Tampere & its Guitar Festival: a guitarist's travel guide
Tampere Guitar Festival & International Competition · Tampere, Finland
Tampere, set between two lakes in the Finnish heartland, is an easygoing city of red-brick mills turned into galleries and cafés, and its guitar festival brings a welcome dose of the classical guitar to the north. Part of the EuroStrings network, it pairs an international competition with concerts, lectures and workshops, many of them free.
Getting there
Tampere is around an hour and a quarter from Helsinki by direct train, and its own airport (TMP) sits close to town, with Helsinki-Vantaa (HEL) the larger gateway an hour and a half away by rail. The centre is compact and walkable.
Compare trains, buses & flights to Tampere on Omio →
Where to stay
Stay centrally, near the rapids that run through the middle of the city, and the festival venues and lakeside walks are close at hand. Tampere is relaxed and manageable, an easy place to spend a few days.
An interactive map of hotels, apartments and B&Bs across Booking, Expedia, Airbnb and more, centred on Tampere.
See stays in Tampere →What you'll hear
The competition runs through preliminary and live rounds to a final, with both an open category and youth categories for younger players. Its winners, among them Misael Barraza-Diaz and Marcin Kuźniar, are names from the competition circuit. Around it sits a friendly festival of concerts and talks, much of it open to all.
If you play as well as listen, explore Finland's own Jean Sibelius on Sheet Music Plus →
Where to eat
Tampere's signature is mustamakkara, a black sausage eaten hot with lingonberry jam from the market halls. Beyond it, Finnish cooking leans on fish, rye bread and berries, best sampled at the old Kauppahalli market.
While you're there
The medieval Häme Castle at Hämeenlinna is a short trip away, reachable by a scenic lake cruise in summer, and the Finnish Lakeland spreads out for boat trips in every direction. The city's own mill district is a pleasure to explore. A rental car makes the day trips simple, and GetYourGuide lists guided tours and tickets across the region.
Enter the pieces you play, and GuitarComp shows how your programme maps to this competition's rounds and which other events you qualify for.
See full competition details →Competition dates, deadlines and the current compulsory work change each edition, so always confirm at the official site: tgf.fi.