Sõrve Lighthouse & Visitor Centre
Western Estonia & the Islands
The first lighthouse on Sõrve promontory, just a primitive beacon, was built in the 17th century; the current 52m erection dates to 1960. To climb it, it…
Must-see attractions in Estonia
Tallinn Museum of Orders of Knighthood
Old Town
You'd have to be really devoted to phaleristics (the study of medals and military insignia) not to resent the steep admission at this niche museum, but it…
Southern Estonia
Rõuge’s whitewashed stone church dates from 1730, replacing a 16th-century church destroyed in the Great Northern War. Inside, the focal point is the…
City Centre
Construction commenced in 1985, but the Raine Karp–designed Estonian National Library wasn’t completed until 1993, making this exemplary Soviet structure…
Tallinn
This shallow beach is in Pelguranna, a neighbourhood favoured by Tallinn's Russian community. Broad and shallow, there’s a distinct local buzz in summer,…
Western Estonia & the Islands
The outline of the 17th-century, star-shaped Swedish ramparts that once surrounded old Pärnu can still be discerned on maps. The one remaining section and…
Estonia
At Valaste a viewing platform and metal stair faces Estonia’s highest waterfall (varying from 26m to 30m), which, depending on the month, may be a torrent…
Old Town
This novel gallery has come up with a way around the difficulty of borrowing great paintings from their home galleries: simply project images of…
Tartu
Occupying an 1898 tower in Tartu's famous brewery, 10 minutes' walk northwest of the centre, mandatory tours of this museum trace the history of beer…
Estonian Museum of Contemporary Art
Kalamaja & Telliskivi
Despite its highfalutin name, this grungy old warehouse space is more slapped together than slick. It started as a squat collective in 2006, and…
Estonia
There are many historic wooden and stone buildings on Pikk street, including this 18th-century home, restored and furnished to reflect Rakvere town life…
Southern Estonia
Occupying a former school and commune-house, this modest little private museum in Kolkja village provides an interesting insight into the lives of the Old…
Western Estonia & the Islands
The German knights built this castle, 4km north of Orissaare, during the 14th to 16th centuries and using the forced labour of the conquered locals. It…
Western Estonia & the Islands
On the western edge of town, beyond the train station, this shady park has a popular beachfront which, despite being a bit swampy, attracts plenty of…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Vormsi’s Swedish heritage is kept alive in this restored farmstead, also known as Pears Farm. It's a fascinating insight into the ways of a population…
Lahemaa National Park
Split into several pieces over millennia, this gigantic 7.8m-high erratic boulder, hidden within a lovely stand of forest, is still an impressive sight…
Southern Estonia
Don't be put off by this museum's ugly exterior – its exhibits on regional history and culture from the Stone Age to the present day are definitely worth…
Estonia
Named after the Russian tsar assassinated while it was being built (1881–84), this Lutheran church is the largest religious building in Estonia. It was…
Southern Estonia
Accessed by a steep path leading down from Pikk street, the lake is a popular place for a swim on warm summer days. All the usual hallmarks of the…
Children's Museum Miiamilla in Kadriorg
Kadriorg
The 1930s timber pavilion of the Children's Park in Kadriorg contains this small museum and activity centre, for kids ages three to 11. There's more to…
Western Estonia & the Islands
The islanders are among the minority of ethnic Estonians who adhere to the Russian Orthodox religion. This pretty little church at the centre of the…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Hiiumaa’s oldest stone church, founded by the German Livonian Order in the 13th century, is worth visiting if driving through sleepy Suuremõisa, en route…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Saaremaa’s highest cliffs run along the northern coast near Panga for 3km. The highest point (21.3m) was a sacred place where sacrifices were made to the…
Old Town
Built in 1827 on the site of an earlier Catholic church appearing in 15th-century records, St Nicholas' was the focal point for the Russian traders that…
Kadriorg
The 19th-century stable block of Maarjamäe Palace, one component of the Maarjamäe History Centre, has been re-created as an exhibition space, currently…
Estonia
Six rooms of exhibitions on Sillamäe, its shale-chemical factory and rural life in Vaivara parish await within this building, erected in the late 1950s in…
Orthodox Cathedral of the Resurrection
Estonia
Hidden among dingy apartment blocks northwest of the train station, this 1896 cathedral, built for the workers of the Kreenholm textile factory, has an…
Southern Estonia
Big, flash Tehvandi Stadium, used for football and ski events, is a testimony to Otepää’s obsession with sport. Within the bowels of the main stand, this…
City Centre
A restored limestone warehouse – the former Rotermann Salt Store – houses this modest museum, displaying building and town models (many of them from…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Built in 1775, Haapsalu's former town hall now houses a charming little museum with displays on the history of the resort town, regional history, a re…
Old Town
Only enthusiasts are likely to find much of interest in this little museum housed in the former town prison. Exhibits include selections of the wider…
Southern Estonia
Built in 1816, St John's in Valga holds the distinction of being the only oval-plan church in Estonia. Its other claim to fame is a rare 19th-century…
Estonia
This branch of the Sillamäe Museum, housed in the Sillamäe Cultural Centre (a former bomb shelter), displays the museum's collection of artefacts from the…
Western Estonia & the Islands
There’s a colourful little statue of the saint with his trusty axe in the niche above the door of this squat, whitewashed 14th-century church, just out of…
Johannes & Joosep Aavik’s Memorial Museum
Western Estonia & the Islands
The Aavik family home is now a small museum dedicated to the life and works of linguist Johannes Aavik (1880–1973), who introduced major reforms to the…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Erected to commemorate the visits of Tchaikovsky to Haapsalu, this stone bench is inscribed with the first few notes of his VI Symphony. There's also an…
Estonia
Spread over three floors of a 19th-century gunpowder storeroom on the Gloria bastion, Narva’s art gallery has an interesting collection, including…
Western Estonia & the Islands
While not spectacular, Kärdla’s extremely shallow beach is pleasant enough, with a mixed sand-and-grass shoreline edged by Rannapark. This expanse of…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Although it has its roots in the 16th century, the exterior of this whitewashed church owes much to a renovation in 1858. Inside, look out for the…
Western Estonia & the Islands
Constructed in parts shipped from England in 1864, this 29m-high lighthouse flashes at passing ships from the southern extremity of Pitkänä peninsula. In…
