Since I last updated this blog, Bill and I have been away on a cruise from Bristol to St. Petersburg aboard M.S. Magellan with Cruise and Maritime Voyages (C.M.V.) I have long wanted to visit some more of the former Soviet Union countries of Eastern Europe and we were lucky enough to visit East Germany, Estonia and Russia as well as making brief stops in the Netherlands, Denmark and Sweden. I hope to share some impressions and photos over the next few weeks.
At the end of our cruise we were given the usual customer satisfaction questionnaire to fill in. One question was “which was your favourite port of call?”. Without any hesitation, I chose Tallinn the capital of Estonia. I am certainly not alone in liking this city. In 2018 it was chosen as Lonely Planet’s best value destination.
Tallinn is a UNESCO world heritage site and a former Hanseatic league city on the Baltic sea. It is just fifty miles by ferry from Helsinki but has a very different atmosphere. Like many Eastern European cities it has a fairy tale quality with red-capped towers, medieval castles and gabled tile-roofed houses. The city had a thick outer wall and moat. The centre of the old town is largely pedestrianised with narrow cobblestone alleys and intriguing small shops and cafes.
The small country of Estonia belonged to Denmark then Sweden and Russia. It formed part of the Soviet Union before becoming independent in 1989. Nowadays the Estonians seemed keen to reject the drabness of the Soviet Union by painting every thing in bright colours. Suprisingly Tallinn is also a centre for internet technology especially cyber security and an Estonian helped invent skype
Sightseeing
Tallinn is a walled city and I think the towers add to its charm. At times it looked like an illustration from a fairy tale.
Toompea castle dominates the old town and this tower affectionately known as Tall Herman has become a symbol of Tallinn.
The ornate Russian Orthodox cathedral is free to visit. The inside is beautifully decorated with icons, paintings and mosaics but I was not allowed to take photos. I was surprised that there were no seats but was told that worshipers stand or kneel during services. It is named after Alexander Nevsky a Russian military hero.
In November and December there is a Christmas market in the main square with fifty wooden stalls circled around an enormous Christmas tree. If it snows it looks magical and is one of the best Places to Visit for a Snowy Christmas getaway.
Tallinn claims to have the oldest pharmacy in continuous use dating back to the 15th century. Part of it is now a museum and as a retired nurse I was particularly interested in the display of old medicines and potions.
The lower town is full of narrow alleyways and small shops. it is connected to the upper town by two alleyways called short leg and long leg. I was particularly amused to spot the short leg shirt shop.
Practical information
Currency Euro
Language Estonian (this is similar only to Finnish.) English is widely spoken
Getting around: Trams, buses and by foot. There is a regular ferry service from Helsinki. There are also the ubiquitous red hop on hop off buses.
Shopping Specialities include amber and marzipan (most shops close on Sundays).
Find out more
25 responses to “A few hours in Tallinn, Estonia’s medieval capital”
Tallinn looks stunning, I love the towers and the cathedral is stunning. I was already impressed and then I see one of it’s specialities is marzipan, one of my favourite foods! I bet it looks amazing during the Christmas market. Thanks so much for sharing with us #AdventureCalling
What a beautiful city to share for Walktober, Anne. I’ve heard good things about Estonia, and your post confirms that. Thanks for sharing your tour with us!
Hi, Anne – Your photos here are fabulous. I always greatly enjoy reading about your travels. The oldest continuous-use pharmacy sounds facinating – I would love to see that!
This was a wonderful walk and I got to learn a few things along the way. Thank you so much for joining us with a Walktober walk. 🙂
Thanks for including me in the round up post. I was enchanted by Tallin.
Over from Robin’s Walktober … and thanks for the reminder for the wonderful day I had in Tallin about 6-7 years ago. Loved the city!
What a lovely place to visit. I live your photo of the rainbow over the cobbles
Thanks for sharing with #AdventureCalling
That was pure chance
It seems like you had a lovely time in Tallinn, and I’ve heard a lot of positive things about the town before, too, from others who have visited it. I’m originally from Sweden, and cruises to Estonia are fairly popular from there, especially during the Christmas market. They do some lovely knitwear, from what I’ve seen, as well as marsipan etc as you’ve already mentioned. #AdventureCalling
I think it is interesting to compare and contrast the former Soviet Union countries with Scandanavia.
When I was little, in the late 70’s and early 80’s, Sweden was quite close to the eastern block, politically as well as culturally, to a greater degree than nowadays. We had a lot of kids tv programmes (dubbed to Swedish) that were from the Soviet Union or East Germany. They did some quality stuff, with animations, dolls etc, to be fair. But looking back, I find it a little odd how we were closer to the east than the west. That seemed to shift to the opposite in the mid 80’s x
My husband used to work for kone and went to Finland on a training course in the 80’s. He was suprised at the amount of trade between Finland and Russia. I did not know about Russian television programmes being shown in Sweden so thanks for sharing.
Our guide in Tallin said that as a child she used to listen to radio programmes from Finland as the language is similar. That was her window on the west.
Tallinn is very high on my bucket list of places to visit – I was hoping to cross over from Helsinki a few years back but ran out of time – looks like a great city to explore, so much history and culture
Laura x
Oh, what gorgeous images! My bucket list is short but Russia is on it! I look forward to more lovely photos 🙂
It’s great to see your post on ‘My Corner of the World’ this week!
My Corner of the World
Thanks for running the inlinkz link up. I would love to visit New Zealand if it was a bit closer.
I have never been to any of the Baltic States. I really fancy going to Tallin at some point and I have been keeping an eye on cheap flights from Edinburgh
What an intriguing city. The architecture is beautiful!
Oh wow how beautiful is this place. Love your pictures and we would love to visit here one day xx
The word marzipan cause my eye- didn’t know they were known for that. The Orthodox Church just looks so beautiful. I have heard a lot on Tallin and I have it on my list for sure.
Estonia is not somewhere that I have ever thought of visiting, it looks like such a pretty place to visit with lovely buildings and lots of charm
Many years ago I worked with a female Estonian metallurgist and she told me stories about her time at Tallinn University and skating on the frozen sea in Winter. I was told last year it was so cold they could drive across the ice to a nearby island.
I would love to visit Tallinn one day. It’s been on my list of places I want to visit for a long time!
Definitely putting that on my list!
What a fascinating place this would be to explore, I’m a sucker for cathedrals and castles and can never resist a look. You’re right, there is a bit of fairytale charm about the place from the photos. xx
It was my first visit to a Russian orthodox cathedral. It was interesting to note the similarities and differences. I would love to visit the Christmas market but I expect it would be very cold.