Discovering Tallinn Old Town

Tallinn, Estonia is definitely an under rated city in Europe. Having not known many people who have gone there (only one person to be honest!) we blindly made a decision to go – and I’m so happy we did! I will pull no punches and say that there isn’t a huge amount of things to do in the Old Town of Tallinn, but that being said there is definitely enough to keep you going for a long weekend!

Kiek In The Kok 

We stumbled upon this tower accidentally but it is a must do when you go. As you go up the tower, each floor tells you about the history of Tallinn, the weapons they used, the Armour they wore, etc. Then once you get to the top there is bar with stunning panoramic views of the city! Not too far from the entrance of this museum is the Danish Kings Garden, an underwhelming but very cute little garden on the grounds inside the town walls. Entrance for this museum cost €5 for an adult.

Viewing Platforms

As I have mentioned before, I love a good viewing platform! Tallinn isn’t a particularly hilly town so I was really surprised when I got to their viewing platforms at the views of the city you actually got. They were really beautiful! What is also great is that both platforms are within about a 5 minute walk or less from each other so you can do them both in the one day. The first we visited is Kohtuotsa but the second one which I found to be the better of the two was the Patkuli viewing platform. Both of these are free attractions.

Churches

There are a few stand out buildings on the Tallinn sykline, and most of them are churches. St.Nicholas Church. The medieval style church-come museum is a beautiful building. Unfortunately we only admired this from the outside on our trip so I’m not sure of the entry fee.

The Estonian Orthodox Church of Moscow Patriarchate is one that we just stumbled upon on our walk around. It doesn’t really seem to be down as a sight to see in Tallinn which you search, but I don’t know why because look how beautiful and unusual it is?!

The most impressive looking is the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Tallinn. This Russian Orthodox cathedral looks like it has been taken straight out of Moscow and is absolutely stunning.

The third, and most favourite building of mine is St.Olafs Church. Although not as grand as the Orthodox Cathedral, it has so much more to offer! This church, close to the waterfront in Tallinn allows you to climb the many (many!) steps and emerge onto the roof top, giving you full access to walk around and view the city. If you are afraid of heights I wouldn’t recommend it as the platform is only wide enough to fit one person, two if you lean onto the towers point! The walk way is gated to keep you safe but I did see quite a few scared people while I was up there! Entrance to this was only €3 each and probably my favourite thing I did in Tallinn!

Old Town Square 

What would an Old Town be, without an Old Town Square?! We were so lucky when we went that there was a festival on, so there was a stage in the square providing entertainment all weekend long. But, if you don’t go during a festival the Square is still great! On our last day the square was filled with market stalls selling everything from handmade jewelry with Baltic Amber to handmade clothes, trinkets, hats, and so much more. You could walk around it for hours within the square and still not manage to see it all! We did get caught on more than one occasion for food in the square which is very expensive and not up to scratch at all so I would avoid eating there too much. We also ate in Telliskivi which is the creative quarter of Tallinn outside the old town and I would definitely recommend venturing out there for food & drinks!

The Old Town of Tallinn isn’t huge. Looking on a map it definitely looks bigger than it is, but it is so beautiful and is definitely worth a trip. We stayed in an apartment on Rataskaevu which we booked on booking.com, but I found it cheaper on Air Bnb here. It was just the two of us staying but it accommodates 6 and has its OWN sauna! The apartment was so perfect as it was really central and only a 2 minute walk from the shop for us to grab breakfasts and lunches.

Have you ever been to Tallinn, or is it somewhere you would like to go?