Flight time
3h 00m
Best season
May–September & December
Budget
Budget
Best for
Medieval old town, digital culture, value, nightlife
Overview
Why Tallinn for a city break?
Tallinn has the best-preserved medieval old town in Northern Europe — a walled city of Gothic town halls, limestone merchant houses, medieval towers and cobbled lanes that escaped Soviet-era demolition and stands today almost exactly as it did in the 15th century. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site of extraordinary completeness. It is also the most digitally advanced small nation on earth (Estonia invented Skype, pioneered e-residency and has operated digital elections since 2005) — and the contrast between the medieval streetscape and the startup culture thriving within and around it gives Tallinn a distinctive, slightly improbable character.
From London it's three hours — direct flights from Heathrow, Gatwick and a handful of regional airports. Tallinn Airport is 4km from the centre (tram or taxi, under €10). The city is excellent value: a good dinner with wine costs under £20, a craft beer is £2.50, and a full day of sightseeing in the old town costs almost nothing. Go in May to September for the best weather; December brings one of the finest Christmas markets in the Baltics, with open fires in the medieval town hall square. Helsinki is two hours by high-speed ferry across the Gulf of Finland — a very easy day trip.
Where to stay & explore
Tallinn's best neighbourhoods
Old Town (Vanalinn)
The UNESCO medieval city — Toompea hill (the upper town with the parliament and cathedral), the Lower Town (the merchant quarter with the town hall square), and 2.5km of medieval walls. Almost everything of historical interest is here.
Kalamaja
The wooden house neighbourhood west of the old town — the most creative and local area of Tallinn, with the Telliskivi Creative City complex, the best cafés and restaurants and a bohemian energy unlike the old town.
Noblessner & the Waterfront
The former submarine factory on the waterfront — now a design and culture district with the finest sea views, excellent restaurants and summer beach bars along the Tallinn Bay.
Things to do
What to see in Tallinn
1
The Old Town & Town Hall Square
The most complete medieval city in Northern Europe — walk through the Viru Gate (the medieval gatehouse, one of the finest in the Baltic) to the Town Hall Square (Raekoja Plats), surrounded by Gothic and Renaissance merchant houses. The 15th-century Town Hall (climb the tower for the finest view of the old town) and the adjacent pharmacy (in continuous operation since at least 1422, the oldest pharmacy in Europe) are both excellent. The Toompea hill above — the upper town with Toompea Castle (now the Estonian Parliament) and the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral — gives the finest view of the lower town's orange rooftops and church spires.
2
Viru Gates & the Medieval Wall
The 2.5km of surviving medieval wall with 26 towers (the best-preserved medieval fortifications in the Baltic) can be walked in sections — the most accessible stretch runs along Müürivahe Street, where knitting grandmothers sell woollen goods from niches in the wall in summer. The guard towers (Kiek in de Kök is the finest, with a museum of medieval warfare inside) give extraordinary views over the old town and out to the bay. Tallinn City Museum in the old town covers the medieval and 20th-century history well.
3
KUMU Art Museum
The finest art museum in the Baltic states — the KUMU (Estonian Art Museum) in Kadriorg Park houses an outstanding collection of Estonian art from the 18th century to the present, with particular strength in the Soviet-era underground art that was made in secret and is now recognised as some of the most interesting art produced in the Eastern Bloc. The building, by Finnish architect Pekka Vapaavuori, is excellent. Book online; 15 minutes from the old town by tram.
4
Kadriorg Park & Palace
The baroque palace and park built by Peter the Great for Catherine I in 1718 — the palace houses a collection of foreign (mostly Dutch and German) paintings, and the park is the finest green space in Tallinn. The Mikkel Museum (Japanese netsuke, Chinese porcelain and European art) in the grounds is free. In summer the park fills with Tallinn's residents for picnics and outdoor concerts; in winter the pond freezes for skating.
Food & drink
Where to eat in Tallinn
NOA Chef's Hall
Modern Estonian / fine dining
The finest restaurant in Tallinn — a glass pavilion on the sea at Rocca al Mare, serving modern Estonian cooking of extraordinary quality using foraged and locally farmed ingredients. The tasting menu changes weekly. The view of Tallinn Bay through the floor-to-ceiling windows is the finest dining view in Estonia. Book months ahead.
Leib Resto ja Aed
Modern Estonian / Old Town garden
The best restaurant inside the old town walls — a beautifully converted medieval building with a summer garden, serving modern Estonian cooking rooted in local produce (black bread, Baltic herring, wild mushrooms, elk). The lunch menu is excellent value. Book ahead for dinner.
F-Hoone
Casual / Telliskivi Creative City
The most popular casual restaurant in Tallinn — in the Telliskivi Creative City complex in Kalamaja, F-Hoone serves a menu of internationally influenced comfort food at prices that make London visitors blink. The brunch at weekends is the most social meal in Tallinn. No booking; queue or arrive at opening.
Itinerary
3 days in Tallinn — a suggested itinerary
Day 1
Viru Gate, the Town Hall, Toompea at dusk
Tram 4 from the airport to Viru Centre (10 minutes, €1.50) — walk through the Viru Gates into the medieval old town. The Town Hall Square first thing: the pharmacy, the Town Hall tower (climb it for the view), the medieval atmosphere before the day-trippers from the cruise ships arrive (they begin at 10am in summer). Walk up through the Pikk jalg gate to Toompea: the Estonian Parliament (exterior), Alexander Nevsky Cathedral (golden onion domes, free to enter), the Toompea viewing platforms for the finest views over the lower town. Walk back down through the Lühike jalg gate — the steepest medieval street in the old town. Leib Resto for dinner (booked).
Day 2
KUMU, Kadriorg, Kalamaja creative afternoon
Tram to Kadriorg Park (15 minutes from the old town) — Kadriorg Palace and the park in the morning. KUMU Art Museum (timed entry) for the Estonian art collection and the Soviet-era underground art. Walk back through the park. Telliskivi Creative City in Kalamaja for the afternoon — the street art, the independent market stalls on weekends, the design studios. F-Hoone for a late lunch. The Balti Jaam Market (the station market, Estonia's best flea market and food market combined) is adjacent on Saturdays. Noblessner waterfront for the evening: the summer bars and restaurants on the former submarine factory quay, the view across the bay.
Day 3
Medieval wall walk, Helsinki day trip option, Christmas market in December
The medieval wall walk along Müürivahe Street in the morning — the knitting grandmothers in summer, the towers, the Kiek in de Kök museum. A Helsinki day trip is an extraordinary option: the Tallink Silja high-speed ferry from the Tallinn terminal takes 2 hours each way (book ahead, €30–50 return) — Helsinki's Design District, the market square and the cathedral, the Temppeliaukio rock church, back for a Tallinn dinner. Alternatively: a day trip to Lahemaa National Park (50km east, the finest landscape in Estonia — manor houses, coastal forest, Soviet-era ruins, guided tours available from Tallinn). Christmas market in the Town Hall Square in December is one of the best in the Baltic.
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