Tallinn: guide, Old Town, Toompea, Kadriorg, prices

Découvrez Tallinn

Tallinn is the capital of Estonia, set on the coast of the Gulf of Finland, and it holds one of Europe's best-preserved medieval town centers. The Lower Town, once home to Hanseatic League merchants, with its Gothic town hall, guild houses, and nearly two kilometers of walls studded with towers, survived war and the Soviet era intact and is UNESCO-listed. Above it, on the limestone hill of Toompea, the nobility once ruled; today it houses Estonia's parliament and offers views over red rooftops to the sea and harbor. Beyond the walls, though, Tallinn is a thoroughly modern, digital city — one that votes online and gave the world Skype: former factory halls in Telliskivi and Rotermanni now hold galleries, restaurants, and design shops, wooden houses in Kalamaja are full of cafés, and old seaplane hangars house a maritime museum complete with a submarine. Tallinn is compact, safe, and easy to explore on foot, with white nights in summer and a Christmas market in winter. Helsinki lies just two hours away by ferry.

What to see

The places worth your time in Tallinn, and what to expect at each

Old Town and Town Hall Square

Old Town

A Gothic lower town with cobbled lanes, merchant and guild houses, churches, and walls studded with twenty-six towers. Its heart is Town Hall Square, home to the only surviving Gothic town hall in Northern Europe, dating to the fourteenth century, and Europe's oldest continuously operating pharmacy.

Tip: Before nine in the morning and after seven in the evening the lanes are empty; in between, cruise-ship crowds pour in. The town hall tower is open only in summer, and the top offers the best view of the square. The Town Hall Pharmacy (Raeapteek), dating to 1422, has a small free museum displaying old remedies like mummy powder and roasted hedgehogs. Restaurants right on the square are overpriced — walk one street over for half the price.

Admission:: free
Time needed:: 2–3 h

Toompea and its viewpoints

Toompea

A limestone hill above the lower town, historically the seat of nobility and church, with a castle now housing parliament in a pink Baroque palace, and the Dome Church bearing the coats of arms of noble families. The Kohtuotsa and Patkuli viewpoints look out over rooftops, towers, and the harbor.

Tip: Two lanes climb to Toompea — Long Leg for carriages and Short Leg, a steep stone staircase, for pedestrians. The Patkuli viewpoint is less known and less crowded than Kohtuotsa, and shows off the walls and towers. Morning light is best. Don't skip the Dome Church with its medieval tombstones, and climb its tower.

Admission:: free
Time needed:: 1–1.5 h

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Toompea

An Orthodox cathedral with onion domes, built in 1900 under Russian imperial rule directly opposite Toompea Castle as a deliberate statement of Russian dominance. Estonians wanted it torn down after independence, but it survived and today serves the Russian-speaking minority.

Tip: Inside are icons and mosaics; photography isn't allowed. The cathedral has eleven bells, including Tallinn's largest, which ring before services. Women can cover their hair with a scarf at the entrance. It stands directly across from parliament, making the contrast between the two buildings striking.

Admission:: free
Time needed:: 20 min

St. Olaf's Church

Old Town

A Gothic church whose spire, at 159 meters in the sixteenth century, may have been the tallest structure in the world; today it stands at 124 meters. The viewing platform at sixty meters gives the best overview of the whole Old Town.

Tip: Reaching the viewing platform means climbing over two hundred narrow steps, and it's open only from April to October. The view is arguably better than from Toompea, since you see both Toompea and the Old Town together. During Soviet rule the tower served as a KGB listening antenna. Entry to the church is free; the tower costs extra.

Admission:: tower around €5
Time needed:: 45 min

Kadriorg

A Baroque palace built by Tsar Peter the Great in 1718 for his wife Catherine, set in a park with fountains, a swan pond, and a Japanese garden. The palace houses a museum of foreign art, and the president's residence stands within the park.

Tip: The park is free and prettiest in autumn and in June when the gardens bloom. Trams from the center take fifteen minutes. The palace interiors are small but lovely, especially the Baroque hall. Kumu is right next door — combine both for a half day. There's a Biedermeier-style café in the park.

Admission:: park free, palace around €10
Time needed:: 1.5 h

Kumu

Kadriorg

The main building of the Estonian Art Museum, opened in 2006, a modern structure set into a limestone slope within Kadriorg Park. Its collection of Estonian art, from the eighteenth century through the Soviet era to the present, is the best introduction to Estonian culture.

Tip: The floor devoted to Soviet art and socialist realism is the most fascinating for foreign visitors. The museum won European Museum of the Year in 2008. It's closed on Mondays and open until eight on Thursdays. Upstairs there's a view over the park toward the sea.

Admission:: around €12
Time needed:: 2 h

Telliskivi and Kalamaja

Kalamaja

Former factory halls behind the train station, converted into a creative district of galleries, design shops, restaurants, street art, and a flea market. Right next door is Kalamaja, an old fishing quarter of colorful wooden houses, cafés, and a park.

Tip: On Saturday mornings Telliskivi hosts a flea market with the best atmosphere of the week. The Fotografiska photography center, with a rooftop restaurant, occupies one of the halls. Walk through Kalamaja along Kalju and Vabriku streets. Just behind the district is the Balti Jaam market, with food from around the world and vintage clothing.

Admission:: free
Time needed:: 2 h

Seaplane Harbour

Kalamaja

A maritime museum housed in concrete seaplane hangars built in 1917, featuring the Lembit, the first submarine you can walk through, a seaplane, and shipwreck exhibits. The 1914 icebreaker Suur Tõll is moored at the pier.

Tip: The Lembit submarine is the main draw — you can walk through the entire vessel, including the torpedo room. The icebreaker outside is included in the ticket, but only in summer. The museum is large and interactive, good for kids. A waterfront promenade connects it to Kalamaja.

Admission:: around €20
Time needed:: 2 h

Estonian Open Air Museum

Rocca al Mare

An open-air museum set in a forest by the sea at Rocca al Mare, west of Tallinn, with more than eighty buildings gathered from the Estonian countryside — windmills, farmsteads, a church, an inn, and a schoolhouse. In summer, craftspeople demonstrate traditional trades and the inn serves traditional food.

Tip: It's best on St. John's Eve, June 23rd, when bonfires burn and folk celebrations take place. Allow two to three hours for a visit. In winter the buildings are closed, but the grounds offer sledding. It's a twenty-minute bus ride from the center.

Admission:: around €15
Time needed:: 2–3 h

Photos: Old Town and Town Hall Square — Ben Bender (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Toompea and its viewpoints — Ivar Leidus (CC BY-SA 3.0 ee) · Alexander Nevsky Cathedral — Diego Delso (CC BY-SA 3.0) · St. Olaf's Church — Olga Itenberg (CC BY 2.0) · Kadriorg — Tammerix (CC BY-SA 3.0 ee) · Kumu — Mait Metsur, aerofotod.ee (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Telliskivi and Kalamaja — Liilia Moroz (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Seaplane Harbour — Rene Seeman (CC BY-SA 3.0 ee) · Estonian Open Air Museum — Zairon (CC BY-SA 4.0)

Where to stay

Areas and districts, matched to the kind of trip you are taking

Old Town

Best for: atmosphere, first-time visitors

Hotels in historic buildings within the walls, walking distance to every sight. Quiet and romantic in the evening. Rooms tend to be smaller and pricier. Ideal for a short stay.

Rotermanni and the harbor

Best for: modern stays, ferry connections

A new district of converted warehouses between the Old Town and the port, with modern hotels, restaurants, and shops. Five minutes on foot to the Old Town and to the Helsinki ferries.

Kalamaja and Telliskivi

Best for: cafés, design

Wooden houses, apartments, cafés, and restaurants in the trendiest district. Ten minutes on foot to the Old Town. Ideal for a longer stay.

Kadriorg

Best for: calm, parks

A quiet villa district by the park and the sea, with smaller hotels and apartments. Ten minutes to downtown by tram. Good for families and anyone wanting peace and quiet.

Search hotels →

Getting around

From the airport

From Prague, flights to Tallinn connect through Riga, Helsinki, or Warsaw, with direct seasonal flights also available; travel time runs from two and a half to five hours. Estonia is in the Schengen area, and Czech citizens can travel on an ID card. Lennart Meri Airport is just four kilometers from the center and connected by tram. Ferries to Helsinki leave Tallinn every hour and take two hours, while Lux Express buses reach Riga in four and a half hours.

Lennart Meri Tallinn (TLL) · 4 km

Tram 4 to downtown· 15 min· €1.50
Bolt / taxi· 10 min· €8
Bus 2 to the harbor· 20 min· €1.50

Around town

The Old Town is pedestrian, and everything downtown is walkable. Trams, buses, and trolleybuses cover the whole city; tap your contactless card at the validator or buy a ticket through the app. Public transport is free for Tallinn residents, but tourists pay. Bolt, founded in Estonia, is the cheapest taxi option, and e-scooters and shared bikes are everywhere. The Helsinki ferry terminals A and D are a fifteen-minute walk from downtown.

Tram and busTap a contactless card at the validator; tickets run about an hour. · €1.50

BoltThe cheapest taxi option. · €4

Bolt and Tuul e-scootersAvailable across the city. · €1

Ferry to HelsinkiTallink, Viking Line, Eckerö Line. · from €25

Useful apps: Bolt, Tallinn public transport (Pilet.ee), Google Maps, Wolt, Tuul

When to go

The best time is June to August, with warm weather around 20°C and days stretching to almost twenty hours — in June you get white nights that never fully darken. St. John's Eve on June 23rd is the biggest celebration, marked with bonfires. May and September are cooler but quieter and cheaper. Winter is long, dark, and freezing; in December the sun shines for only about six hours, but the Christmas market on Town Hall Square is one of the loveliest in Europe. The sea is warm only in July and August, around 18°C.

Best time

June–August, December for the Christmas market

What to avoid

November and January–March, for the darkness

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Day	-1°	-2°	2°	9°	15°	19°	22°	21°	16°	10°	4°	1°
Night	-6°	-8°	-5°	1°	6°	10°	13°	12°	8°	4°	0°	-4°
Rainy days	11	9	8	7	6	8	9	11	11	12	12	12
Sea	2°	1°	1°	3°	8°	14°	18°	18°	14°	10°	6°	3°

Food & drink

Estonian cuisine is Nordic and simple — dark bread, potatoes, pork, herring, sprat, mushrooms, cabbage, and forest berries. In recent years Tallinn has become one of the north's most interesting food cities, with New Nordic restaurants working with local ingredients. The Old Town has medieval-themed restaurants like Olde Hansa, lit by candlelight, while Telliskivi and Kalamaja offer modern bistros and the Balti Jaam market has cheap eats. Estonian craft beer from small breweries is excellent, and the vodka and Vana Tallinn liqueur are traditional. Prices run higher than in Prague.

What to try

Dark bread

Dense sourdough rye bread with caraway, called leib in Estonian. Served with every meal, and Estonians pack it when they travel abroad.

Kiluvõileib

Dark rye bread topped with butter, a hard-boiled egg, and marinated sprat — Estonia's national open sandwich, eaten as a starter alongside beer or vodka.

Sprat and herring

Baltic fish, marinated, smoked, or pickled in cream with onion. At the market they're smoked fresh on the spot.

Verivorst

Blood sausage with barley, a winter Christmas dish served with lingonberry sauce and sauerkraut. Restaurants mostly serve it in December.

Kama

A mix of roasted barley, rye, oat, and pea flour blended with kefir or buttermilk. Tastes like a sweet, nutty yogurt and is sold in every shop.

Vana Tallinn

A dark rum-based liqueur with vanilla, cinnamon, and citrus, Estonia's best-known souvenir. Drunk in coffee, with milk, or on ice.

Mulgikapsad

Sauerkraut braised with pork and barley, a dish from southern Estonia. Served mostly in winter with potatoes, and the most traditional dish you'll find in Tallinn.

What it costs

Coffee

€3–4.50

Lunch at a bistro

€12–18

Restaurant dinner

€30–50

Beer at a bar

€5–7

Public transport ticket

€1.50

Seaplane Harbour admission

around €20

Ferry to Helsinki

from €25

Night in a 3-star hotel, double

€90–150

Indicative prices that change over time — treat them as a guide, not a price list.

Practical information

SocketsCEuroplug, two round pinsFSchuko

Voltage230V / 50Hz

Tap waterTap water is drinkable — Tap water in Estonia is safe and good quality; in Tallinn it comes from surface reservoirs and is soft. There's no need to buy bottled water — feel free to ask for tap water in restaurants, though some do charge for it.

TippingTipping isn't expected, but leaving five to ten percent at a restaurant for good service is common. At cafés and bars, people round up or leave nothing. Estonia is one of the most digital countries in the world — you can pay by card or phone absolutely everywhere, including toilets and stalls, so you'll rarely need cash. The currency is the euro.

Driving on theright

SafetyEstonia is safe. In Tallinn the only real risks are pickpockets in the Old Town in summer when cruise ships dock, and nightlife venues on Vana-Viru street. Watch out for touts luring you in with 'cheap beer' signs at bar doors, where the bill then comes back many times higher — this mostly targets groups of men. In winter, the Old Town's cobblestones and pavements get icy. The emergency number is 112.

Opening hoursShops open from ten to seven or eight, supermarkets until ten or eleven p.m., including Sundays. Museums close on Mondays, and larger ones also on Tuesdays outside peak season. Alcohol is sold in shops only between ten a.m. and ten p.m. Around St. John's Eve, June 23–24, it's a public holiday and much of the country heads to the countryside.

Customs & etiquetteEstonians are reserved, speak little and quietly, and don't care for small talk — silence at the table isn't awkward. Calling Estonia part of a 'former Soviet Union' or lumping it into 'the Baltics' as one country is considered rude; Estonians feel closer kinship with the Finns. Saunas are taken nude and separated by sex unless explicitly mixed. Shoes come off when visiting someone's home.

A few local wordsHello — TereThank you — AitähPlease — PalunHow much does it cost? — Kui palju see maksab?Cheers — TerviseksGoodbye — Head aega

How to plan your days

1 day

Tallinn in one day

1Morning: the Old Town and Town Hall Square.
2Toompea, its viewpoints, and Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
3St. Olaf's Church and its tower.
4Afternoon: Telliskivi and Kalamaja.
5Evening: dinner in the Old Town.

2 days

Two days in Tallinn

1Day 1: Old Town, Toompea, St. Olaf's.
2Day 1 afternoon: Telliskivi and Balti Jaam.
3Day 2: Kadriorg and Kumu.
4Day 2 afternoon: Seaplane Harbour and Kalamaja.
5Day 2 evening: Rotermanni.

3 days

Three days with Helsinki

1Day 1: Old Town and Toompea.
2Day 2: a full day trip to Helsinki by ferry.
3Day 3: Kadriorg and Kumu.
4Day 3 afternoon: the Estonian Open Air Museum.

Day trips

Helsinki

85 km · 2 h by ferry

Finland's capital across the Gulf of Finland, with a cathedral on Senate Square, the Suomenlinna sea fortress on its islands, a harborside market, and a design district. Tallink, Viking Line, and Eckerö Line ferries run every hour. It works well as a day trip, leaving in the morning and returning in the evening.

Lahemaa National Park

70 km · 1 h by car

Estonia's oldest national park, on the north coast, with forests, bogs, boulders, and manor houses. Highlights include Palmse Manor with its Baroque garden, the fishing village of Altja, and the Viru Bog trail with its boardwalks and viewing tower. Best explored by car, as public transport is sparse.

Keila-Joa Waterfall and Rummu Quarry

45 km · 45 min by car

Estonia's tallest waterfall by Keila-Joa Manor in a forest park, and the flooded limestone Rummu quarry with the ruins of a former prison, where you can swim in turquoise water in summer. Together they make a good half-day trip by car. A sand dune by the quarry offers a good viewpoint.

Frequently asked questions

How many days for Tallinn?+

Two days for the Old Town, Toompea, Kadriorg, and Telliskivi. A third day for Helsinki or Lahemaa. Tallinn is perfect for a long weekend and combines well with Riga and Vilnius for a week-long Baltic trip.

How do I get from Tallinn to Helsinki?+

By ferry from the harbor, a five-minute walk from the Old Town. Tallink, Viking Line, and Eckerö Line run hourly, and the crossing takes two hours. Tickets are cheaper online. Bring a passport or ID card even though both countries are in the Schengen area.

Is Tallinn expensive?+

Mid-range, pricier than Prague. Hotels and restaurants in the Old Town are expensive, cheaper outside it. A beer costs €5–7, dinner €30–50. The cheapest food is at the Balti Jaam market.

When is the weather best in Tallinn?+

From June to August, with temperatures around 20°C and long days. June brings white nights. Winter is dark and freezing, but the December Christmas market on Town Hall Square is exceptional.

Is Tallinn safe?+

Yes, very safe. Watch only for pickpockets in the Old Town when cruise ships dock, and for touted bars on Vana-Viru street with inflated bills. Book taxis through Bolt.

Can I pay by card in Tallinn?+

Yes, everywhere, even for toilets and small purchases. You barely need cash. Estonia is one of the most digital countries in the world, and paying by phone is the norm.

How do I get from the airport to the center?+

Tram number 4, fifteen minutes; tap your card at the validator to pay. Bolt costs around €8 and takes ten minutes. The airport is just four kilometers from downtown, one of the closest in Europe.

Is Tallinn worth visiting in winter?+

Yes, if you don't mind the dark and cold. The Christmas market on Town Hall Square is one of the best in Europe, the snow-covered Old Town is beautiful, and hotels are cheaper. Daylight lasts only about six hours, so plan sightseeing around midday.

Conditions de visa

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Numéros d'urgence

Police112 Ambulance112 Fire112

Langue

Estonian

Devise

EUR

Fuseau

GMT+2

Indicatif

+372

Population

1.3M

Superficie

45,228 km²

Tension

230V / 50Hz

Côté de conduite

Droite

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