Back to old Tampere

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For several reasons, it happens that
the editorial team of FREE! Magazine has moved to Tampere for some time. Tampere was the first Finnish city where I have
lived; I came back for first time here in Autumn 2001, so it will always have a
special place in my heart. I get impressed about how fast the city has changed.
Now there are many more foreign students here and more pubs and discos,
although the essence of the city centre remains almost the same. Tampere does not have the advantage of sea
access like Helsinki or Turku, and its architecture is honestly
quite ugly: just brick buildings that shows clearly the working class origins
of the city. But those same origins make Tampere people quite open and
friendly, maybe not so nose-up as in some of the other biggest Finnish cities.
Although also being located in the geographical south, Tampere is a kind of Finnish heart that
puts in contact most of the important regions in Finland. And it even has space for a decent
industry. Although obviously far from the big Helsinki area, Tampere is still more attractive than Turku for industries, specially IT
companies, that have opened headquarters in Hervanta area surrounding the giant
of the giants: Nokia. Hervanta is the zone of Tampere that has grown more
brutally in just 6-7 years. Before there were just some buildings around the Technical University, and nowadays the visitor cannot
almost recognize it. And expansion goes on…

Maybe, if you are looking for a
beautiful city with amazing architecture, Tampere is not for you, but if you are
student and you are deciding a good destiny, this city has a lot to offer. Tampere is buzzing with student activities,
parties, courses, etc. It is big enough not to be boring but also small to have
easy access to everything, and student life is organized, but relaxed. If you
can visit here, do not miss the chance to visit Telakka, a peculiar place in
the whole Finland: a wooden house with two floors,
having been founded and ruled by actors. In the first floor you can enjoy a
nice coffee or a delicious meal, while in the second there are often theatre
plays. One of my favourite places to kill time, with a great atmosphere.