Things to do in Tampere & the Lakeland

In Tampere, the world's only Moomin Museum, inside Tampere Hall, shows Tove Jansson's original illustrations and handmade tableaux, including a tall Moomin House, and lets visitors step inside the Hobgoblin's Hat, while Museum Centre Vapriikki gathers the Tampere Museum of Natural History, the Finnish Museum of Games, the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame and the Postal Museum in a former factory under one ticket. In the old Finlayson factory area, the free Werstas Labour Museum covers working life from the 19th century to today and shows the steam engine that once powered the cotton mill, the classic Särkänniemi Planetarium screens dome shows year-round, and the 26-metre granite Pyynikki Observation Tower from 1929 looks out over the city from a huge gravel ridge, with the café's famous munkki doughnuts on the ground floor. Tampere Market Hall, opened in 1901 on Hämeenkatu, is the largest indoor market in the Nordic countries with over 30 vendors, and Kuopio Market Hall on the edge of the market square has sold regional produce and treats since 1902. In Savonlinna, Olavinlinna, built in the 1470s on a rocky islet between lakes, is one of Finland's best-preserved medieval castles and the stage of an opera festival, and Riihisaari museum island covers regional history and sailing on Lake Saimaa. Lusto, the Finnish Forest Museum in Punkaharju, explores forests and forest culture including folk beliefs about forest beings, the Craft Museum of Finland in Jyväskylä traces 2,000 years of crafts and national costumes, and Koli National Park above Lake Pielinen offers Finland's iconic national landscape from the top of Ukko-Koli, with marked trails through old-growth forest. In the Christmas season, wooden huts fill Keskustori, Tampere's central square, the historic wooden houses of the Tallipiha stable yards take on a festive mood, and light art illuminates Olavinlinna.

Good to knowThe Moomin Museum, Vapriikki, Olavinlinna, Riihisaari and the Craft Museum of Finland are closed on Mondays, so start a Lakeland week on another day. Tampere Market Hall opens Monday to Saturday and Kuopio Market Hall closes on Sundays and public holidays, so plan market lunches for a weekday or Saturday. The Pyynikki tower is open every day for a small fee, and the Särkänniemi Planetarium's shows run on weekends outside summer, narrated in Finnish with headphones for English available from staff. Riihisaari's museum steamships can be boarded only in summer, under-18s enter Riihisaari and the Craft Museum free, and Olavinlinna offers guided tours. Koli's trails can be walked on your own or with a guide. On rainy days, Vapriikki's several museums under one roof and the free Werstas are good picks, and in the Christmas season children can meet the resident sheep, donkey and pony at Tallipiha, where entry is free.