Estonia
Tallinn
A walled Hanseatic town of red roofs and spires, two hours by ferry from Helsinki.
Tallinn is Estonia's capital, a compact Baltic seaport whose walled Old Town is one of the best-preserved medieval cities in northern Europe. Cobbled lanes climb from the Gothic Town Hall Square to Toompea hill, where lookouts gaze across red roofs and spires to the sea. Beyond the walls is a different city: the wooden houses and converted factories of Kalamaja, Peter the Great's palace park at Kadriorg, and one of the most digital societies on earth, with Helsinki two hours away across the water.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Estonian, Russian
Currency
EUR
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Tallinn
The Old Town a near-complete medieval walled town of towers, guild halls and Gothic churches, best walked early or late in the day
Toompea views lookouts on the upper town's cliff edge frame red roofs, church spires and the harbour
Beyond the walls Kalamaja's wooden houses, the Telliskivi factory quarter and Peter the Great's Kadriorg park
Summer light long pale nights around midsummer, with terraces open late and a city beach at Pirita
Best time to visit
May-Sep
15-22° days
59.437° N, 24.757° E
UTC+3 · Europe/Tallinn
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Weather & when to go to Tallinn
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best May-Sep
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Tallinn
November to March is cold and dark, with short days, slush and a raw wind off the gulf. December still draws visitors for the Christmas market on Town Hall Square and snow on the Old Town roofs, but come for that, not the weather. In summer, cruise passengers crowd the Old Town in the middle of the day; mornings and evenings are calmer.
Top things to do in Tallinn
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Old Town and Town Hall Square - the medieval heart
history culture arts 👍 PopularThe Gothic Town Hall, topped by its Old Thomas weathervane, faces a square of merchant houses that becomes the Christmas market in winter. On one corner the Town Hall Pharmacy has been dispensing since the Middle Ages.
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Toompea - castle, cathedrals and the lookouts
history scenic 👍 PopularThe upper town holds Toompea Castle with its Tall Hermann tower, the onion-domed Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the older Dome Church. The Kohtuotsa and Patkuli viewing platforms give the classic view over the Lower Town's roofs to the sea.
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St Olaf's Church - climb the spire
history scenicIts spire is said to have made it the tallest building in the world in the sixteenth century. A long, narrow stair climbs to a gallery over the Old Town, open in the warmer months.
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City walls and Kiek in de Kök - towers and bastion tunnels
historyMuch of the medieval wall still stands, and short sections can be walked between towers. The Kiek in de Kök cannon tower, named for the kitchens its guards could peer into, leads to passages dug beneath the bastions.
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Seaplane Harbour - the maritime museum in the hangars
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedConcrete-domed hangars built for Peter the Great's Naval Fortress house Estonia's maritime museum, with the 1930s submarine Lembit to climb through and a steam icebreaker moored outside.
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Kadriorg Palace and Kumu - baroque park and national art
culture arts history ⭐ Highly recommendedPeter the Great built the pink baroque palace for Catherine I, set in formal gardens and a wooded park east of the centre. At the park's far edge, the Kumu art museum tells Estonian art's story from the eighteenth century to now.
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Telliskivi Creative City and Kalamaja
culture arts food 👍 PopularA former factory complex of studios, street art, design shops and cafes, beside the Baltic Station market. Walk on into Kalamaja's streets of painted wooden houses and down to the sea.
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Pirita - beach, convent ruins and the Song Festival Grounds
history scenicThe coast road east passes the arched stage of the Song Festival Grounds on its way to Pirita, with a long sandy beach, the ruined walls of a medieval Bridgettine convent and the 1980 Olympic sailing harbour. The TV Tower in the forest behind has a high viewing deck.
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Estonian food - rye bread, sprats and kama
foodEat dense black rye bread, Baltic sprat sandwiches, smoked fish and kama, a roasted-grain flour stirred into soured milk, with blood sausage at Christmas. Kalamaja and Telliskivi hold the newer kitchens; finish with Vana Tallinn, the dark local liqueur.
Best areas to stay in Tallinn
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Old Town (Vanalinn)
First-time visitors $$$Medieval walls, cobbles and spires
Explore hotels in Old Town (Vanalinn) →
Kalamaja
Couples and creatives $$Wooden houses and creative-quarter cafes
Explore hotels in Kalamaja →
City Centre and Rotermann (Kesklinn)
Ferry arrivals $$Modern hotels between Old Town and port
Explore hotels in City Centre and Rotermann (Kesklinn) →
Kadriorg
Families and quiet $$Leafy park district of wooden villas
Explore hotels in Kadriorg →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Tallinn
Getting to & around Tallinn
Getting there
Fly into Tallinn Airport, about 4 km from the centre, or sail in from Helsinki in about 2 hr
Flight
Lennart Meri Tallinn Airport (TLL)
A tram runs from the terminal to the city centre in around 15-20 minutes, and buses run too; a taxi or ride-hail reaches the Old Town in about 10-15 minutes.
Ferry
Old City Harbour
Frequent ferries from Helsinki in about 2 hours, plus an overnight ferry from Stockholm; the terminals are a short walk from the Old Town
Cruise
Old City Harbour
One of the Baltic's busiest cruise ports, with ships berthing within walking distance of the Old Town
Coach
Tallinn Bus Station
International coaches from Riga and Vilnius, and domestic coaches from across Estonia
Train
Baltic Station (Balti Jaam)
Domestic trains from Tartu and other Estonian towns, arriving just outside the Old Town walls
Getting around
Walking
The Old Town, Kalamaja and the port are all walkable; expect cobbles and a steep climb to Toompea
Free
Tram
Trams link the airport, the centre and Kadriorg
TBC
Bus
Buses reach Pirita, the TV Tower and the western suburbs
TBC
Taxi and ride-hailing
Bolt was founded in Tallinn and app rides are the usual way to book a car
TBC
Day trips from Tallinn
Helsinki
Full dayCapital across the gulf
Finland's capital is an easy crossing away: the market square on the harbour, the white cathedral on Senate Square and the sea fortress of Suomenlinna. Plenty of travellers do the trip in both directions.
Getting there
ferry
About 2 hr by ferry
Lahemaa National Park
Full dayManors, bogs and coast
Estonia's oldest national park mixes restored Baltic German manors at Palmse and Sagadi, a boardwalk across the Viru bog and old fishing villages such as Käsmu and Altja on a boulder-strewn coast.
Getting there
car | tour
About 1 hr by car or tour east
Keila-Joa and the Türisalu cliffs
Half dayWaterfall and sea cliffs
A broad waterfall below a neo-Gothic manor in a riverside park, paired with the limestone cliffs of the North Estonian coast dropping straight into the sea nearby.
Getting there
car
About 40 min by car west
Tartu
1-2 daysUniversity town
Estonia's second city and student capital, home to the country's oldest university, a riverside old town and the Estonian National Museum. It rewards a night.
Getting there
train | bus
About 2-2.5 hr by train or bus
A little history of Tallinn
A trading harbour stood here by the twelfth century. In 1219 Danish forces under Valdemar II stormed the hill fort on Toompea, and legend says the Danish flag fell from the sky during the battle. German merchants made the city, then called Reval, a member of the Hanseatic League, and trade between Russia and the West paid for the walls, towers and guild halls that still stand. Nobles and clergy ruled from Toompea, merchants from the Lower Town, and a wall divided the two.
Sweden took the city in 1561, and in 1710 Peter the Great captured it for the Russian Empire and later built the baroque palace at Kadriorg. Estonia declared independence in 1918 with Tallinn as its capital. Soviet occupation in 1940 was followed by German occupation and Soviet bombing in 1944 that destroyed parts of the Old Town, then nearly half a century of Soviet rule. Mass singing at the Song Festival Grounds gave the late-1980s independence movement its name, and the Old Town came through largely intact.
Danish forces under Valdemar II capture the stronghold on Toompea
Reval joins the Hanseatic League
The city places itself under Swedish rule
Russia takes the city during the Great Northern War
Estonia declares independence, with Tallinn as its capital
The Soviet Union occupies and annexes Estonia
Mass gatherings at the Song Festival Grounds give the Singing Revolution its name
Estonia restores its independence
The Old Town is inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Know before you go
Payment
Cards everywhere
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+372
The months our climate read flags to avoid: the wettest, lowest-rated weather of the year.
FAQs about Tallinn
▸ When is the best time to visit Tallinn?
May to September is the time to go, with mild days, long light evenings and terraces open late, and June and July nights barely get dark. April and October are cool shoulder months. November to March is cold, dark and often slushy, though December brings the Christmas market to Town Hall Square.
▸ How many days do I need in Tallinn?
Two days covers the Old Town, Toompea, Kalamaja and the Seaplane Harbour. Allow three or four to add Kadriorg, Pirita and a day trip to Lahemaa or Helsinki.
▸ Can I visit Tallinn as a day trip from Helsinki?
Yes, and many people do, with the ferry taking about two hours each way. Stay at least one night if you can: the Old Town is at its best in the early morning and evening, after the day visitors and cruise passengers have gone.
▸ What is the difference between Toompea and the Lower Town?
Toompea is the hilltop upper town where the castle, the nobility and the church once sat, and where Estonia's parliament meets today. The Lower Town below was the merchants' Hanseatic city of guild halls and the Town Hall. Two steep lanes, Long Leg and Short Leg, link them.
▸ Is Tallinn expensive?
It is cheaper than Helsinki or Stockholm but no longer a bargain by Baltic standards. Restaurants inside the Old Town charge more than those a few streets outside it, and Kalamaja and the city centre are better value for eating out.
▸ Did Tallinn have the first Christmas tree?
Tallinn claims a tree was put up on Town Hall Square by the Brotherhood of Blackheads merchants' guild in 1441, among the earliest recorded public Christmas trees. Riga makes a rival claim, and the two cities have never settled it.
More in Estonia
Parnu
Estonia's summer capital: a long sandy beach, a historic mud cure and a small old town in between.
✓ best May-SepSaaremaa
A whole medieval castle, a meteorite crater and an island of windmills, juniper and empty dolomite coast.
✓ best Jun-SepTartu
Estonia's university city, where the student life sets the pace.
✓ best May-Sep