This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Tallinn, and is also the perfect onthe-ground companion for your trip.
The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Tallinn, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.
In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.
Maps
All key attractions and sights in Tallinn are numbered and crossreferenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.
Images
You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Tallinn. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-
screen.
About Insight Guides
Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.
Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.
From the 13th century onwards this was the historic seat of power in Estonia. For more information, click here.
TOP ATTRACTION #2
DOME CHURCH
Great architecture and a turbulent history characterise Tallinn’s grand Lutheran cathedral. For more information, click here
TOP ATTRACTION
#3
TOOMPEA’S VIEWING PLATFORMS
Enjoy a fairy-tale panorama. For more information, click here.
TOP ATTRACTION #4
THE TOWN HALL
Fine medieval woodcarvings are among its treasures. For more information, click here.
Peeter Jahe
TOP ATTRACTION #5
iStock
HOLY SPIRIT CHURCH
Its eye-catching clock has been ticking since the 1600s. For more information, click here
TOP ATTRACTION #6
SEAPLANE HARBOUR
Explore the vast maritime museum and historic ships. For more information, click here
TOP ATTRACTION #7
iStock
ALEKSANDER NEVSKY CATHEDRAL
The most impressive-looking Orthodox church in Estonia. For more information, click here
TOP ATTRACTION #8
KUMU
The soul of the nation comes to light at Tallinn’s grandest art museum. For more information, click here
TOP ATTRACTION #9
iStock
TOWN HALL SQUARE
Once Tallinn’s main marketplace, this is still the life and soul of the Old Town. For more information, click here
TOP ATTRACTION #10
KADRIORG PALACE
Peter the Great’s summer residence is a reminder of imperial Russia. For more information, click here.
Alamy
A PERFECT DAY IN TALLINN
9.00am Breakfast
Get your energy fix with a breakfast of sausages and herring in your hotel, or grab a coffee and pastry in the Town Hall’s medievalstyle corner café. On Town Hall Square, find the Centre of Tallinn stone and see how far you have to stretch to spot the five towers.
9.30am
Toompea climb
Make a leisurely ascent up Pikk jalg to catch a glimpse of Aleksander Nevsky Cathedral’s onion domes in the morning light, then beat the crowds to the viewing platforms for snapshots of Old Town rooftops.
10.30am
Old Town
Navigate your way through the cobblestone streets of Lower Town and see how many colourful doorways you can find. Stop in at the Great Guild Hall at Pikk 17 or the Tallinn City Museum on Vene 17 for deeper historic insights.
12.30pm
Retail therapy
Head to St Catherine’s Passage and wind your way through the craft workshops to watch the artists at work. Pour through the wares at the Sweater Wall to find an authentic souvenir. If you’re hungry, grab a bite at Controvento or one of the restaurants on Vene Street.
2pm Kadriorg
Catch tram No. 1 to Kadriorg Park, stroll around the pathways, feed the ducks at the Swan Pond and inspect the manicured flowerbeds behind the Kadriorg Palace. Time permitting, take the path to the Russalka Memorial and gaze out over Tallinn Bay.
3.30pm
Culture fix
Make contact with your creative side by visiting any or all of the art museums of Kadriorg – the palace itself with its foreign art collection, the Mikkel with its exquisite porcelain, and the vast, modern Kumu, Estonia’s award-winning national gallery.
6pm
Historic dining
Make your way back towards Old Town by tram, or by walking along Narva road to see the city’s contemporary edge. If you have the power, make a detour to the Radisson BLU Hotel at Rävala 3 to catch the views from its 24th floor café. Satisfy the hunger you’ve worked up in the city’s famed medieval restaurant, Olde Hansa, or its equally lively neighbour Peppersack, both of which are built into beautiful, Hanseatic-era houses.
8pm
Bar-hopping
Take in the night-time ambience of the square as its terraces begin to fill with revellers, then head to Suur-Karja and Väike-Karja to begin your tour of the area’s bars, picking the ones with the oddest themes. The underground Karja Kelder (Väike Karja 1) has the most local flavour and is a good place to try various Estonian beers, while Nimeta (Suur-Karja 4) is a guaranteed party spot for the international crowd.
11pm
Nightcap
Wind the evening down with a final beer, glass of wine or shot of Vana Tallinn at one of the city’s elegant wine bars, or make your way to Clayhills Gastropub (Pikk 13) for live music.
INTRODUCTION
Steeped in history, pulsing with energy and beaming with fairy-tale charm, Tallinn has earned its place among the must-see destinations of Europe. The city’s soul is fed by a progressive arts scene, the natural beauty of its parks and coastline, a buzzing nightlife and a post-Soviet edginess. All this, and the fact that it can be toured by foot, make Tallinn an ideal choice for a city break.
This cosy city of just 450,000 inhabitants on the southern shore of the Gulf of Finland occupies an enviable position as a regional gateway. Its nearest neighbour, Helsinki, is only 90 minutes away by ship, and Stockholm and St Petersburg can both be reached by overnight ferry. Latvia’s capital, Riga, is a five-hour bus ride away.
Tallinn’s role as a port-of-call is nothing new. In fact, that has been the city’s defining feature since the early 13th century when Danish troops and German crusaders invaded Estonia and laid the foundations of a major commercial hub. Soon after, Tallinn became a member of the Hanseatic League, an all-important association of merchant cities during medieval times. It grew rich in the 14th and 15th centuries as the middleman in trade between the West and Novgorod in Russia. In the centuries that followed, the Swedish empire, the Russian empire and the Soviet Union each conquered this desirable port city, making their own intriguing contributions to Tallinn’s urban landscape.
A MEDIEVAL MILIEU, A MODERN EDGE
Without question, Tallinn’s most valuable treasure is its Old Town – a remarkable survivor from the Middle Ages. Encircled by a centuriesold city wall, this is a beguiling place of narrow streets and intimate squares, ancient houses and towering church spires.
The town hall tower in the heart of Tallinn’s old town iStock
Like no other place in Europe, this area has somehow managed to hang on to its medieval atmosphere despite centuries of commerce, war and political change. The neighbourhood owes much of its survival to a series of historic accidents. Economic downturns kept construction in check, and at critical junctures, shrewd political settlements prevented the town from being sacked. The city’s famous defensive wall, most of which is still intact, also helped a great deal in preserving the town for future generations. The area suffered from Soviet bombing towards the end of World War II, and from some dubious reconstruction that followed, but the ensuing occupation also had at least one unexpected benefit: trapped as it was in the amber of the Soviet Union, Tallinn’s Old Town escaped the overdevelopment inflicted on similar cities in the West. Now for the most part restored to its original glory, the Old Town once again belongs to the world; it has been inscribed on UNESCO’s list of World Heritage Sites.
But do not think of the Old Town as a static museum piece – it is nothing of the kind. This is the heart of Tallinn, the hub of its busy and eclectic restaurant scene and home to the city’s famously raucous nightlife. Scattered amid the 15th-century buildings are trendy cafés, nearly all of them offering Wi-fi so that iPad-wielding locals can stay connected with the world. Town Hall Square, at the centre of the Old Town, is home to countless concerts, festivals and other performances. Bustling markets fill the streets, mingling with crowds of foreign visitors, all of whom add their own energy to the mix. And shopping here knows no limits. In short, as ironic as it sounds, the Old Town is where the heart of modern Tallinn beats the strongest.
Booze cruisers
Tallinn is a popular destination for Finnish shoppers, particularly those after cheap deals on alcohol, which is heavily taxed in Finland.
This captivating part of town usually keeps visitors exploring for days, but as much as there is to see here, limiting yourself to this area would be a crime. Within the city limits you can see the spectacular Kadriorg Palace, built for Russian Tsar Peter the Great, the museum ships of the Seaplane Harbour, the beautiful Pirita beach and river area, the re-created farm villages in the Estonian Open Air Museum and some rather curious, Soviet-era constructions on the outskirts of town. Also, a number of relatively undiscovered cities not far from Tallinn offer fantastic day-trip opportunities, and should not be passed up.
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