When I told people I was going to Estonia, I was met with blank stares and comments of “Where is Estonia” and “What can you see there”.  

Estonia is part of the Baltic States which also includes Latvia and Lithuania. The northern side of Estonia faces the Baltic Sea and it’s only a short two hour ferry ride from Finland. 

I was attracted to Estonia by the beautiful and well preserved Old Town of its capital Tallinn. The 14^th century Tallinn Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site with its quaint cobblestone streets, medieval churches and solid city walls and you’ll enjoy wandering the capital for a few days to see the sights.

For a small capital, Tallinn has a lot to offer if you know where to look and it’s a worthwhile stop while transiting to and from Helsinki, or a lot of people I met were going to or from Latvia’s capital city of Riga.

There’s a lot more to Tallinn and Estonia than I knew at the outset and I actually ran out of time to see everything.

Exploring Tallinn

For an engaging history of Estonia and the capital Tallinn, make sure you head along to one of the free walking tours. These tours are run daily at 11am and 2pm and start from the tourist office in the old town near the main square.

The tours run for around two hours and are hosted by young, energetic locals. These are a good introduction to Tallinn and a perfect place to start on your first day in Tallinn. The tours are free, with tipping welcome.

The tour includes visits to Freedom Square, Kiek in de Kök cannon tower, Toompea Hill and Town Hall Square. 

Freedom Square is hard to miss with its 23 metre glass plated War of Independence Victory Column – a memorial to those who fell during the Estonian War of Independence in the aftermath of World War I.  

The Town Hall Square is unsurprisingly dominated by the Gothic style Town Hall, as well as your usual tourist fare of restaurants touting traditional dishes and people dressed in medieval costume. In summer, there’s entertaining acts in the square, or Christmas markets during December. 

There are plenty of viewpoints from buildings across the city to see Tallinn and it’s definitely worth the few euros entry to get up high above the town. 

You can see Tallinn from the city walls, St Olaf’s Church, Town Hall (during the summer) and the bell tower in St Nicholas’ Church at Toompea.

I took in the view from the bell tower but I also heard great things about the view from St Olaf’s Church. 

The Toompea bell tower is the best place to get a close view of the Orthodox Aleksand Nevsky Cathedral, while the viewing platform at St Olaf’s Church offers 360 degree views of Tallinn. 

For free views of the town, head along to the Patkuli and Kohtuotsa viewing platforms in Toompea. 

If you do the walking tour, the Kiek in the Kök cannon tower will be one of your first stops and you’ll hear the history of this tower. Kiek in the Kök translates to Peek in the Kitchen in German because you were able to see inside people’s houses from the low tower. 

The fortified tower has thick walls and is four metres thick in some places.  

Underneath the tower are the bastion passages, which can also be visited via the Kiek in de Kök museum. 

For a bit of retail therapy, head down to the Roterman quarter – an area once full of factories and converted into a trendy area complete with secondhand clothing and European chain stores.  

When you get hungry from all your wandering, make sure you seek out one of the Juustukuningad (Cheese Kings) traditional Dutch cheese shops in Tallinn. The shops have rows and rows of delicious cheeses to choose from. You can try before you buy – but be warned you will probably walk away with lots of cheese!

You can sample local dishes from restaurants spread throughout the Old Town.

There is plenty of accommodation on offer throughout Tallinn, including hostels, bed and breakfasts and hotels. Most of these are concentrated around the Old Town.  

For a slightly creepy Estonian experience, head along to the former Soviet prison – the Patarei Sea Fortress Prison. Entry is €8. Wear enclosed footwear to the prison – it’s basically an abandoned building so many sections are rundown, and also very dark.

Patarei was a high security prison from 1919 to as recently as 2004, with prisoners living in very poor conditions. But the building was originally built as a sea fortress in the 1800s.

It’s open daily from 12pm to 7pm from May to September, however opening hours can change. Outside of the warmer months, guided tours are possible by arrangement. Down the road is the Seaplane Harbour Maritime Museum. 

Exploring outside of Tallinn

There are a couple of tours on offer to take you places outside of Tallinn. I did the Lahemaa National Park tour, which takes you through impressive peat bogs and to the Jägala waterfall. If you are in a group, it could be worth hiring a car rather than taking a tour.

The Jägala waterfall is 50 metres wide and is supposed to be quite the sight when it freezes in winter. 

Another tour you can do is to Rummu quarry and Murru prison. The prison now lies half submerged and it’s possible to swim through the abandoned building in the warmer months. 

Moving on from Estonia

Moving on from Estonia into Scandinavia? In less than two hours you can arrive in Helsinki by boat. There are many businesses offering this service, however the smaller ferries won’t sail in bad weather. I opted for the large ferry operated by Tallink. 

Do like the Scandinavians do and if you can carry it, consider stocking up on alcohol in Estonia or be prepared for the price shock in Finland. 

Sea ferries are the cheapest way to travel from Estonia to Finland and there are a number of operators including Linda Line and Tallinnk. 

Things you should know:

• Like in most places in Europe, many museums are closed on Mondays in Tallinn but there are still lots of other things to see. 

• Make sure you take advantage of the free walking tour from the Tourist Information Office in the Old Town. 

• Consider hiring a car to see the sights outside of Tallinn. You’ll get more bang from your buck then doing the guided tours. 

• From the airport, it’s a 15 minute ride on a local bus into town. Look for bus number 2 and get off at the A. Laikmaa stop if you’re staying in or near the Old Town. If you’re arriving by bus, trams run into the Old Town from the bus station and take around 10 minutes. Tallinn is very walkable and most of the sights are concentrated around the Old Town.

• Wear good shoes when wandering the Old Town – the cobblestoned streets can be hard on your feet in soft soled shoes. Most attractions are within walking distance so you’ll find yourself on your feet a lot. Good shoes are also essential for the Patarei Sea Fortress Prison. 

 

 

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