomens. amosrex.fi/en

The Finnish National Gallery

The National Gallery’s collection is spread across a trio of museums in the capital. The Sinebrychoff exhibits older European works (14th–19th century), while the Ateneum’s collection spans from the 19th-century onwards, with its focus on local life exemplified by Albert Edelfelt’s moving Conveying the Child’s Coffin. Contemporary art gallery Kiasma, however, is far more experimental; its tone is set by the head-turning crying-statues fountain that has been installed outside. kansallisgalleria.fi/en

Tampere Cathedral

A beautiful example of National Romanticism, this nature-inspired Lutheran cathedral was completed in 1907 using irregular granite blocks and displays both tree and bird motifs within its carved stonework. Inside, multiple frescoes by Symbolist Hugo Simberg include angel-wing motifs and a frieze depicting boys carrying a leafy garland – an allegory for life’s journey.

Did you know?

Lenin first met Stalin at Tampere Workers’ Hall during a secret 1905 Bolsheviks’ meeting. Sometimes dubbed the ‘birthplace of the Soviet Union’, it housed what was formerly known as the Lenin Museum from 1945 onwards. To better reflect its content, which nowadays charts the historic cordiality and tensions between the two neighbouring countries, it has just been renamed the Museum of Finnish-Russian Relations (museonootti.fi). Further acknowledging current sensitivities, a donation from each entry fee supports UNICEF’s work in Ukraine. It’s easily combined with a visit to the nearby Tampere Art Museum, which exhibits contemporary Finnish and international works.

Where to stay

The historic Grand Hotel Tammer, built in 1929 in the Nordic Classicist style, has welcomed many a VIP. Now a Radisson Blu hotel, it has retained many of its original features, not least in the building’s retro lobby and the high-ceilinged banqueting hall where breakfast is served. It doesn’t skimp on modern perks, either, with some superior rooms and suites equipped with balconies and saunas. The location, set alongside the Tammerkoski Rapids that run through the city, is also handy for exploring the centre. radissonhotels.com

Located beyond Tampere’s city centre (about 1.5km away), within the garden district of Viinikka, this boutique hotel handily lies within walking distance of Lake Iidesjärvi. Occupying a wooden building that dates back to the 1920s, this was once a nursing home for retired maids; now its 11 rooms incorporate rustic wood and stylish bathrooms. The bistro has a ‘New Nordic’ ethos and puts the focus on local producers, taking its ingredients from the nearby forest, countryside and lake, or from its own garden. There is also a dining terrace for the warmer months. lillan.fi/en

Having opened in autumn 2024, this pared-back design hotel sits alongside the capital’s South Harbour and has 164 rooms arranged around a circular bent-wood atrium. This natural vibe carries through to the leafy rooftop terrace, which is a pleasant place to relax with a drink while watching the boats below ferry people to the nearby islands. Music pervades every public space here – soothing in the corridors, energising in the breakfast room – and the downstairs sauna and yoga facilities complete the
feel-good vibe. sokoshotels.fi/en

Another newcomer to the capital is Hotel Maria, which occupies a former army officers’ barracks in Katajanokka district. Founded by an Olympic gold-medallist ski jumper and named after an empress, health and luxury rise to the fore here. Room options include suites with their own private saunas or steam rooms, while the hotel spa offers post-treatment relaxation in a garden atrium. Guests can dine in the formal restaurant or brasserie, then sample cocktails and caviar in Bar Maria to a background of live piano music. hotelmaria.fi