Entertainment in Southwestern Finland
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Hakametsä Ice Stadium
Tampere has two ice-hockey teams in the national league - Ilves and Tappara - both of which are among the best in the country, and the city is generally regarded as the home of the sport. Finland's first artificial hockey rink was opened here in 1955. The Hakametsä Ice Stadium, about 2km east of the train station, is the venue for matches on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from September to March.
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Superstereo
One of the best bars in town, this university student hang-out has a pop culture–pastiche interior (check out their mural of the Vaasa skyline) and a summer-popular terrace. But wait there’s more! The clubby Munkhaus bar opens later with a pumping sound system playing electronica and danceable indie. Or chillax by ringing ahead to book the sauna for a sound-drenched soak.
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Teivo Trotting Track
Ten kilometres northwest of Tampere on Rd 3, Teivo Trotting Track offers a popular, recommended, Finnish experience. There are races nearly every Tuesday evening at 6pm, and entry is free, though you can bet as much as you like. Special buses from town run to the track on race evenings. In winter the horses race on compacted snow under floodlights.
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Tampere-Talo
Classical concerts are held in spectacular modern Tampere-Talo. Performances by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra (www.tampere.fi/filharmonia) are on Fridays from September to May. In addition to this it also puts on regular chamber music concerts, and visiting opera and ballet performances.
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Café Europa
This is easily Tampere’s coolest bar. Furnished with 1930s-style horsehair couches and chairs, it is a romantic old-world European type of place complete with Belgian and German beers, board games, ornate mirrors and chandeliers, and an excellent summer terrace. Upstairs is a small weekend dance club.
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O’Connell’s
Popular with both Finns and expats, this rambling Irish pub is handy for the train station and has plenty of time-worn, comfortable seating and an air of bonhomie. Its best feature is the range of interesting beers on tap and carefully selected bottled imports. They also do hearty pub meals.
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Tullikamari Klubi
This cavernous place near the train station is Tampere’s main indoor live-music venue; there are usually several bands playing every week, and big Finnish names regularly swing by for concerts. DJs play classic rock on nights when there’s no band. The cover charge varies from free to €15.
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Tampere Hall
For classical concerts, this is the city's spectacular modern concert hall. It hosts classical concerts by the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra on Friday from September to May. In addition to this it also puts on regular chamber music concerts, and visiting opera and ballet performances.
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Tullikamari klubi
This cavernous club in the old customs house near the train station is Tampere's main indoor venue for rock concerts and music sessions. Big-name Finnish bands sometimes perform here and the cover charge varies. It's also the venue for the film festival and jazz events.
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Fall’s Café
Set among craft shops in a converted brick factory, this bar has a decent range of beers and ciders as well as perhaps Tampere’s cutest terrace, a wedge-shaped balcony right by the water where you can watch crazy little fish jumping vertically in the evening light.
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O'Malley's
This is an Irish bar popular with visiting business people since it's part of the Radisson Hotel. With international beers and stout on tap, booth seating and a cosy atmosphere, it's a good place to be in winter. They pour a good Guinness when it's not too busy.
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Maffi
The best spot in town for a few sociable beers, this is actually a hotel bar, but doesn't feel like one. It's warmly decorated in wood and stone, has a couple of levels and a terrace. Out the back are several pool tables; there's also Internet access.
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Down Under Bar
A little piece of Australiana up near the Arctic. Along with the shockin' pseudo-Aboriginal murals and the crocodile-and-Kombi-van décor, there are some 'Aussie' cocktails with more bite than a Great White shark, and plenty of music and dancing.
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Doo-bop Club
This joint swings with live jazz, funk and soul in a suitably dark bar that attracts a 30-plus crowd. Periodic jam sessions are not unheard of – if you’ve packed your clarinet – or can just click your fingers to the beats to look like a jazz-cat.
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Sky
Great views of the city are a big part of this popular bar’s appeal. Friday and Saturday feature DJs (€7 to €10) and the terraces are always relaxing. Don’t drink too much though as the zippy lift could leave your stomach on the 9th floor.
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Kino
Formerly a cinema, this spacious venue is now a popular club for the young, cheerful and mortgage-less. The music is far from groundbreaking, treading a line between disco, Eurodance and bubblehead pop, but it's a happy place to be.
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Telakka
This is a bohemian bar-theatre-restaurant in a Tampere’s restored red-brick factories. There’s live music regularly, theatre performances, art exhibitions and a brilliant summer terrace with colourful blocky wooden seats.
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Teerenpeli
A good pub with home-brewed beer and cider, this has a relaxing, candlelit interior and heaps of choice at the taps. They do some good fruit-flavoured brews and also have a terrace and a cavernous club downstairs.
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Hämeensilta
A restaurant, bar and nightclub popular with middle-aged Finns, with wonderful views over the rapids and the city from the top floor. There’s live crooner music and plenty of traditional dancing going on.
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Onnela
This dark building looks like a library from outside but is the town’s most popular nightspot, with several different sections playing rock, pop and electronica for a 20s and 30s crowd.
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Otava
This likeable Finnish dance club is the place for tango and humppa (Finnish jazz) music. Otava II, just around the corner, is more of a drinking pub that attracts serious barflies.
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Mixei
‘Why Not?’, Tampere’s premier gay venue, is a welcoming place that hosts regular club nights and themed parties and is a good place to meet Finns. There’s a €3 cover at weekends.
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Suvi Boat Bar
Tampere has arguably the best nightlife in Finland after Helsinki and locals are blessed with plenty of music venues. In summer, Suvi Boat Bar is a floating beer terrace.
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Suvi
Moored alongside the Laukontori Quay, this is a typical Finnish boat bar offering no-nonsense deck-top drinking. Prepare a boarding party and lap up the afternoon sun.
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Ruma
A cool spot with offbeat decor, quirky lighting, friendly staff, and a mixture of Finnish and European pop and alternative rock every day of the week.
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