- Old city
- Maritime Tallinn
- To Tallinn with children
- Gastronomic Tallinn
- Shopping in Tallinn
Tallinn is, in every sense, a very convenient city to visit. Getting here is easy and quite budgetary, and it's nice to come at any time of the year. Accommodation in hotels and the level of prices in cafes and restaurants are lower than the average European, and the quality and variety of both will pleasantly surprise you.
The city is quite compact in size and you can take only a couple of days to visit it for the first time. But during the second and subsequent visits, Tallinn will find something to surprise the tourist with. Let's talk about where to go in Tallinn to get a feel for the Estonian capital.
Old city
The main attraction of Tallinn, a place of attraction for all tourists, is the Old Town, which was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1997. It has been hailed as the best surviving example of a northern European trading city.
The old city is surrounded by a well-preserved city wall, which is a rarity for European cities, in which the walls were simply dismantled over the centuries. At the moment, out of 2, 35 km of the wall, about 1, 85 and 26 towers out of 40 have survived. Inside this fortress wall, it seems that time has stopped. Small houses under red roofs, narrow streets, smoothly polished paving stones, horse hooves, narrow doors with fancy handles leading to cozy taverns, tall Gothic church spiers, the hubbub of multilingual passers-by that dies down in the night - all this immerses tourists in the atmosphere of a medieval city.
Tallinn's old town consists of the Upper Town (Upper Town), where the nobility settled, and the Lower Town, where the artisans, merchants and the poor lived. In Vyshgorod, there is the famous Toompea Castle with its harsh gray facades, which is now the seat of the country's government.
Tourists are more fond of the Lower Town, which houses the heart of the Old Town - the Town Hall Square with the Gothic Town Hall, which is more than 600 years old. Tallinn Town Hall is one of the oldest such buildings in Europe. The top of the spire of the Town Hall is decorated with a weather vane with the famous symbol of Tallinn - Old Thomas (Vana Toomas). In the Lower Town, pay attention to the Town Hall Pharmacy, which has been here since the 15th century and has never interrupted its work, and to Katarina Lane, where there are many shops where you can buy unique handmade souvenirs made right in front of your eyes.
Other attractions of Tallinn Old Town are worth mentioning:
- The Dome Cathedral;
- House of the Brotherhood of Blackheads;
- Dominican monastery;
- Great Guild Building;
- Maiden Tower;
- Nikolskaya Church;
- Oleviste and Niguliste churches;
- Towers "Long Herman" and "Fat Margarita".
It is worth taking a few hours to walk around Old Tallinn.
Maritime Tallinn
Tallinn is a city located on the shores of the Baltic Sea, so a lot is connected here with the sea and navigation.
First of all, this is the Maritime Museum, located in the Fat Margaret Tower in the Old Town. The exhibits tell about the history of navigation and underwater archeology. Among them are the mast, installed in the center and reaching the ceiling of the tower, as well as the very first diving suits. All signatures to the exhibits are made in five languages, including Russian.
Lennusadam Museum - Museum of Marine Engineering, housed in a seaplane hangar dating back to the reign of Nicholas II. Here you can see submarines, boats, seaplanes and real anti-submarine mines. In addition, the museum features many simulators of marine technology, so you won't get bored.
There are two whole regions in Tallinn connected with the sea: Kalamaja and Pirita. The aforementioned Museum of Marine Engineering is located in Kalamae, as well as the Battery Marine Fortress, built under Peter the Great and accessible to the public. The Kalamaja area itself is built up with cozy two-story wooden fishermen's houses, which now house cafes and fashion boutiques.
If the Kalamaja region is associated in the past with common fish, then Pirita is an elite district of Tallinn. There is a lot of greenery, breeze, sea, beaches and beautiful houses. The famous Tallinn Sailing Regatta is held here and the Olympic Sailing Center is located. In Pirita, you can rent a boat or yacht (or together with a crew) and ride on the waves of the Baltic Sea.
To Tallinn with children
There are many places in Tallinn that will appeal not only to children, but also to adults, so the city can be safely recommended for a joint trip with children.
Where can you go with children in Tallinn:
- Tallinn Zoo. It is located slightly away from the city center, so animals and birds are free here. Some of them walk in open enclosures with little or no fences! Tallinn Zoo is the best in the whole Baltic region. There are guided tours, playgrounds and even a mini-zoo where you can look up and pet some of the animals.
- The Kiek-in-de-Kök tower houses a museum of military affairs, which will be of interest to big and young boys. It talks about medieval weapons and equipment, and even has its own dungeon.
- The Museum of Marine Engineering in the Kalamaja region will tell you about boats and seaplanes, submarines and mines. Simulators and themed playgrounds are also located here.
- The marzipan gallery is another fascinating place for a child. Tallinn is one of the cities that is considered the birthplace of marzipan. In the marzipan gallery you can see how a delicacy is made, try to cook it yourself and even make a real marzipan painting.
- Rocca al Mare Museum - an exhibition of Estonian agriculture. A real village has been built here with workshops, mills and residential buildings, where you can take part in craft workshops, taste Estonian cuisine and learn more about Estonian culture.
- Discovery Center "Energia" - an interactive museum of physics, chemistry and natural science. All exhibits here can and should be touched, twisted and launched. Children and adults will like it.
This is not a complete list of places to go with children in Tallinn, everyone can find something for themselves and their child. It should be noted that cafes and restaurants in Tallinn are hospitable to young visitors and many establishments have a children's room and a children's menu.
Gastronomic Tallinn
German, Swedish and Russian cuisines have had a strong influence on the national cuisine of Estonia. Unlike other Baltic countries, sea fish occupies a large place in Estonian cuisine. Estonian cuisine is based on simple but hearty dishes, grandma's recipes and natural products. Favorite dishes in Estonia are soups, sausages, sausages, meat dishes with gravy, potato casseroles, stewed cabbage, mushrooms and sea fish (especially herring).
The portions in cafes and restaurants are large, and the cost of meals, compared to the average European, is noticeably lower.
Let's note a few restaurants of Estonian cuisine in Tallinn:
- Vanaema juures. Here you will find stewed cabbage with meat and potato casserole just the way Estonians love them. Average check no more than 20 euros
- Mekk. The highlight of this establishment is seasonal products. In summer, the mushrooms loved by Estonians are amazingly cooked here, and vegetable stews and side dishes are cooked here in autumn. Local pies with different fillings are especially fond of visitors. The average bill is about 30 euros.
- Glad Estlander is an authentic medieval restaurant where many dishes are cooked over an open fire. Local meat dishes are also worth mentioning.
- Olde Hansa - this restaurant is known to many tourists; it is located right next to the Town Hall and is stylized as a medieval tavern. The level of the cuisine here is decent, but the beer brewed in our own brewery stands out especially. You will remember the local beer with cinnamon or honey forever.
Shopping in Tallinn
The choice of brands and brands in Tallinn is not as great as, for example, in Milan or Berlin, but there is plenty to choose from here, and prices are quite affordable.
One of the most popular centers is Rocca al Mare. Today there are about 170 stores here. The center is known for its unusual but convenient arrangement of shops by color depending on their theme, selling clothes, perfumes, household goods, baby products and interesting souvenirs.
The Viru Keskus shopping and entertainment center is located in the very center of the city, where trendy shops from underground to classic are concentrated. It also houses the largest bookstore in the country.
In Tallinn, as elsewhere in the Baltics and Scandinavia, Stockmann stores are widespread. However, prices in Estonian Stockmanns are lower than in Finnish ones. Sales are organized in the centers several times a year.
Tallinn is also home to the country's largest shopping mall, Ulemiste Keskus, where fashion stores with brands ranging from mid-price to high-end are concentrated. You can find quality perfumes here. There are large shops with goods for children in the center.
It is also worth mentioning the Town Hall Pharmacy, which is more than 500 years old. It is located in the Old Town in a beautiful old building. There is a small museum, and you can also buy handmade soap made from natural ingredients.
Another feature of Tallinn is that it is one of the most distinctive cities in terms of souvenirs. There are a huge number of small shops with handmade souvenirs. Moreover, often each shop specializes in its own kind of crafts, and sometimes artisans make souvenirs right in front of you.
Tallinn's trademark is knitted items with a variety of ornaments, especially during the winter holidays. Lots of souvenirs made of amber, wrought iron, glass and linen clothes. The largest souvenir market in the city is open on the Town Hall Square every Wednesday.
