A Short Break in the Art Town

Every now and then everybody needs a short break away from home. We have gathered some tips for a two-day summer visit in the Art Town Mänttä containing art and interesting stories at magnificent Serlachius Museums, good food and drink in original milieus and light exercise. Come driving your own set of wheels or hop on the Serlachius bus in Tampere. It transports you almost door to door!

PROGRAM EXAMPLE:

DAY 1

At Serlachius Museum Gösta

On your first day, you will enjoy the wonderful exhibitions of the art museum and its beautiful surroundings. If you travel by the Serlachius Art Express, you will arrive at the entrance door at 12.20. You can leave your luggage in the bus hence the same bus takes you later to your accommodation.

Are you hungry? Restaurant Gösta serves menus whose high-quality ingredients and flavors are recognized nation wide. In summertime there are also lighter lunch and refreshments served in the cozy Autere Cottage beside the museum. You may still find some time to enjoy the fresh air walking in the Sculpture Park and on the nearby island.

The shuttle bus departs at Gösta’s entrance at 15.30. The bus stops at Arthotel Honkahovi, at Hotel Alexander and Hotel Mänttä Club, just let the driver know your destination. 

Ideas for the Rest of the Day

Check-in at the hotel you have chosen. After a short moment of freshening up it is time for a stroll. No matter where you are staying, you have more or less one kilometer to walk to Serlachius Museum Gustaf. There you need to borrow a bicycle before the museum’s closing time (at 18.00) in order to have jolly vehicle for your possible excursions later in the evening. The entrance fee of the Serlachius Museums includes also the borrow of a bicycle.

The evening of your short break in the Art Town flows pleasantly on Mäntänvuori, which in English means “mountain of Mänttä”. Well, it’s not a mountain precisely, but it is a high hill formed in the Ice Age. Located on Mäntänvuori in the middle of a forest, at a distance of about four kilometers is atmospheric Wine Tavern Vuorenmaja offering central European wines and snacks. Go ahead and cycle to the mountain!

If you feel too lazy to have any exercise, you may book Arthotel Honkahovi’ sauna and hot tub and enjoy a relaxing evening in a very Finnish way. If sleep evades you in the dark hours of night, you may always seek for exotic pub life in the centre of Mänttä.

DAY 2

The Peculiar Art Town

Do not miss the opportunity to see the Mänttä Art Festival! Exhibition site Pekilo is less than kilometer away from the accommodation in the town centre. The Mänttä Art Festival is open in summertime (mid June–Aug). After the Mänttä Art Festival, you might want to drop by at Myllyranta, a few hundred meters away from Pekilo. Admire the views and perhaps shop for a while. True fashion enthusiasts drop by at Café & Shop Alexander. 

Mänttä Church is also a unique tourist attraction in the core of Mänttä. The altar piece by Alvar Cawén is not most common by its motif. Nonetheless, Hannes Autere’s wood carvings and designed details by Taito Oy are magnificent. The church is open in summertime.

At Serlachius Museum Gustaf

Let’s get acquainted with the magnificent former head office of a Finnish paper combine, nowadays an interesting museum with stories to tell. Exhibition spaces in four floors offer art shows as well as history for the keen eye to view.

Leave the bicycles now at Gustaf and return on foot to your accommodation. Or perhaps you have still a little time to pop in the Finnish design and handicraft store Taito Shop close to the museum? Serlachius bus leaves for Tampere around half past five from your accommodation. A lovely and original trip has come to an end – Farewell and see you again soon!

For the short break in the Art Town, get acquainted with the exhibitions, architecture and history beforehand online with our mobile tours www.tarinasoitin.fi/serlachius.