I went to Tampere with all my classmates for a study visit for the Tourism and Culture course. I was very excited about this trip because it was my first time exploring about Tampere’s history and culture. Our lecturer Emma warmly welcomed us and explained Tampere’s history, natural beauty, and culture. After listening to her I realized Tampere is very rich in cultural heritage!
Pispala – the area full of traditional cultural history and natural beauty
I never heard about the Pispala landscape before enrolling in the course. That’s why I was a bit curious to see it. Pispala is located on the northern slope of Pispalanharju. When I saw the surrounding lake view and the traditional wooden houses from the top of the hills, I was surprised and mesmerized by its beauty which was beyond my words.
Overall, in my opinion, Pispala is beautiful for not only nature but also for traditional wooden houses, and there’s own tradition. If you want to explore nature besides this traditional heritage, Pispala is one of the best places to explore the inner beauty of nature and observe the traditional Finnis wooden houses.
Traditional Tampereen Kauppahalli
After visiting Pispala, one of the old markets named Tampereen Kauppahalli grabbed my attention. When I entered the market, I felt like I entered my country’s market. This market was very old. I noticed that every shop was very traditional, and when I saw a vegetable shop, I was fully surprised as it looked like my country’s shop.
At that time, I was thinking that before moving to Finland, my mom bought groceries from this type of shop. In our country, this type of shop is available but in Finland it’s very rare. Pharmacy, coffee shops, flower shops, shoe shops, and bakeries also looked like very traditional. In every bakery, people make bread by themselves, fresh groceries, fish, and meat are all things always available there. This market indicated Tampere’s traditional local culture.
I must recommend to everyone that if you want to explore local things then Tampereen Kauppahalli is the best market to explore.
Later in the afternoon we also visited Tampere Art Museum, the Keskustori church to explore religious history, and the Labour Museum to explore the traditional history. Overall, Tampere is a nice place to explore culture, history, traditional places, and the local community. It was a really good experience!
Text and pictures: Taslima Akter, second year International Tourism Management student