TALLINN ESTONIA – COMPLETE GUIDE

This week on the blog I’m reliving the 5 days we spent in Tallinn Estonia this past winter! This cool town deserves a lengthy post because it’s one of my favorite places in Europe! If you’re a regular around here you know I love a small town. While Tallinn is the capital of Estonia and the largest city in the country, it has the feel of a small town. The city of is big however, the Tallinn Old Town is quaint, colorful, and charming!

Tallinn Estonia has been on my bucket list for quite some time. Once I saw a picture of the Old Town, I was sold. With that said, Tallinn still managed to blow me away! On this post I’ll cover the best things to do in Tallinn Estonia as well tips and tricks to visiting town!

And don’t forget to pin this for later!

If you’re headed to Tallinn, I suggest spending at least two days in town. It’s quaint with a lot of character so you’ll want time to soak it in! With that said, it’s relatively small, so it’s easy to explore in a day if you’re on a tight schedule. If you’re looking for more things to do in Estonia like exploring a few surrounding cities, spend 3-5 days in town. Max and I spent 5 days in Tallinn and couldn’t get enough of the charming streets.

While Tallinn experiences four seasons, it never gets super hot. Because of this, it’s a great place to visit during the summer months. The Tallinn weather hovers around 70 degrees and the days are especially long. While summer is a great time to visit, you honestly can’t go wrong! We visited during the holiday season so we could go to the Tallinn Christmas Market. This made visiting in winter dreamy so while it was chilly we loved Tallinn Estonia in the winter.

Since Tallinn is a small walkable town, I recommend booking a hotel close to the Old Town. If you can swing staying in Tallinn Old Town, do it! If not, there are a ton of great options within walking distance.

We booked an Airbnb for our stay which was great. It took us about 5 minutes to walk into the Old Town which was ideal! I wouldn’t recommend our exact airbnb but I’ll link a few better options below! Another option is to utilize booking.com, I always have good luck with the website in Europe.

Here are a few options with an excellent location and review.

• Airbnb – Tower Apartment in Old Town
• Airbnb – Luxury Apartment in Old Town
• Booking.com – Old Town Central Apartment
• Booking.com – Heart of Old Town
• Booking.com – Tallinn City Harbour (~20 min walk to old town)

The Tallinn airport is a quick 15 minutes from the Old Town making it an easy place to fly in and out of. However, it’s common to pair Tallinn with a few other countries in the Baltics. If you’re traveling to Tallinn from surrounding countries such as Latvia or Russia, Lux Express is the way to go! This luxury bus company runs a number of routes through the Baltic countries. The seats are spacious equipped with a tv, wifi (which worked for us), and more. You can also book a lounge seat for excess room. In the “lounge area”, there are a total of 3 seats per row rather than 4. Luckily, Lux Express is inexpensive. For example, we spent 18 euro per person when traveling from Vilnius to Riga. When traveling from Riga to Tallinn we opted for the lounge seat which was 25 euro per person. As you can see, we utilized the company a few times while traveling through the Baltics and loved it!

Travel Tip: We created an account with PINS for a discount on our bookings. PINS has a reward program for Lux Express so I recommend taking a look at the site I’ve linked!

Another common way to reach Tallinn Estonia is via ferry. A lot of tourists visit from Helsinki since it’s a quick 2.5 hour ferry ride. We took the ferry from Tallinn to Helsinki and booked with direct ferry. We like direct ferry because the booking process is easy and there are a lot of options. Eckerö Line was the ferry line we booked.

As I’ve mentioned, Tallinn is walkable so once you arrive, you can walk everywhere! If you want to visit cities outside of Tallinn you can rent a car or take a bus. Lux Express offers routes from Tallinn to popular cities in Estonia like Pärnu, Tartu, and many more! When I looked prices ranged from 6 to 10 euro each way.

The Tallinn Card is a great way to save money in town. The card actually includes quite a lot for the price. If you plan on visiting a lot of museums during your stay, the card is definitely worth it. With that said, I recommend going to the website I’ve linked to see everything included. From there, you can see if it’s worth it. The card also includes free public transportation as well as a 3 hour bike rental. You can choose between a 24, 48, or 72 hour pass.

One of my favorite spots in Tallinn is the Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform. Located on Toompea Hill, the platform offers a panoramic view of the charming streets of Tallinn. The infamous “the times we had” wall is here making for the perfect photo op. If you’re looking for a picture, head here early! This is a popular spot in town so the area fills up pretty quickly. Luckily, if you don’t mind waiting around for a few, it should clear out. With that said, the platform is open 24/7 giving you plenty of opportunity to visit!

Pricing: Free

Around the corner from Kohtuotsa Viewing Platform is Patkuli Viewing Platform which was constructed in the early 1900s. I recommend hitting this next since it’s maybe a five minute walk away. You can also reach the platform from the town below by taking the stairs up. The view’s breathtaking with St. Olav’s Church and the Old Town Towers in the background. Max actually preferred the view from this platform! This platform is open 24/7 as well.

Pricing: Free

The medieval Old Town of Tallinn is the heart of the city. A wall surrounds the Old Town with 26 defense towers and 2 gates. The wall dates back to the 13th century, needless to say, there’s a lot of history within the walls!

Once you enter the gates, cobblestone streets, colorful buildings and beautiful churches fill the streets of the Old Town. Take your time soaking in the streets. Like most magical European towns, the best activity is simply wandering the streets.

While wandering the streets is the best, here’s a list of spots you cannot miss!

Town Hall Square – The main site to see is the Town Hall Square. As I mentioned, we visited during Christmas and the market was set up at the center! The square is colorful and there’s always something going on.

Town Hall – Next up is town hall, which is located in the square. The tower is supposed to have an incredible view of town square! You can purchase tickets from town hall but the tower is closed certain times during the year.

Old Town Walls – There are a few sections of the wall you actually can walk through. Some of the towers have been converted into a museum so if you’re into history I recommend checking these out. The largest is Kiek in de Kok which I’ll touch on below. You can also walk through certain passages which I love. The views overlook the town which is always incredible!

Olde Hansa – Located in the heart of Tallinn, Olde Hansa is possibly the most popular spot in town! This restaurant serves authentic medieval dishes using 700 year old recipes!

To immerse yourself in the history of Tallinn, visit the Kiek in de Kök Museum. At one point, Kiek in de Kök was the most powerful artillery tower in the Baltics! The museum’s separated into three parts which can be visited individually or on a combined ticket. In total, the museum consists of four defence towers and underground passages within the Old Town walls. If you’re a history buff, this is the spot to go, we were intrigued!

Pricing: 14 Euro (adult), 8 Euro (child), & Free with Tallinn Card

St. Olav’s Church dates back to the 12th century, named after the Norwegian King Olav II Haraldsson. There’s a lot to know about the church. For starters, there’s a legend the person that built the church died by falling from the church tower. Interestingly enough, the church tower has also been struck by lightning ten times.

The tower’s viewing platform is supposed to offer one of the most spectacular views of Tallinn. You’ll take 232 steps up a winding staircase to reach the platform. Unfortunately, the platform was closed when we visited; it’s only open to the public from April to November. But my favorite view of the Church is from the Cathedral of Saint Mary (pictured below).

Pricing: 5 Euro (adult), 3 Euro (child), & Free with Tallinn Card

My absolute favorite church in Tallinn is the Russian Orthodox church, Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Named after Prince of Novgorod, Alexander Nevsky, the Cathedral was built in the early 1900’s. Estonia was still under Russian Czardom at the time. Built on Toompea Hill this grand, unique, and colorful church will catch your eye!

The church is open to visitors daily from 8 am to 7 pm. The inside of the church is equally beautiful with mosaics and icons. The most powerful church bells in Tallinn are located in the church towers! There are a total of 11 bells, one of which weighs 15 tonnes. If you’re going inside the church, I don’t believe photos are allowed, I also recommend dressing respectfully.

Pricing: Free

Around the corner from Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is Toompea Castle. A quick fun fact about the castle is it’s built of local limestone. The grounds have changed quite drastically since it was first constructed. During the 13th and 14th century, a fortress was built on the site. Since Estonia has been ruled by the Danes, Germans, Swedes, and Russians, they’ve all had a big impact on the development of the castle. Once Estonia re-gained thier independence in 1991, the castle became home to the Estonian Parliment.

We didn’t go inside the castle but enjoyed walking around the outside and taking in the views! However, if you want to go inside, book in advance.

Pricing: Free (including guided tour)

Similar to St. Olav’s Church, the Cathedral of Saint Mary dates back to the 12th century. Inside the Cathedral there are over 100 intricate Coats of Arms in memorial to those who have passed. There are also several medieval tombstones on the floor of the church. The tombstones are for people such as Johann von Kruezenstern who was the first person to lead a Russian around the sailing world voyage.

After visiting the church, head to the bell tower. Located on Toompea Hill around the corner from Toompea Castle and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, the bell tower offers an excellent view of town. You’ll climb a pretty steep staircase to the top of the bell tower. The bell tower closes occassionally due to weather so keep this in mind!

Pricing: 5 Euro (adult), 3 Euro (child) & Free with the Tallinn Card

For a trendier spot just outside Old Town, check out Telliskivi Creative City. The complex has restaurants, shops, art galleries and more. There’s a flea market every Saturday as well as events hosted regularly. It’s become Tallinn’s creative center in recent years. It’s worth a quick trip!

As you can tell, Tallinn Estonia is an absolute dream! There’s a lot to see within the Old Town as well as surrounding city. If you have time, I highly recommend exploring outside the city! To be honest, Max and I were too enamoured with the Old Town to do much else. We visited during Christmas so were distracted with the Christmas Market, I mean, it’s one of the best in Europe! There are a ton of towns we want to visit outside of Tallinn so it looks like we’ll have to go back. I’m already ready for Tallinn round 2!

Safe Travels,

Sarah :)

I’ve linked some of my favorite travel essentials for international travel below. Please reach out if you have any questions as I would be happy to answer them!